With a typical hardbound book, they may print 10,000 books, but only bind 3,000 of them right away. If the orders appear for more, they bind them, but if they don’t, they save the expense.

At the book bindery, a book binder puts together the various signatures (groups of 16, 32 64 pages so that the pages form a book. The pages are then trimmed so that there’s a smooth edge. The binder then adds the cover, and the end leaves.

The difference in manufacturing cost between a hardback book and a “trade paper” book – one that is the size of a hardbound book, but has a soft cover – is only a couple of bucks. Hardbacks are more durable, more prestigious, and FAR more profitable.

If the binding on a book goes bad, because of wear, they send the book back to the bindery. The folks there remove the old binding, and add a new one. It is re-bound.

If the original binding was trade paper, the re-bound book often will be hard-bound. Given that the book was worn out, that is a prudent decision.

There’s a LOT of hand work involved in the bindery. Typesetters and printers are facing unemployment, but there’s still lots of work for bindery folks.