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Piecing Premade Pages
An Introduction To Thermal Binding
If you are looking for a way to bind your documents, reports, presentations and proposals but want them to look like a perfect bound book then you might be interested in Thermal Binding. Thermal binding allows you to create high quality, professional presentations and proposals without any punching or inserting. In fact depending on the type of thermal cover you select your documents can look just like a commercially produced soft cover or hard cover book. Thermal binding is fast, easy to use and extremely versatile. If you are considering binding your documents and reports using thermal binding here are few things you might like to know …
1. Thermal binding is one of the fastest and easiest binding systems available on the market. In fact, all you need to do in order to bind your documents using Thermal Binding is place your pages inside the premade cover, put the cover in the machine and then let it cool when the machine is finished. It is that simple.
2. In order to ensure that your bound documents have the look and feel that you want them to have you need to carefully consider the type of thermal binding cover that you are going to use. The most common type of thermal binding cover has a linen weave paper back and spine with a clear front. This type of thermal binding cover is often called a utility cover and is a great low cost option for thermal binding. However, some companies who are looking for a more elegant high end look for their presentations and proposals tend to use thermal covers with windows, thermal covers that are imprinted with company artwork and thermal covers made from special paper stocks (or a combination of all of these). Some companies will even pay for fully printed four color offset printed thermal covers for a fully customized look and feel.
3. It is important to remember that because thermal binding requires a premade cover with thermal glue already applied in the spine you need to have the right size cover to match the thickness of your report. This is especially important if you are considering a customized cover with printing or embossing since customized orders can sometimes take a couple of weeks to ship. Thermal covers are available in a number of different sizes. In fact Thermal binding covers com in sizes as small as 1/16″ (with a V spine) and as large as 2″ thick.
4. Thermal binding hard covers and photo books are also available for higher end presentations and proposals. If you are considering using thermal hard covers you should consider a machine with an adjustable temperature setting so that you can increase the temperature for binding hard covers. You will also need a hard cover crimper to help finish off your thermal hard covers. If you don’t have a thermal binding machine with an adjustable temperature setting you may have to run your thermal hard covers through the machine two or three times to ensure that the glue is fully activated.
5. In order to get the highest quality bind using your thermal binding machine it is important to make sure that your pages are carefully squared up in your cover and that they come in full contact with the glue in the bottom of the cover. It is also helpful to tap the spine of your documents on a counter or table while they are still hot to ensure that the pages are fully seated into the hot thermal binding glue.
6. For short run publications, specialty reports and other highly customized applications it is possible to make your own thermal binding covers. This process involves printing your one piece cover, scoring the cover for the correct size spine, adding a thermal binding glue strip and using your thermal binding machine to complete the bind. If you have more questions about this process don’t hesitate to ask as it can be somewhat tricky.
Hopefully these six points will help you to better understand thermal binding. Just remember, if you have any questions, it never hurts to ask.
About the Author
Jeff McRitchie is the designer and Director of Marketing for
www.MyBinding.com
. He has written hundreds of articles on topics related to
Binding Machines
,
Binding Supplies
, Binding Covers, Laminators, Laminating Supplies, and more.
Do you find yourself with a bunch of left over quilt blocks? Don’t throw them away! There are so many things you can do with left over quilt blocks. Here are 10 ideas for projects using your extras:
1. Make small tote bags or purses. Add a pre-made wooden handle you can buy at your local craft store.
2. Make scrapbook or photo album covers. The are also great scrapbook page backgrounds.
3. Quilt your leftovers individually and make potholders and trivets. Use thinner batting, cut the quilt block down a bit and glue a thin piece of cork to the back to create a coaster.
4. Stitch or fuse a couple together, then use it as fabric from which to cut a Christmas stocking.
5. Make a small wall hanging.
6. Dress up an old jacket or cardigan by heat bonding a block onto the center backside. Use fabric paint to trim out the edges of it or add an anti-fray product to the edges. If you are accustomed to sewing, add a zig zag or satin stitch to secure the edges and add a nice finish.
7. Create dining room decor. Use single blocks for placemats. Piece several blocks together to make a table runner.
8. Make pillows. Single blocks are the perfect sice to create toss pillows for your sofa, loveseat or chairs. Make pillow shams for your bed by stitching several together to fit your pillows.
9. Quilt just one block and finish the edges. It will make a nice quilt for a child’s stuffed animal or dollhouse comforter.
10. Make bookmarks. Cut the block into strips about three inches wide. Fuse them to another piece of fabric cut the same size. Hot glue rick rack around the edges for a no-sew finish. Crafty people comfortable with sewing may use a zig zag or satin stitch to finish them out. If hand stitching, use a blanket stitch to complete the edge.
In addition to the ten ideas for creating other items from your old or extra pieced blocks, you could consider donating your extras to charity. Local senior centers that offer quilting classes might welcome the gift of some prepared blocks. If you are interested in keeping the money yourself, you can sell your extras. Advertise them in a local paper or in online classifieds. You should also consider an online auction. Try selling them in a yard sale.
If the 10 crafty ideas listed above have inspired you to make a few of those items, you can piece blocks specifically for these projects, or look around to find someone who has extras lying around. Check garage or tag sales, thrift stores and online auctions and classifieds to find spare quilt blocks.
If you will be piecing your own blocks from which to craft, experiment with some new patterns. You can find a library full of quilt block patterns online. You will find quilt block patterns for all levels of quilting, beginner to highly skilled. If you are new to quilting all together, look for quilting tips from a how-to-quilt website or find an online quilting coach if you do not have someone locally who can teach you the art of quilting.
Penny Halgren
http://www.QuiltBlockLibrary.com Penny, a quilter for more than 27 years, enjoys exploring all aspects of quilting and sharing her knowledge with all quilters. A new endeavor is http://www.QuiltBlockLibrary.com which provides hundreds of traditional patchwork quilt block patterns.
