Choosing The Best Cover Paper for Hardcover Books (2024)

FAQs

What kind of paper is used for hardcover book covers? ›

Hardcover binding cover paper

For hardcover books, 157 gsm matte or gloss art paper wrapped on 2 mm, 2.5 mm, or 3 mm grayboard is the most popular choice. The more pages the interior has, the thicker the board will need to be. Some people prefer to use a special material to wrap the board casing other than paper.

You can never go wrong with silk coated paper. It provides an amazing finish that everybody would love. It is available with 90 gsm or 170 gsm paper weight for both the inner and cover pages. In addition, there are two more silk coated paper weight options for the cover pages: 135 gsm and 250 gsm.

The best kind of fabric and the one I personally recommend is 100% cotton. The color, pattern, and thickness of the fabric do not really matter. So simply pick a fabric, that you like! We also need a way to create that protective layer on one side of the fabric.

Hardcover books are more expensive than paperback books because they're significantly better quality. The cover is a harder board that is made to protect the book for the long term. Likewise, the paper is of higher quality and the printing is better too.

The Cover card

The most common thicknesses are 2, 2.5, and 3mm. Usually covered with 90 lbs coated paper, the cover allows offset printing. Other offset-type papers are available for complex production. The chosen offset paper must be sufficiently flexible not to crack in the corners.

Books & Children's Books

The paper weight required for a book is likely to be between 60-90gsm for traditional hardback and soft cover books whilst children's books will be noticeably higher with a GSM of around 120-300gsm, with toddler books generally being printed on thick card stocks.

A cover sheet, sometimes called a cover page, is the first page of a business document. It contains only the essential details of the document, such as the title, author's name, date, company and other pertinent information. Typically, professionals use a cover sheet in business and academic applications.

Cover Paper Weight

Cover stocks are heavy in weight, rigid and not easily folded. Common weights for cover stocks include: 65#, 80#, 100#, 120#, and 12pt.

What materials are used to make book covers? ›

In addition to the classic materials such as paper, cardboard, glue, fabric, leather and twine, we also supply materials for finishing books such as metalware and embossing foils as well as solutions for fastening and joining materials.

Dust jackets are typically printed on C1S or C2S stock in the 80-lb. to 100-lb. basis weight range. As with paperback covers, the bigger the page size the more handling wear and tear occurs to dust jackets.

Book board is used to make the covers of a book. You might hear it called “binder board”, “Davey board” or “museum board”. While these are all good book boards for binding, each of them have differences.

Yearbooks are traditionally printed on a coated glossy paper with a standard 80-lb. paper weight for excellent opacity and durability. Of course, you can always request 100-lb. paper for a more distinctive, durable feel.