Spine Width
0.39"
Sheets
100
Weight
15.1 oz
Est. Cost
$13.95
Total page count (both sides of each sheet)
Excludes thread, glue, and specialty tools. Paper at ~$0.03/sheet.
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Price as of Jun 27, 2026. Product prices and availability are accurate as of the date indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on Amazon at the time of purchase will apply.
Inputs
Result
Sheets = 200 / 2 = 100. Spine = 100 × 80 × 0.00125 = 10.0 mm = 0.39". Boards = 6.125" × 9.25". Cloth = (2 × 6.125 + 0.39 + 1.5) × (9.25 + 1.5) = 14.14" × 10.75".
Inputs
Result
Sheets = 120 / 2 = 60. Spine = 60 × 100 × 0.00125 = 7.5 mm = 0.30". Coptic binding has no cover cloth calculation. 12 signatures of 5 sheets each.
Spine width equals the number of sheets multiplied by the thickness of each sheet. For 80 gsm paper, each sheet is approximately 0.1 mm thick. A 200-page book (100 sheets) at 80 gsm has a spine of about 10 mm (0.39 inches). Heavier paper produces thicker spines.
| Pages | 80 gsm Spine | 100 gsm Spine | 120 gsm Spine |
|---|---|---|---|
| 100 pages (50 sheets) | 5 mm | 6.3 mm | 7.5 mm |
| 200 pages (100 sheets) | 10 mm | 12.5 mm | 15 mm |
| 400 pages (200 sheets) | 20 mm | 25 mm | 30 mm |
Cover boards should be slightly larger than the text block: add 1/8 inch (3 mm) to the width and 1/4 inch (6 mm) to the height (1/8 inch overhang top and bottom). For a 6" × 9" book, boards are 6.125" × 9.25". Use 2.2 mm (0.087") thick binder board for standard books.
The cloth must wrap around both boards plus the spine with a 3/4-inch turn-in on all edges. For a 6" × 9" book with a 0.4" spine: cloth width = (2 × 6.125) + 0.4 + 1.5 = 14.15 inches. Cloth height = 9.25 + 1.5 = 10.75 inches.
Perfect binding glues pages to a flexible spine (paperbacks). Coptic stitch sews signatures together with an exposed spine that allows the book to lay flat. Case binding wraps a rigid hardcover around sewn signatures for the most durable result.
| Feature | Perfect | Coptic | Case |
|---|---|---|---|
| Difficulty | Easy | Medium | Hard |
| Durability | Low | Medium | High |
| Lay-flat | No | Yes | Partial |
| Material Cost | $2–$5 | $5–$10 | $8–$20 |
| Best For | Notebooks | Journals | Books |
A signature is a group of folded sheets sewn together. Standard signatures contain 4–6 sheets (16–24 pages). A 200-page book has 100 sheets, which makes about 20 signatures of 5 sheets each. Fewer, thicker signatures are easier to sew but create a less flexible spine.
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Last Updated: Jul 13, 2026
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