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.
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: Mar 9, 2026
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