The process of bookmaking is more intricate than one might have originally expected it to be. For me, personally, I found the syep of printing to be the most fascinating as it is much more industrialized and complex than a simple printer spewing out page by page.
The ten distinct steps are:
1) The accumulation of raw materials, such as paper stocks, variations of ink, and the type of covers.
2) Designing the book: While a seemingly simple step, multiple factors weigh into this such as the page and typeface size and style, the usage of weight and color, etc.
3) Typesetting is the third step, though it is the first step in the manufacturing process. Here, the electronic manuscript is converted into the proper style, producing a “galley” of the text, which is then proofread.
4) Then, “lasers” are produced, which is the exact layout of the pages but printed on regular paper which is then reviewed by the publisher to make sure it is accurate and correct.
5) Filming, which is a peculiar step, is next. Here, negatives are taken of each page to produce the opposite of what will be printed. The negatives are thoroughly checked to ensure there are no issues.
6) Here, the negatives are then “stripped” into the correct placement on a large sheet known as a “goldenrod” or “flat”. This is to ensure that all the text is properly lined up.
7) A rather interesting step, each flat is photographed, the negatives being put onto an aluminum sheet called a “plate”. The parts of the plate that contain text or illustrations are then doused with chemicals that attract ink to ensure the text will print when it is on the press.
8) The prints are the sent to a press. If it only requires one color, it will only go through the press once. The prints go through the press once per color.
9) The pages are then printed and dried and are sent to a bindery, the flats are folded into book “signatures” which are properly folded 32 or 64 page sections, which are then fully connected in the right order. This process also includes connecting the spine, trimming the edges, etc.
10) The final step, now that the book is actually complete, is quality assurance checking, which is to run a series of tests on certain steps in the process to make sure it is properly being created and distributed.
Source: www.madehow.com/Volume-1/Book.html
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