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The following are our most frequently asked questions,
if you don't find your answer here, feel free to call or email your
question to info@grimmbindery.com:
Do
you have a minimum order?
No minimum, you can print some poetry out on your computer
and send the sheets in to have just one book bound! You can take
Mom's (or Dad's) favorite cookbook that's falling apart, dirty and
unsightly and send it in for a brand new cover (or we can make a
copy of the old cover to bring it back to life). Just one book,
that's one of the things we're great at that people just don't realize
they can do! One photo album, 10 family history books, 500 textbooks
rebound, a years worth of a craft magazines bound into one or two
books in order to save all those projects, a special memory book
of letters for that one of a kind retiring teacher, if you can think
it up we can bind it up!
What
do I need to know about paper if I'm printing my own book?
It's a little different if you're doing one book or a quantity of
books, so below is the answer for two scenarios, the first for binding
one book, the second for binding 50 or more books:
One Book: The
good news is that we can sew just flat sheets. Some people think
you have to go through a traditional printing of what's called "folded
signatures" done by printers. But, that's not the case, we
can bind any stack of papers! If the paper is too thick, your pages
won't turn very well, so just 20-28# copy paper works great! Card
stock is a bad idea as the pages won't turn at all (unless you have
it scored).
So, if you print a poetry or memory book on your computer
for a special Birthday gift, you can send in the sheets like they
are and we can bind it. There is a "grain" for paper,
to you this means that your book will lay much nicer if you bind
it as it is when printed normally or "vertical". However,
if you decide to print "landscape" or the long way, your
grain will now be what we call "cross-grain" and your
book will have to be oversewn for it to hold well. In addition,
the pages won't lay very nice, but stand up like little soldiers.
You've probably read books in the past where you have to hold the
pages down as you read. This is a result of a "cross-grain"
problem. If you want a smaller book, it's advised that you print
vertical and then just have us cut the pages down. It takes more
paper, but your book will be much the happier for it!
50+ Books: If
you decide to have us do the printing, we'll go over all your choices
with you, so this is mostly for those having things printed elsewhere,
or for printers needing to know what's required. The first and most
important to us is actually the "grain" of the paper.
The best visual I can think of is wooden fences that are put up
(around here for snow, other places at temporary events). They are
made of long thin slats of wood and each is attached to the next
with wire. They come rolled up in a big roll. Paper is the same
way. There is one way that it rolls "nice" and the other
way it fights and is stiff.
The proper way for binding is for the grain to be
parallel to the binding edge. In other words, so it can roll out
nice, not stiff.If the printer is using a press, they use big rolls
of paper that come with the grain as it would for the roll of fencing,
parallel to the roll. Then, depending upon the size of your book,
they usually will run it to waste as little paper as possible. If
the printer is using copy paper on high speed copiers, then the
grain starts "long". So, on the 8 1/2" x 11"
size, if bound on the long edge, grain is correct. People often
decide to get twice as many per page by printing "2 up"
and then cutting the paper in half for a 5 1/2" x 8 1/2"
book. In that case, you're grain will be wrong unless you're binding
on the short edge for an oblong book.
If the grain is "cross grain", meaning the
wrong way, we can still sew the book but there is an extra charge
as it would have to be oversewn. It also won't lay as nice. I'm
sure you've had books where you open them up and all the pages stand
up like little soldiers, so when reading you just hold them down.
And you've also probably had paperbacks that had pages falling out
by the time you were done (oversewing prevents them from falling
apart). Both of those are samples of cross grain problems.
The pages need to come collated and ready to bind.
They can be just loose sheets or folded signatures. If you want
the book smaller than what you have, we can do a pre-trim to the
size before it's bound for an extra charge, which we do leaving
room for the extra 1/8" mentioned above. The type of paper
isn't really important to us, just so it's not anything close to
card stock, which would be much too thick for a book as the pages
won't turn. If you're doing two sided, you'll probably want offset
paper which doesn't bleed through as much. The printer should be
able to guide you in that respect. Just normal copy paper really
does just fine if it's printed one sided (and probably the least
expensive also!) For a family history, you may want to consider
acid free paper so it will last through all your future generations.
What
do I need to know about margins if I'm printing my own book?
To decide what margins to use, you may first want to go to a bookstore,
library or just look around your house and take a look at different
margins to see what you like. There is no right or wrong margins.
We see them from ¼" to 1 ½". You do need
to know that we do a finishing trim of 1/8" from the top, front
and bottom after binding to give your book a nice crisp look. Also,
the sewing takes up about 1/8" from the binding edge (1/4"
if oversewn is needed). We recommend that you leave at least ¼"
beyond what our trim will take.
What
are my choices for covers?
We have a number of standard choices for covers, however, if you
don't find what you're looking for, we can probably still do it
if you'll just explain your thoughts! A common choice is book
cloth, buckram, linens, imitation leathers & coated papers
which are available in a rainbow of colors. They are then hot foil
stamped with your title or artwork in your choice of foil color,
the most common being gold, black or white. For that special book,
you can choose from a number of beautiful Leathers
in stock. We can also use your own art to produce a full
color cover which is laminated and applied for the hard cover
(as you would see a gardening book that shows the gardens on the
cover). We also do ¾ and ½ bindings. The ¾
binding is where your corners and spine are in a different color.
The ½ binding is where the spine is in a different color.
You can also add raised bands or "hubs" to the spine for
a more traditional look.
How
do I find out prices?
Just send an email with a description of your project including
as much information as to what you're looking for. to info@grimmbindery.com
or give us a call at 608-221-4443, choose extension 221 for general
questions and pricing.
Do
you have ideas for special, "one of a kind" gifts?
Birthday gifts: Letters from friends & family in deluxe
leather binding telling that special loved one about memories and
stories that each person has about them. Do up a poetry book about
each year of their life or how they've affected yours. Find their
favorite book and leather bind it with their name or inscription
imprinted on the cover. Have Mom's favorite cook book rebound so
the pages are once again held together. We also have blank books
and journals available that you can personalize with your own title!
A product called "Create Young Authors" book kit that
has pages and materials to allow any child to author their own book.
It even includes the cost to have it professionally bound!
Valentines Day gifts: Poetry is always a favorite
here. Even if just some photos with a few words of love and appreciation
for your Valentine. Bound in red with a personalized note. Or, if
you're ready to pop the question, why not do it in the pages of
a book with the ring hidden at the back by a picture of you on bended
knee. It will be a book she'll never forget!
Retirement gifts: We do many books filled with
letters of appreciation for that favorite teacher, boss or co-worker
every year. Or, for a joke, just a blank book entitled "Every
thing I know about <their profession here> by <their name
here>.
Graduation gifts: Be it from grade school or
high school have those special pages of their work that you've been
saving all these years bound into a nice book to hold them forever.
Get them out of boxes and on the shelves! For the college graduate,
bind together the correspondence (emails & letters) between
you and them for the first years away from home.
Christmas gifts: Our blank books are popular
here for jokes, journals or personalized diaries for a young person.
Or rebind that favorite Christmas book you read every year to your
children, now for your grandchildren to enjoy! Gather favorite family
recipes and make your own family cookbook - you'll have everyone
taken care of with one gift!
Baby or Wedding gifts: Custom photo albums
can be constructed from any cover material you would like to provide.
So, for a new baby, you could pick from a number of baby patterns
at your local fabric store. For a unique wedding album, if you're
connected to the wedding, you could get extra fabric from the attendants'
dresses or even the wedding dress itself! We also have customers
who do up blank books or journals for every occasion.
How
do I send an order in?
If you're interested in sending an order, you just need to send
it to:
Grimm Book Bindery 6880 Gisholt Drive Madison,
WI 53713
You may use one of our order forms located on the
"How to Order"
page or you
can just enclose a letter with instructions on what you want done.
Try to be as specific as possible and make sure to include your
email address or a day time phone number so we can contact you with
questions. For shipping to us, use what you're used to, most items
arrive via UPS, Priority Mail or Federal Express. You may also want
to insure the package (which is very inexpensive, usually just .30-.40¢
per $100 of insurance). Our thought is that if it's insured, they'll
probably take better care of it and then you're covered in case
of loss. For treasured items, our experience has found Federal Express
Air to be the most dependable.
We do require 50% down to start an order and the balance
before it's shipped out. We accept checks or money orders, MasterCard
and VISA. Giving a credit card number with the expiration date is
usually easiest as there's less back and forth with invoicing, etc.
But if you prefer checks, that's fine too. Depending upon your item,
the binding time may be 1-6 weeks. If you need something faster
or by a definite date there are a number of ways to have your item
on a guaranteed date up to 24 hour turnaround, just ask. We currently
ship via Federal Express Ground service, but many expedited or air
options are also available upon request.
If
I live in the area, can I drop my order off?
Sure! We love to see our customers. We have helpful customer service
representatives to help you with your order from 7:30 am to 4:30
pm Monday- Friday and even on the first Saturday of the Month (unless it falls on a holiday weekend) from 9:00 am until noon.
You do not need to make an appointment, but can just stop in. It's
probably even advised if you live in the area as you can then see
all the options available to you, to be able to feel the actual
materials and get ideas from our knowledgeable staff.
How
do I get to your location?
We are located to the EAST of the Monona Wal-Mart Supercenter. Take Highway 12/18, which is also called the Beltline Highway to the South Towne Drive exit (which is the 3rd exit West of I90/94). Go South on South Towne Drive. Within a block or so, you´ll enter a "Roundabout". Go ¾ of the way around and then veer off to the right (which is Industrial Drive). Visually, you´re taking a left on Industrial; it just has to be done by going around the circle. Follow Industrial Drive down a few blocks, it will then curve to the left (and becomes "Gisholt Dr.") follow the curve and you´ll find us on the Right just past Quality Pumps – Wal-Mart will be across the street from us. Our building is yellow and says Grimm Book Bindery in big red letters (beyond our many large pine trees!)
Do
you offer pickup and delivery?
We offer pickup and delivery to the Madison area each Friday. We
also have a 4 week schedule set up for various
areas in Wisconsin and Illinois. If you need a pickup, you just
need to call or email at least one day prior to the pickup date.
How
long does it take to get a book bound?
If needed, we can turnaround single book orders within a day, sometimes
within hours depending upon your need (at an extra charge). Other
items, depending upon their nature can take anywhere from 1 to 6
weeks, it's hard to pinpoint it without knowing what work will actually
be needed on your item. Feel free to call or email with a description
of your item.
What
form of payment do you accept?
We accept checks or money orders, MasterCard and VISA. Giving a
credit card number with the expiration date is usually easiest as
there's less back and forth and then we just charge the total just
before shipping. But if you prefer checks, that's fine too.
If you have further questions,
feel free to call or email!
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