Any existing covers are removed, torn pages are mended, sections must be intact at the fold. Staples are taken out of magazines.

Handsewing Books printed in sections (one or more sheets folded in half at the spine) are sewn by hand. The person doing this begins at one end of a section, sews along the centre fold, around cloth tapes, and adds the next section at the other end, securing every section to the previous one.

Fifty years ago oversewing machines were invented to sew books printed in single sheets. As with handsewing, the oversewer begins with a few sheets, and builds up these "sections" one at a time.

End papers are extra sheets which come between the cover and the first and last sections of a book. One of these sheets is sewn or glued to the book and one is eventuallly glued to the cover. After these are attatched to the book , the spine of the book is glued.

After the spine is glued, a minimal amount of the top, bottom, and opening sides of the book are trimmed.

A rounding machine rounds the spine of the book to distribute any build-up caused by sewing and to counteract the concave curve of a book when opened. 

A backing machine shapes the spine so that it is wider that the hinges of the book. This also prevent the eventual tendency of a book to curve in the opposite direction, and locks it into the cover.  

These are glued to the top and bottom of the spines, giving a finished look to the spine edge. These bands may be individually braided or woven by hand, but are usually purchased in rolls and in various colours.

A strong mull cloth that will soak up glue is cut slightly shorter than the length of the book spine and one inch wider. It is glued to the spine as an extra strength to hold the pages together. The flaps extending over onto the front and back are glued to the end paper and the book cover. They add strength, holding the book firmly in the cover.

Two bookboards (eskaboard - 60-100 pt.) are measured slightly larger than the book size. The grain of the book board must go up and down so the cover will not warp.
A spine board that bends to fit the curve of the spine is also cut for each book, with the grain going in the same direction as the bookboard.

Gluing the book board onto buckram or another cloth material to make a book cover is called case making. The skilled bookbinder positions parts accurately and uses a bookbinder bone to fold over the cloth and seal it securely, before the cover goes through the casemaking press (rollers).
One of the most skilled accomplishments of a bookbinder is in making case corners. There are french, library, round, or straight corners. In each case, the buckram has to fit so that the board is completely covered. After the hinge, the corners of books are the most common place where wear occurs.

The case is still not completely finished until the title, author, and any decals and lines are stamped in gold or in a colour. This is done:
a) with individual brass or lead letters set up and heated in a gold-stamping machine. Foil is placed between the cover and the letters and melted on to the case.
b)with a computerized easymark goldstamping machine which simplifies and speeds up the embossing process by stamping letters on a wheel one at a time onto the cover. This is a faster method but has little variety of type.

This is the final step - gluing the book into the cover. The outside endpapers are glued to the cover, sealed by the three-ton pressure of the compressed air operated hydraulic press, and placed between boards to dry overnight. A slightly wider metal strip around the edge of the boards presses the spine hinge into the covers.