Where a cloth joint has to be pasted on, a paste-down must be pasted on to the board.
The practice of doing the coloured end papers at the same time as the book is not so good as subsequent pasting down, as they are then less likely to be injured during trimming and colouring the edges, &c.
The paste-down is first cut to size a little less than the book itself and fastened in with thin glue so that the paper is close to the joint but not so close as to cause it to swell. The counterpart of the fly leaf is pasted on to it, both leaves are cut with a knife close along the joint, for back and front, about 1/2 cm. wide, are pushed up, thinly pasted, and pasted into the book up to the pressed joint. The leaves so hinged in are now raised, the under leaf thinly coated with thin glue, the leaf closed and rubbed down under paper with a folder. Immediate pressing is to be avoided, as the thin glue is very easily squeezed out. After a while the pressing is done, of course, when zinc plates--if necessary, polished boards--should be inserted between the end papers, and not too great pressure applied.
If the boards have been fastened on with paste and without a back, zinc plates are also used, but between the first and last sheets of the book, so as to press these very smooth and to prevent the plates from sticking to the damp end papers.
Half or whole cloth, half leather, or, generally speaking, all bindings which are not pasted down open, are laid upon a board, pasting thinly with thin paste first one side, then turning the book and pasting the other, and then pressing. In doing quantities, ten may be done before pressing.
Cheap work is often pressed by laying the volumes crosswise upon each other and pressing in batches between boards. Books with a deep joint where the bands are either laid on the board or laced in are always pasted down open. Where cloth or leather jointed, this is done in a similar way to boarding in covers, except that the bands need not be considered here, as they have already been seen to. Working the leather well in the joint and firmly pressing back the board after turning in the head lighten this work and improve the appearance of the joint. Leather joints are always pasted down open with paste, but must, of course, be left lying longer.
