Language Note: Gradable Adjectives. Study the rules and find the examples of your own.

Most English adjectives are gradable. Their meaning can have different possible degrees of strength. They can therefore be used with adverbs which express these different degrees. Gradable adjectives can be divided into two kinds: scale adjectives and limit adjectives.

 

Scale adjectives: small, cold, expensive, etc. They can be used in comparative and superlative forms.

(Strong – stronger - the strongest). Scale adjectives can also be used with the following adverbs to express a high, medium, or small degree:

To express a high degree: very (nice), extremely (hot), incredibly (difficult).

To express a medium degree: fairly, pretty, quite, rather.

To express a small degree: slightly, a little, a bit.

Limit adjectives: these are adjectives like perfect, unique, impossible, worthless, whose meaning already contains the idea of an absolute degree. These words are not used in comparative and superlative forms, but can be used with adverbs to express the “highest” (absolutely, completely, totally) or “close to the highest” degree (almost, nearly, practically, virtually)

You can often express a meaning more strongly by using a limit adjective rather than a scale adjective. Compare:

 

very good                          absolutely marvelous

incredibly tired                  totally exhausted

a bit difficult                      practically impossible

 

Guess the Quiz

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1. Postpress operation (with buckle or knife machine).
2. Postpress operation made by guillotine machine.
3. Several sheets folded together.
4. Postpress operation usually done with three knives in a single cycle.
5. Gathering or collecting together.
6. A thin book.
7. A part which joins two objects together.
8. Something that can be put in (between the pages).
9. The process of wrapping or packing products.
10. A general term for different postpress operations and specialties like bronzing, die- cutting, laminating, etc.

Write down 10 sentences of your own using the words from the quiz.

 

 

TEXT 2

 

BINDING

 

Binding – is a combination of operations required to convert printed sheets or webs into books, magazines, catalogs, folders.

There are four methods of binding: thread-stitching; perfect binding; thread-sealing; wire-stitching.

Thread-stitching of books is a block binding process where the connection of the inner sheet sections and the sheets to one another is primarily achieved by fabric threads. This connection is improved by gluing, gauzing and/or backlining or backstripping, as well as subsequent backlining of the block. Thread-stitching of a book block comprises the following elementary processes:

• Thread-stitching: form-fit connections of sheet sections and sheets.

• Gluing block spines: glued connections of stitched sheets in a block.

• Gauzing blocks: additional reinforcing of the binding by sticking agauze strip on the block spine which overlaps thefront and back side of the block spine by 1 to 2 cm.

• Back-stripping blocks: gluing a paper or paper gauze laminate to the block which overlaps at the sides.

Perfect binding is the dominant binding process in industrial book and brochure production today. The main reason for this is the high efficiency of the process. This is achieved because perfect binding has the same productivity rate as gathering and trimming. This enables efficient workflows to be set up. Endeavoring to make perfect binding more hard-wearing, a series of variants were developed.

Perfect binding systems have the following characteristic elements:

• Endpaper feeder stations. Here the endpapers are fed to be then bound together with the block (for adhesive binding of hardcovers).

• Jogging station. Here the folded sheets of the book block are aligned on the block spine and block head.

• Transport system. The block to be processed must be able to run through the necessary elementary processes while securely clamped.

• Spine processing station. The back edges of the folded sheets are cut off. Undercutting devices, brushes and suckers for paper dust removal are used to improve adhesion in the potential jointing areas.

• Gluing unit. The gluing unit is used for applying glue. Different adhesive systems are in use for binding; they are selected according to the paper to be processed. Each adhesive system requires its own gluing unit construction and influences the structure of the subsequent stations.

• Lining station. This is used for binding book blocks for hardcovers. The backing strip paper covers the adhesive surface and reinforces the hinge. The station is switched off for brochure production.

• Cover scoring and feed station. This is used for processing multi-layer brochures. The cover is pressed onto the open adhesive surface. It must previously have been separated from a pile and scored. There are various feeder variants.

• Cover aligning and pressing station. The cover is formed around the block using pressing tools.

• Dryer. Gluing is stabilized in the dryer with aqueous dispersions. High frequency drying (example) is integrated in the adhesive/perfect binder. No dryer is required when processing hot-melt materials. Hotmelt materials must be cooled down.

• Delivery. The delivery of the bound blocks must be designed such that there is no block deformation and optimum further processing is achieved. Depending on the degree of coupling (the next processing step follows directly after or the products are put into temporary storage) various design variants are used.

Thread-sealing. Perfect binding is an economic yet qualitatively unstable process. Thread-stitching leads to excellent binding quality but is too expensive for most products. As a

compromise, thread-sealing was developed; a process that is more economic than thread-stitching and also more reliable and more user friendly than perfect binding. This process has two stages:

• the binding process of folded sheets to one another with textile threads during folding and

• the binding process of folded sheets to the block through block linings after gathering.

Wire-stitching is a form-fit jointing method. With wire-stitching binding, wire staples are pushed through the sheets of a block and closed on the underside. Due to the shortcomings in quality for readers of wire-stitched printed products, such as: danger of oxidation of the stitching, danger of damage to the staple arms, and poor aesthetic effect of the binding, the process is avoided in conventional bookbinding. It is due to the advantages of the simple and safe working principle, the possibility of direct finishing in workflows, a secure block binding, and high economic efficiency, that the process takes absolute priority in the production of magazines, multi-page advertising brochures, and similar products. The dominating process is that of the wire-stitching of single-layer brochures, for which two or more staples are inserted into the back fold.

 

ESSENTIAL VOCABULARY

 

Words and Word Combinations

 

1. the inner sheet section
2. fabric thread
3. gluing
4. gauzing
5. backlining (backstripping)
6. block spine
7. jogging station
8. to improve adhesion
9. lining station
10. to reinforce the hinge
11. cover scoring and feed station
12. temporary storage
13. wire staples
14. shortcomings

 

ACTIVITIES