It may be mentioned that school books with tight backs are more lasting than with hollow backs, no matter whether leather or cloth be used.
Mounted articles, i.e., placards, maps, drawings, &c., to be mounted on boards or linen, are frequently sent to the ordinary bindery. Things to be mounted on boards must be mounted whole, those that are to be rolled up or folded are mounted on linen. Placards are generally printed on very stout paper, and these should be well damped upon the back with sponge and water before pasting, and only when the paper is perfectly limp and stretched should the pasting be done, otherwise creases are sure to be caused by the stretching of the paper after mounting. A piece of packing paper the size of the placard to be mounted must also be pasted upon the back of the mounting board to prevent the board from "drawing." Only when the mounting is completed may the mount be cut to size and, if necessary, bound.
This binding is done by marking with the dividers a border about 1-1/2 cm. wide along the trimmed edge and laying a pasted strip of coloured paper and, turning it over, drawing it on to the back with a piece of clean waste paper, and well rubbing down. At the corners the strip is cut obliquely, as in the case of a book, nipped, and turned in. This is done at the first two sides lying opposite to each other. At the other side the strip is laid not quite up to the ends and cut with the shears slightly obliquely, so that the finished corner appears as in the accompanying illustration. Of course, when such work is done in large quantities, another method is followed. For this the board would be cut to size, back and front—1 cm. narrower and shorter—likewise, and the boards bound beforehand. The strips are not turned in at the corners of the first two sides, but the whole side is rubbed down and the ends cut flush. The strips for the other two sides are cut to size, at the same time cutting off the corners obliquely at both sides, then pasted and drawn over the edges. When mounting on large surfaces, one person alone is not able to do the work—there must be some one to render assistance.
Such large pieces are always rubbed down under a piece of stout paper. As the hand cannot pass over the whole surface evenly and easily, a large piece of waste paper rolled into a ball and held firmly in the hand is used for rubbing down.
The finished placard is placed between boards to dry. For hanging them, either eyelets with rings as sold are used or two holes, about 5 cm. apart, are punched with the eyelet pliers in the middle of the top edge and eyelets clamped in with the punch pliers. For doing large quantities it is advisable to procure a machine, the small eyeleting machine, which pierces and clamps the eyelet at the same time.
Mounting plates, plans, drawings, or maps on cloth is done in the following way: Paper can only be properly mounted upon a very tightly stretched linen or cotton material; linen being generally used in England. Where such work is frequently to be done, so-called drawing boards ought to be at hand. These are wooden boards, best when made to fit into each other so that they can be enlarged to suit the work in hand.
Figs. 124 to 127—Showing stages of pinning down for stretching.