In 1967, Senator John McCain heard about a publishing crisis that was the result of thread shortages due to the intensifying police action in Vietnam. In his spare time (which was plentiful in those days) McCain developed what is now known as "McCain" stitching. Although adoption of McCain stitching was slow at first, it has become an increasingly popular option for binders of books of 500 pages or more.
In contrast to canonical stitching, in which each signature is attached to every other signature (allowing a very strong, supple spine and facilitating a flatter spread throughout the book), McCain stitching attaches a signature only to its two neighbors (the first and last signatures are double-stitched to the signatures next to them). This allows a book to use about 60% less thread and 2N fewer total stitches (where N is the number of signatures) than with the canonical method.
Because there are fewer stitch points, McCain stitching must be performed under considerably higher tension than other methods of stitching. This results in a more "brittle" feel to the user and does not allow such a flat spread. However, after extensive tests and lobbying efforts by the textbook industry, McCain stitching was approved by NASTA in 1978. It is now almost as popular as other "alternative stitching" methods in the major binderies across the United States.
posted at 1:40 PM |
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"
Want of knowledge troubles a mind in doubt:
Did our world have begetting and beginning?
And is there a limit, too, to how much stress
and strain and shaking the walls of the world can stand?
Or are they, by gift of god, forever hale,
and glide down endless tracts of time with power
to scorn the bludgeon and blow of boundless time?
—Titus Lucretius Carus
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