At a recent dealer meeting, Powis Parker introduced and launched a brand new solution for binding photobooks called the Fastback Studio Photobook system. The studio photobook system includes four pieces of equipment: The Fastback 8x Binding Machine, the new Powis Stitcher, a Stitch flattening tool and the Fastback Hardcover guide. Used together, these four pieces equipment will allow small photo studios, print shops, photo stores and photography studios to create and bind their own professional quality hard cover photobooks. Here is how the new system works ?

1. The first step to creating your own Photobook using the new Powis Parker Fastback Studio Photobook Binding system is to assemble your book block. This simply involves putting your photographs in the order that you want to bind them and adding an Endleaf Sheet to the back and the front of the book. These special endleaf sheets from Fastback have a small bead of thermally activated glue along the edge that is designed to be bound. For best results ensure that this strip of adhesive is facing in so that it attaches to the pages of the photobook during the binding process.

2. Once you have assembled your book block including the Fastback Endleaf sheets, the next step is to bind the book with your Fastback Model 8x. You will bind your photobook with the brand new Fastback LX-Photobook strips. These ultra thin strips have a minimal amount of glue on them and are designed to reinforce the spine of the book. However, these strips alone are not designed to hold the pages of your photobook. Instead this strip helps to ensure that the pages of your Photobook will not tear through the staples inserted in the next step.

3. The third step to producing your own Hardcover bound photobooks using the Powis Parker Studio Photobook system is to staple the book block of the photobook using the new Fastback Stitcher. The Fastback Stitcher has a convenient photobook binding table attached with special markings showing you exactly where to staple the binding edge of your photobook. Don't worry about the staples, they will never show in the finished product and they will ensure that your photobook pages never fall out. Using the Fastback Stitcher also makes it possible to bind almost any type of glossy coated papers into your photobook. This is extremely important since many of the other photobook binding systems available on the market do not work well with heavy glossy papers or with coated photo papers.

4. In order to ensure the best possible bind with the Powis Parker Studio Photobook system the fourth step in the binding process is to crimp the staples added by the Fastback Stitcher. Crimping these staples will help to ensure that the staples are as tight as possible and that the staples lay completely flat so that they will never show in your finished product. In order to crimp the staples you simply use the special set of crimping pliers available from your Fastback dealer to crimp the bound edge of your photobook so that it is tight and the staples are completely flat.

5. Finally, you are ready to insert your bound book block into your hard cover case. Using your hard cover guide you can easily align your photobook cover and in less than a thirty seconds (once you have done it a few times) you attach the Endleaves into the hard cover case. At this point you can also use Fastback Headbands to give your photobook the look and feel of a stitched document. For more information on using the Fastback Hard Cover guide, check out our article on Binding Photobooks and Hard Cover Books with the Fastback Hard Cover Guide.

All in all, after you have done it a few times, the whole process will only take you two or three minutes and you will professional quality photobook. Currently Photobooks are available in Impala White, Black Suede, Bright Blue Suede, Brown Suede, Burgundy Leather and Black Leather. These photobooks come in a landscape orientation with a wonderfully wrapped 4.25? x 3.25? rectangle window. The results are absolutely beautiful and the binding is impeccable. Check it out for yourself today.