Self-cover in books refers to where the cover is made from the same paper stock as its interior pages, making production costs lower than perfect-bound editions (wherein each book cover requires separate, heavier paper stock), making these ideal choices for lower-priced editions or print-on-demand printing services.
“Self-cover” refers to books published and bound by one publisher rather than by two separate ones. While once printers specialized exclusively in either printing or binding services, digital printing technology enables publishers to handle both processes.
Moreover, self-cover books are books whose covers are composed of the same paper stock as their interior pages, typically trade paperback books and perfect bound books. These books may also be casebound, but this construction method is rare.
Self-cover books tend to be cheaper to produce than hardcover books with printed jackets since their cover stock tends to be less costly than that used for hardcover book jackets, and labor costs associated with adhering to one are generally lower than when attaching printed jackets to hardcover books.
Self-cover books boast another advantage over hardcover books with jackets: production is faster. This edge is due to jacket printing requiring an additional step during the book printing.
On the other hand, self-cover books do have some drawbacks. Chief among them is that their cover stock tends to be thinner compared to that of hardcover book jackets, which makes them less durable.
