Tip in is a printing and binding technique that creates an extra professional and polished appearance for books. While commonly utilized with hardcover books, softcover books also often use this approach to give their product more polished appeal and boost sales. Publishers and authors benefit from its ability to provide books with an expensive appearance, which helps draw in readers while increasing sales.
Tip ins, often decorated with decorative designs, are sheets of paper glued or otherwise attached to the inside cover of books as decorative embellishments or reinforcement. They may add extra pages (e.g., for booklets or additional illustrations), reinforce binding strength, or add visual flair.
Tip-in pages, often with decorative borders, are added later in book production, after binding is complete, by either gluing or sewing them into it. They can include extra pages (e.g., illustrations or maps) not originally included within the book and provide more information not available when it was initially printed – for instance, errata updates that might have otherwise gone unnoticed.
Additionally, tip-ins can often be easily detected as they feature different paper stocks from those found throughout a book. They may not have been cut to size before being adhered into place at either the center or top of each page to protrude slightly beyond the binding.
Tip-ins are often found in fine press and limited edition books, where they add an element of luxury or make the book more unique and collectible. But these additions can also be found in mass-market paperbacks and other publications.
One of the best-known examples of tip-in is Easton Press’ “Moby Dick” edition, published in 1982, featuring an illustrated whale by Jim Dine on its tip-in sheet.