Spine hotmelt wicking between pages

Medium severity

Symptoms

Center pages stuck near the spine; book won't open flat in places

Probable causes

  • Glue too fluid (high temperature)
  • excess glue
  • milling notches too deep
  • high clamp pressure

The Print Guy · 2026-10-05

Other problems in this category

Gathering/Stitching/Gluing · TPG-241

Staple tearing the spine

Paper tearing at the staple; booklets loosening in use

Medium severity

Gathering/Stitching/Gluing · TPG-243

Crooked or variable trimming (trimmer)

Magazines with uneven margins; off-square head/foot/front cuts

Medium severity

Gathering/Stitching/Gluing · TPG-246

Deformed spine or uneven block at gluing

Wavy, rhomboid or stepped spine; cover won't seat

Medium severity

Gathering/Stitching/Gluing · TPG-237

Missing, duplicated or out-of-order signature

Books with skipped or duplicated pages; client complaints

High severity

Gathering/Stitching/Gluing · TPG-238

Double signature fed from one station

Thicker blocks; double mark in the spine staircase; stitcher jams

High severity

Gathering/Stitching/Gluing · TPG-239

Signature not opening at the center on the saddle

Signatures dropping closed or off-center onto the chain; stitching off the fold

High severity
All Gathering/Stitching/Gluing problems (10) →

Other categories

Grippers/Sheet travel (8)Guillotine/Cutting (6)High rulings/Stochastic (12)