---
title: "Hardback | Printing glossary | IN TEMPO"
description: "A rigid cover: boards wrapped in printed paper or cloth, turned in at the edges and joined at the spine. The cover of a cased book."
url: "https://www.intempo.fr/en/glossaire/couverture-cartonnee/"
lang: "en"
---

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# Hardback

Also called Hardcover, case binding, cased

A rigid cover: boards wrapped in printed paper or cloth, turned in at the edges and joined at the spine. The cover of a cased book.

![Diagram of an open hardback seen from above: the board turned in at the edges, the spine, the square where the board overhangs the pages, the endpaper pasted to the board, the headbands at head and tail, and the ribbon showing at the foot.](https://www.intempo.fr/diagrammes/en/hardback.png)

The parts of a hardback: board, spine, square, endpaper, headband and ribbon. Diagram: IN TEMPO, licence [CC BY 4.0](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/deed.en). [Reuse this diagram](https://www.intempo.fr/en/reutiliser-nos-schemas/)

## In practice

The cover artwork is not the size of the book: it includes the turn-ins, the overhang of the boards beyond the pages and the thickness of the board. Ask the printer for its template rather than drawing one. Casing adds steps (endpapers, casing-in) and therefore time, so ask about the schedule at quote stage.

## Related terms

- [Paperback](https://www.intempo.fr/en/glossaire/format-broche/)
- [Dust jacket](https://www.intempo.fr/en/glossaire/jaquette/)
- [Headband](https://www.intempo.fr/en/glossaire/tranchefile/)
- [Casing-in](https://www.intempo.fr/en/glossaire/emboitage/)
- [Swiss binding](https://www.intempo.fr/en/glossaire/reliure-suisse/)

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