Book Printing Lingo: What is a Dust Jacket?

Book Printing Lingo: What is a Dust Jacket?

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The flaps of a dust jacket wrap around the book's cover to hold the jacket in place
A Dust Jacket, also known as a Book Jacket or Dust Wrapper, is a printed paper overlay that wraps around the cover of a book.

Dust jackets are most commonly associated with hardcover books, though you may occasionally see a jacket on perfect bound books as well.

A dust jacket is an optional accessory. Also, it isn't permanently attached to the book. It is merely held in place by flaps that fold around the front and back covers of the book. A dust jacket can be removed or reattached to a book very easily.

What is the purpose of a Dust Jacket?

As the name implies, a dust jacket will indeed help keep dust off the cover of a book. But more importantly, it protects the book from damaging scuffs, spills and grime. As such, a gloss or matte laminate is often added to a dust jacket to increase durability and stain resistance.

A dust jacket also provides additional panels on which to print information about the book. This information is generally promotional in nature and helps to market the book. For example, the flaps are often printed with a profile of the author, a synopsis of the book's content, snippets of positive reviews, or similar endorsements of the book.

If you have an upcoming book project, with or without a dust jacket, give Formax Printing a call at 866-367-6221. We're always happy to discuss your book printing needs. If you already know your specs and would like a quote, click here to submit our easy quote request from. As always, we look forward to assisting you!

Take care! Rick