How to Use Your Digital Print Setup to Produce Sewn Book Sections

If you’re like many digital printers, you might think your SRA3 setup limits you to producing single-leaf book blocks—fine for glue binding or stapling, but not suitable for sewn books. What if we told you that’s not the case?

Here’s a little-known trick that’s helping printers expand their offerings without investing in new equipment:

You can use your SRA3 printer to produce folded sections for thread sewing—perfect for binding proper books (yes, the kind with spines, longevity, and premium value).

Let’s break it down.

What You Can Do with Your Existing Equipment

You can print and finish books of any quantity, up to A4 size, and with virtually unlimited page counts—all in sewn sections. The key is in how you break up the pagination.

The Magic of Folded Sections

Rather than printing single loose leaves, divide your total pagination into sections—each folded, stacked, and prepared for sewing. These can range from 8 to 32 pages per section, depending on your paper weight.

Example:

Let’s say you’re producing an A4 portrait book with 256 pages on 130gsm offset.

We’d recommend printing this as 16 sections of 16 pages each.

How?

Treat pages 1–16 as a standalone job:

• Layout and print them as if they were a 16-page self-cover booklet sections
• Do not staple or trim them
• You now have a folded section with 4 folded sheets = 16 pages

Repeat the process for:

• Pages 17–32
• Pages 33–48
• All the way up to 241–256

Each section is folded and kept separately, ready for sewing.

What About Odd Paginations?

No problem. Odd paginations are surprisingly easy to handle.Say the total length changes to:

• 252 pages → One final 12-page section
• 248 pages → One 8-page section or two 12-pagers—we’ll guide you on what’s best.

What Happens Next?

Once your folded sections are ready, we take over:

• Gathering and thread sewing
• Case binding with endpapers (we’ll cover this in another tip)
• Finishing in either your custom printed wrap or our house fabric covers, complete with foil stamping if desired

All done under one roof, here at Maltby’s Bookbinders.

The Big Takeaway

If you’re already running SRA3 equipment, you’re far closer to producing high-quality sewn books than you think.

This small shift in how you process your pages opens the door to:

• More durable and desirable products
• Better margins on premium jobs
• A fast track into the sewn-book market—without new machinery