Book cover roll sizes: which width fits which book

Choose the roll width from the book's height. Add about 6 cm to the height of the book (3 cm for the fold at the top and 3 cm at the bottom), and pick the narrowest roll that is at least that wide. For most school notebooks that is 14 inch. Small books manage with 11 or 13 inch, and registers and big books need 16 or 19 inch.

The roll's length decides how many books you can cover. The width decides which books you can cover at all. That is why I would settle the width first, before anyone talks about lengths or designs. For a distributor, the right widths are what keep the shops you supply from turning customers away.

Get the width wrong and no length will save you.

Which width fits which book?

The third column is just the roll width minus 6 cm. If your book is taller than that, the folds get too small to hold, and the cover slips off at the top and bottom.

Widths are in inches and lengths in metres because that is how the Indian stationery trade buys covers. At Jagannath Polymers Pvt Ltd (JPPL) we quote the same way, with the millimetres alongside. We make all five widths in our own plant, but not every design comes in every width, as you will see below.

Why does the width go with the book's height?

You cover a book lying open, face down, with the spine running across the roll. So the book's open width runs along the roll, and its height runs across it.

That is why a long register needs a wider roll than a thick notebook. The register is taller. The notebook only uses more length.

Which roll width do I need for my book?

Measure the height of your tallest book and add 6 cm. Then:

1. Up to about 28 cm with folds: 11 inch is enough.
2. Up to about 33 cm: 13 inch.
3. Up to about 35.5 cm: 14 inch. A regular notebook of about 24 x 18 cm needs about 30 cm, so 14 inch suits most school notebooks.
4. Up to about 40.5 cm: 16 inch. A long register of about 30 cm needs 36 cm, which is too much for a 14 inch roll. On 14 inch you would have less than 3 cm to fold at the top and at the bottom.
5. Up to about 48 cm: 19 inch, for atlases, drawing books and other large books.

My rule is simple: when a book falls right on the line, go one size up.

A fold of 2 cm can work on a thin notebook, but on a textbook that comes out of a bag every day it will not hold for long.

What lengths and colours come in each width?

Not every width comes in every length or colour. This is our range today:

In the Standard series, the market mostly buys 1.75, 2, 3 and 4 m. Longer Standard rolls, up to 8 m, are a special order.

I should be clear about one limit. Our boxed Super Delux and Delux packs come only in 14 inch. So a distributor who wants a boxed, printed or synthetic cover for registers will not find it with us. For registers we offer the Supreme wide covers in PP film, ten to a pouch, and the 16 inch Standard roll in natural. The wide book covers page has the details.

Which length should I stock?

The width is about the book. The length is about how many books, and how the roll will be sold. This is how I would match them to the shops you supply:

1. A family covering a few books needs a short roll. A 14 inch x 3 m roll covers about 6 regular notebooks.
2. A shop that sells covers one roll at a time from the counter does well with the boxed 8 m roll, which stands on the shelf and shows its design.
3. A shop that sells on price takes Delux packs, 2.5 to 5 m, five rolls to a polybag.
4. A distributor supplying price-led shops can take Standard rolls by the kilo, in 16 and 18 kg bags. It is our biggest seller in Rajasthan.

The maths for any length is in how many books one cover roll covers.

Is a wider roll a waste on a small book?

A little. A regular notebook uses the same length of film on a 14 inch and a 16 inch roll. The 16 inch roll just gives a bigger fold at the top and bottom, about 8 cm each instead of about 6 cm on a 14 inch roll. That is extra film you pay for and fold away.

The 19 inch roll is the one exception. It is wide enough to take a regular notebook sideways, with the open width across the roll. Each cover then uses about 30 cm of length. The film per cover comes out about the same as on 14 inch, so it is not a saving. It is a handy way to use a wide roll you already have.

How do I measure a book for a cover?

Two minutes with a ruler saves a cut piece of film.

1. Measure the height of the book, top edge to bottom edge.
2. Add 6 cm. That is the roll width you need.
3. Open the book flat and measure across, edge to edge, including the spine.
4. Add 6 cm. That is how much roll length one cover uses.
5. Check the biggest book on the list first. If it fits, the smaller ones will too, and I would not cut a single piece before doing this.

Once you have one book's piece, cut a test cover, fold it, and check it on the book before you cut the rest. Our how to cover a notebook page walks through the folding.

Which sizes are in stock?

Two Standard items are in stock all year: natural PP rolls in 11 inch x 2 m and 13 inch x 3 m. Everything else is made to order.

Covers sell most from February to June, before schools reopen. If you need a width or length outside those two stock items, plan it in December or January. I would rather you hear this in December than discover it in May. Our sizes and packing page has carton counts for every series.

At JPPL we are a family-run packaging maker in Jaipur. We sell to stationery distributors and wholesale dealers, and every cover we make is 50 micron or thicker. Tell us which books your retailers' customers cover most, and we will suggest the widths worth stocking.