(printing), a machine for making bookcovers (cases). It is a cyclical-operation unit that combines the work of a series of automatic mechanisms: an automatic feeder, which periodically feeds pairs of cardboard covers; a cloth or paper feed mechanism and a hollow (a strip of heavy paper corresponding to the dimensions of the spine of the book); gluing devices, which spread a thin layer of glue on the binding cloth or paper; carriage and blade mechanisms for cutting out the corners of the cloth; mechanisms for folding the edges of the cloth or paper along the width and length of the opened case; a pressing device; and a receptacle for the finished cases.

Two types of casemakers are used: sheet-fed machines, which operate with cut cloth or paper sheet stock, and rotary machines, which operate with roll-type covering material. Casemakers are used for making one-piece cloth-coated, paper-coated, and combination cloth-and-paper cases with preprinted covers. The case sizes on sheet-fed machines are 40 x 56 cm maximum and 11 x 15 cm minimum, with a production rate of 10–14 cases per minute; for rotary machines, 27 x 48.7 cm maximum and 20.8 x 27.5 cm minimum, with a rate of 25–45 pieces per minute.