After printing has been completed, the bookbinder starts to work. His traditional craft has hardly changed since the Middle Ages. By means of a technique that exactly imitates the edges of the original double leaves, the printed sheets are cut, folded and assembled into sections, usually forming quaternions, which are gatherings of four sheets. At the sewing frame, the sections are sewn together one by one to form the book-block.

The headband is sewn by hand, copying the original with threads of different colours. In the next step, the book-block is attached to the book cover. To raise the bands on the spine evenly, the book is placed in a block press, and the bands are defined by nipping the leather around them.

Throughout the centuries, a great variety of materials has been used for medieval book covers: leather, velvet and silk, ivory, precious metals, enamel, and others. In each case this creates a great challenge for the bookbinder. Therefore Quaternio Editions Lucerne often calls in additional specialists, such as goldsmiths, experts in textile art and restorers, who are able to reproduce the binding in a way that is true to the original down to the smallest detail.