US Patent 7252472 Individual bookbinding device, system, and associated methods

A stack of pages is bound along a first edge to form a book using an elongated resistive strip having an adhesive in contact with at least a portion of a first side. The strip has two opposed ends and is dimensioned to substantially cover the first edge of the stack, with the first side against the first edge of the stack. Preferably the strip has a series of alternating finely scribed, spaced-apart cuts extending through the foil. An electrical current is introduced to pass along the strip between the ends. The current should be sufficient to create enough heat in the strip to achieve a temperature at least as great as the adhesive's melting temperature, enabling the melted adhesive to bind the stack of pages together along the first edge.