WIKITEX Kanafix – Bookbinding Cloth Developed from Bookbinders’ Experience

Some materials are created entirely from scratch. Others begin with a simple question:

Can something that has worked well in bookbinding for many years be made even better?

This is exactly how WIKITEX Kanafix bookbinding cloth was created.

The material has been part of our range for around a year and has already gained excellent recognition among our customers. From the very beginning, it was designed for a relatively narrow but highly demanding group of users – bookbinders, bookbinding workshops and companies producing high-quality book covers, albums and boxes.

Today, after many months of sales, practical use and our own tests, we can say that the final result exceeded our expectations as well.

The starting point was the well-known KANAFAS

Bookbinders have known the traditional KANAFAS cloth for many years – a material made from 100% cotton and finished with sizing based on potato starch.

It seemed that there was not much left to improve in such a traditional and proven bookbinding material.

However, we decided to collect feedback from users and develop our own solution.

We did not simply want to reproduce an existing product.

We wanted to improve it.

Finer yarn, denser weave and corn starch

When developing WIKITEX Kanafix, we decided to modify several important elements of the cloth construction.

We used:

• 100% cotton,
• finer yarn,
• a denser and more regular weave,
• sizing based on corn starch.

These seemingly small changes had a significant impact on the final properties and appearance of the material.

Kanafix retained the natural appearance of genuine cotton cloth, while its surface became denser, more regular and more predictable during further bookbinding processes.

This was exactly what we wanted to achieve.

Genuine cloth created for bookbinders

WIKITEX Kanafix has no paper backing. It is a genuine cotton fabric specifically prepared for bookbinding applications.

The specially developed starch sizing stabilises the fibres and helps the material perform very well during gluing and cover production.

At the same time, it retains the natural character of cotton fabric, which is difficult to reproduce with synthetic or heavily coated covering materials.

This is particularly important when producing books, albums, boxes and other projects where not only appearance matters, but also the way the material behaves during processing.

Kanafix is also acid-free, making it an interesting choice for applications where long-term preservation and the use of appropriate materials are important.

Then we started testing it…

And this is where Kanafix surprised us the most.

When developing the material, our main focus was on the requirements of traditional bookbinding.

However, it quickly became clear that its construction also offers excellent possibilities for modern decorating and printing technologies.

Hot foil stamping? Excellent results

One of the traditional methods of decorating book covers is still hot foil stamping.

WIKITEX Kanafix performs extremely well with this technology.

Its dense, regular weave and prepared surface allow for clean, attractive foil transfer with clearly defined details.

For a bookbinder, this means greater predictability during production and the possibility of creating classic lettering and logos as well as more decorative designs.

UV printing on Kanafix – this is where the WOW effect begins

The biggest surprise during our tests, however, was direct UV printing on WIKITEX Kanafix bookbinding cloth.

And this is something we simply have to show off.

Thanks to the denser weave, finer yarn and corn starch-based sizing, the surface of the cloth performs exceptionally well with UV printing.

Colours are vibrant, fine details remain clearly visible and, at the same time, the natural textile structure of the cloth can still be seen.

Our sample notebooks demonstrate both colourful typography and detailed multi-colour illustrations printed directly onto the cloth.

The result is genuinely impressive.

The print does not take away the natural character of the material. Quite the opposite – the combination of modern, vibrant graphics with the visible structure of cotton fabric creates a particularly attractive visual effect.

Traditional bookbinding meets modern printing

This is probably the best way to describe the possibilities offered by WIKITEX Kanafix.

On one hand, we have a 100% cotton bookbinding cloth developed with traditional bookbinding in mind.

On the other hand, we have a material that works extremely well with modern decoration and personalisation technologies.

The same cloth can therefore be used to create a traditional book cover with gold or silver hot foil stamping, or a modern cover with a full-colour UV printed illustration.

This opens up completely new possibilities for creating:

• notebooks,
• books,
• albums,
• boxes,
• premium packaging,
• binders,
• menus,
• folders and presentation covers,
• short runs of personalised products.

Natural appearance without giving up modern technology

This is exactly the type of combination that interests us most.

We do not believe that traditional bookbinding materials should mean limitations in design.

WIKITEX Kanafix proves that natural cotton bookbinding cloth can work beautifully with both traditional hot foil stamping and modern UV printing.

And at the same time, it still looks and feels like genuine cloth.

Not an imitation of one.

WIKITEX Kanafix – 14 colours available from stock

WIKITEX Kanafix is currently available in 14 colours, which we keep in stock in our warehouse.

There is also no need to purchase a full roll.

The material is available by the linear metre, allowing you to order a small quantity, carry out your own gluing, hot stamping or UV printing tests and evaluate the material before starting a larger production run.

See WIKITEX Kanafix in our online store →

WIKITEX Kanafix – key features

• 100% cotton,
• finer yarn,
• dense and regular weave,
• sizing based on corn starch,
• no paper backing,
• acid-free,
• natural cloth appearance,
• excellent bookbinding properties,
• excellent results with hot foil stamping,
• excellent possibilities for UV printing,
• 14 colours available from stock,
• available to purchase by the linear metre.

Could a classic bookbinding cloth really be improved?

When developing Kanafix, we started with a solution that bookbinders had known for many years.

We used finer yarn. We increased the density of the weave. We changed the surface finishing technology and introduced sizing based on corn starch.

After around a year of having the material in our range and after carrying out numerous practical tests, we can say:

yes – even a classic cotton bookbinding cloth can still be improved.

And when we saw the results of UV printing on WIKITEX Kanafix, we were so impressed that we simply had to share them.