ABOUT US
Spink & Thackray is one of the most established and prestigious bookbinders in the UK, providing high quality bindings for libraries, academic institutions and more.
Combining two of the biggest names in bookbinding
Based out of premises in Leeds, our highly skilled team allow us to provide a range of services from book binding to foil blocking through to conservation and digitisation.
We do this by combining traditional methods with modern practices, utilising specialised bookbinding equipment and state-of-the-art digital scanning technologies to provide products and services that meet all requirements.
We are proud to have a team of talented and passionate bookbinders and digitisation experts, many of whom have been with us for more than a decade.
Spink & Thackray is owned by Richard Hollingworth and his wife Jane, who acquired the business back in 2018 and merged it with his family bookbinding business, Hollingworth & Moss, in 2020.
By combining two of the biggest names in bookbinding under the Spink & Thackray brand, the business now offers a wider variety of products and services to meet all requirements.
This includes book conservation and preservation, book rebinding services and digitisation services with unrivalled heritage.
Our Team
Richard Hollingworth
Richard Hollingworth, the driving force behind Spink & Thackray, first entered the bookbinding industry back in 1987 at the age of 16. After school, he would ride his bike to the Hollingworth and Moss factory and help clean glue machines, sweep floors and ensure the factory was pristine for the following day. Not only did Richard learn about all aspects of the bookbinding industry during these early years, he developed a fierce passion for the process and the beautiful products that come from it.
Abi Hollingworth
Richard Hollingworth, the driving force behind Spink & Thackray, first entered the bookbinding industry back in 1987 at the age of 16. After school, he would ride his bike to the Hollingworth and Moss factory and help clean glue machines, sweep floors and ensure the factory was pristine for the following day. Not only did Richard learn about all aspects of the bookbinding industry during these early years, he developed a fierce passion for the process and the beautiful products that come from it.
Jane Hollingworth
Richard Hollingworth, the driving force behind Spink & Thackray, first entered the bookbinding industry back in 1987 at the age of 16. After school, he would ride his bike to the Hollingworth and Moss factory and help clean glue machines, sweep floors and ensure the factory was pristine for the following day. Not only did Richard learn about all aspects of the bookbinding industry during these early years, he developed a fierce passion for the process and the beautiful products that come from it.
The home of Spink & Thackray
Spink & Thackray Bookbinders is based out of a modern factory in Leeds where our team of 12 staff expertly handle all parts of the bookbinding process.
From the moment orders arrive at our premises, they are moved down our production line, including removing the existing bindings to sewing pages and re-covering.
Our factory boasts much-loved classic bookbinding machines, allowing us to use the skills of our experts to bind books using proven methods, processes and equipment.
Bookbinding is a fascinating process but many of our clients do not get to see our machines and highly skilled bookbinders in action.
In addition to our traditional bookbinding machines we have other equipment that allows us to provide additional products and services such as foil blocking.
We have also invested heavily in the latest scanning and digitisation technologies, meaning we can offer the digital reproduction of any book, document or image up to and including A1.
This includes a full end to end digital service, for example taking an archival book, scanning and digitising it, and then printing and binding it to create a beautiful facsimile copy of the original.
The entire process is undertaken in-house within our bindery.
We see this as bringing books to life; safeguarding historic and archived works while creating authentic copies that people can read and enjoy without fear of them becoming damaged.
Our Work
Spink & Thackray offers a comprehensive range of products and services to clients and partners across various sectors and industries, including libraries, universities, restaurants and events.
As the business has grown over the years, so too has the variety of the sectors we provide our products and services to, including automotive, music/performance, weddings and more.
