Abstract: Calipering the thickness of individual books during production, independent of caliper bounce due to elastic resiliency of the books. A caliper roller is held apart from an anvil roller while a book is positioned between the two rollers. The caliper roller then is moved toward the anvil roller with sufficient resilient force to cause an initial maximum compression of the book between the caliper elements, followed by rebound movement of the caliper roller. The initial movement of the caliper roller is coupled to a measuring element through a lost-motion connection, so that the measuring element is not affected by rebound movement of the caliper roller. Movement of the measuring element thus corresponds to the initial maximum compression of the book by the caliper roller, which in turn corresponds to the actual thickness of that book.