A cover feeding device for a book binding machine features a transport device for feeding covers (1) decollated from a magazine (11), a conveyor (12) that is arranged underneath the plane of motion of the book blocks (7) a pressing device (14) that presses the covers against the spine and a printing unit (17) that prints content (8) onto the cover (1). The transport device comprises a turning device (21, 31a, b, 41) for transporting the covers (1) such that the outside (3) is at least partially directed upward during their infeed, and the printing unit (17) is arranged above the cover transport.