One of the most interesting parts of printing and copying is binding and all its choices. As a finishing service, binding is a process that can be labor intensive, so it comes as no surprise that most businesses outsource this task.

To make this post as straight to the point as possible, I have listed the most common binding options here:

Coil Binding

Comb Binding

Hard Cover Binding

Perfect Binding

Saddle Stitching

Spiral Binding

Tape Binding

Velo Binding

Wire Binding

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Prefect Binding is the type of binding you would find on a paperback book. It looks clean and you can print on the spine. In order to print on the spine, you want to have enough thickness in the book so that the printed text is readable. It is suggested to have enough pages to make at least a 1/4″ spine thickness. The number of pages will be dependent on the type of paper stock being used.

ABOUT PROJECTCENTER:

ProjectCenter is a single-source service company providing marketing and document solutions to small, medium and large-sized businesses in the U.S. area. ProjectCenter is based in Phoenix, Arizona and its services include graphic design, web design, printing, copying, scanning and mailing. For more information, please call (602) 252-6655 or visit  www.makepapereasy.com.

Self Cover refers to a book’s or booklet’s cover. Most covers have a thicker stock, whether it be a hard cover or a paper cover.  Sometimes, a booklet will have a minimal amount of pages, and in this situation a booklet would simply not lay flat if it had a thicker cover. Thus, it would be necessary to have the cover be the same thickness and type of stock as the inside pages, which is conveniently called a Self Cover.

Self Cover can also be recommended for those clients that are wanting to save money. Logically, if the cover of a book or booklet is thicker, it needs to be collated with the inside pages at a later time, resulting in a higher service cost. A Self Cover project can be run at the same time as the inside pages, so long as both are either color or black and white (again, having a difference in color will require the job to be collated because it would be run on two different printers).

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Hand Work is sometimes referenced in relation to die-cutting, packaging, binding, book making, etc. It means that actual hands need to complete a project, as opposed to a project being completed soley by machinery. These services raise the cost of a project, mainly because of salaries that are being payed, and the longer length of time that a project takes. Keep in mind though, that Handwork is sometimes not avoidable.

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Clients sometimes request their booklets or flyer packets to be corner stapled. For the purposes of cost, this is a fine option. For purposes of presentation, corner stapling is not suggested.

For a more professional looking piece, a client should consider other binding methods, such as tape binding, spiral binding, hard cover binding, perfect binding, comb binding, velo binding, coil binding, saddle stitch, wire binding, etc. These options offer a more presentable look for marketing materials.

Here are some images of each option: