Various Binding Options – Which is Right for You?

If you are planning on doing any booklet printing or catalog printing, you need to decide how your finished product will be put together. There are many binding methods you can use for your print materials, and each has a specific purpose. Each binding method has its pros and cons depending on your document and your budget.

Some bindings are more durable, allowing the user to lay a print catalogs flat when it’s open. You can choose simple binding methods, such as using a three-ring binder, in which all you have to do is make sure the margins are wide enough to punch holes through one side. Other binding methods, like saddle-stitching, require you to compensate for situations like “creep,” which is when inner pages extend or “creep” out further than the outer pages when folded.

Here are some binding options for you to consider along with what kind of document works best for each method.

Ring Binding: Uses notebook binders that have stiff covers with metal rings that allow pages to be easily removed or added. These are good if you have a document that needs to be updated frequently.

Comb, Coil, and Wire Binding: Comb binding uses plastic “teeth” that fit into rectangular holes in paper. This is good for documents that need to lay flat when opened. Coil binding is a long spiral of wire or plastic that goes through many little holes along one side of paper. These aren’t good if you’ll be stacking them because the wires stick out the ends and can get caught on other binders or even your clothing. Coil binding is more expensive than comb binding. Wire binding is similar to comb binding, except the plastic teeth are doubled – two wires go into one hole in the paper. This is sturdier than comb and coil binding and is also good for when you need the document to lay flat when opened.

Thermal Binding: This method includes cloth or plastic strips that are fused to the edge of paper by heating the strips. This is a very sturdy method that allows documents to lay flat when opened.

Saddle-Stitched Binding: Numerous sheets of paper are folded and then stapled in the fold. You’ll generally use two staples. This is good for small booklet printing, catalog printing, calendars or other documents that aren’t thick.

Perfect Binding: No this doesn’t mean it’s the no-fail method of binding! These are how paperback books are bound – all the pages are held together and the edge that will be bound is roughened and flattened. Then a flexible adhesive is applied to create the “spine.” This is great if you want to print catalogs that are thick or any document that will be several inches thick.

Case Binding: This involves sewing signatures together, flattening the spine and applying endsheets (the heavier paper placed at the beginning and end of a book) and a strip of cloth to the spine to hold it all together. Then hard covers are attached. Also called edition binding, this is most common for hardcover books. This is best for when you need durable binding – for a small book or something you want people to keep for a long time.