Booklet Binding
How To Print Your Booklet Binding?
Bindings can turn loose pages and folded sheets into beautiful and usable custom card booklets. We offer a number of different binding types, but not all bindings will be suitable for your project. You need to consider production costs, durability, page count, application etc. before making a decision.
To make it easier for you to choose the right binding yay, we will present 3 of the most popular bindings and highlight their advantages, disadvantages and methods of production.
Saddle Stitch Booklet
Saddle stitch is an economical and quick method of binding, ideal for booklets with a small number of pages. It starts by folding the papers and then stapling along the spine edge, at the top and bottom respectively. After binding, it is then cut from three sides.
| Advantages | Disadvantages |
|---|---|
| Short production cycle | Limited number of pages and only multiples of 4 |
| Affordable price | Plainer appearance |
| Durable | Page creep |
| Low material consumption and eco-friendly | Not easy to stack |
| Open and read flat | |
| Content not obscured by binding lines |
Perfect Binding Booklet Printing
Perfect binding is a popular type with no upper limit on the number of pages. However, the spine must be at least a few millimeters thick. Therefore, booklets with a small number of pages or weights generally do not qualify.
Once the papers are simply cut, they are collated and assembled in the order of the numbered pages. The glue is then applied to the spine using a roller or nozzle, and the front and back cover are pressed onto the still wet glue. Once the glue has dried, the booklet is trimmed on three sides and a perfect bound product is complete!
| Advantages | Disadvantages |
|---|---|
| Excellent appearance | Contents may be lost in the binding line |
| Cost effective | Longer drying time for production |
| Easy to stack | Pages tend to close back up |
| Long lasting and durable | Not easy to stack |
Two different adhesives
- Hot melt adhesives: a more affordable solution but with limited durability and therefore suitable for simple and short-lived booklets.
- PUR adhesives: more costly but also more durable and ideal for long-lasting, high page count and quality booklets.
What you need to know of perfect booklet binding
- Pay attention to the safe area
Unlike saddle stitch, a perfect bound booklet will be glued at the spine and will not open completely flat. The inner area of each page, therefore, may disappear into the spine.
To avoid this, you should leave at least 0.25 inch of safe area on both sides of each page. If you don’t know how to do this, we recommend that you download our booklet template directly for use.
- Determine the design of the spine
There is an extra spine to set in perfect binding than in folding or saddle stitching. You need to cover the spine design when designing the front and back covers. You can add text and graphics or just overlay the front to back cover with a continuous image.
Thread Sewn Binding
Sewn binding is the most durable method of binding and you can see it in many of the better preserved antique books. It is very similar to perfect binding and is also suitable for booklets with more pages and more demands.
All the pages will be organized into several groups called signatures first. They are then folded and sewn individually. When one group is finished, it is sewn together with another group using a thread called book block.
Once all the groups have been sewn together, glue is applied along the edges to tightly seal the spine. Finally, before the glue dries, the front and back covers will be attached to the spine.
| Advantages | Disadvantages |
|---|---|
| Superior quality | Higher cost |
| Excellent appearance | Longer production time |
| Open and read flat | |
| Effective protection against page tampering and peeling |
Want to know how to calculate the number of pages in a binding booklet? Please check Custom Number of Pages.
