Plastic comb (GBC) binding

Plastic comb (GBC) binding is often used to create manuals with loads of pages, which need to lie flat. The pages are stacked and punched with neat holes along the binding edge. Then a plastic comb is inserted, which curls into a cylinder to provide a handy printable spine. It’s easy to add and remove pages if you need to.

Wire and spiral binding

Wire and spiral bindings can handle far fewer pages than plastic comb binding. Wire-O is made of parallel wire loops and spiral binding is made of a continual loop of metal or plastic. You don’t get a printable spine and you can’t add or remove pages, but both binding techniques allow the finished article to lie nice and flat.

Velo binding

Velo binding involves pegging a thin piece of plastic through the pages of the book.

Post binding

Post binding uses neat little screws to keep a stack of pages together, perfect if you want to add or remove pages.

Plastic coil binding

Plastic coil binding is a stronger alternative to spiral binding and comes in all sorts of colours.

Tape binding

Tape binding involves binding the edge of a stack of papers with smart tape.

Case binding

Case binding, AKA Edition binding, is usually used for hardback books. Batches of pages called ‘signatures’ are sewn together, trimmed and glued onto the book’s spine. The end sheets are then pasted onto the inside of the cover. It’s expensive but incredibly durable and gives a classy, timeless finish.

Perfect binding

Perfect binding is also created from stacks of signatures, but the edges of the spine are cleverly notched so when the book is glued to the cover, the glue flows into the notches and the larger surface area creates an incredibly strong bond. With perfect binding all you do is glue the spine to the cover, without reinforced end sheets or a board cover, so the end result isn’t quite as durable as a case bound book. But it looks just as good and it’s a lot cheaper!

Lay flat binding

Lay flat binding is used for books you need to lie flat, for example cookbooks. They use a flexible glue, which is only applied to the edges of the spine. The glue takes longer to dry and the process costs more than Perfect binding.

Saddle stitching

Saddle stitching involves nesting instead of stacking signatures, which are then stitched through the fold with fine wire staples so the book can lie flat. You can only use saddle stitching for short books of around 80 pages maximum, and there’s no spine.

Side stitching

Side stitching is where you simply staple loose sheets together, then wrap a paper cover around the resulting stack and glue it to make a spine. Documents bound this way don’t lie flat when opened.

As a general rule mechanical bindings like plastic comb, wire-o, spiral, tape, velo and post binding tend to cost more than perfect binding and saddle stitching. And the unit cost doesn’t decrease with volume, so there are no economies of scale. They’re best used for short runs. You also need to make sure you have a wide border around your page content because mechanical bindings take up quite a lot of space.

Conversely, methods like Case binding and Perfect binding are usually only cost effective on large print runs, when economies of scale kick in and the unit cost drops.

There are so many binding options, each with its own set of advantages and disadvantages, that it’s always best to discuss things with an expert first. At CGMedia we have a deep knowledge of binding methods and we’ll recommend the best and most cost effective binding technique for the job!

www.aisngroup.com

iPhone technology is developing so fast that it’s almost impossible to predict what the future holds. One thing we can say is that the future’s very bright indeed. Two years ago most people wouldn’t know an app if it bit them. Today there are literally hundreds of thousands of iphone apps available with thousands more appearing every week. The market’s changing and developing incredibly rapidly. And there’s still huge potential to make a real killing with a killer app!

iPhone app development and iPhone GUI Design are as hot as it gets at the moment. Businesses across the planet are fighting for a piece of the pie as apps designed to facilitate business collaboration proliferate. More and more businesses are using apps to store and share files, track progress, update teams remotely and shift seamlessly between iphone and desktop.

Apps are being used by businesses of every type to generate brand loyalty and tie people emotionally to specific products. They’re being used to improve or create awareness. They’re being used to bring about changes in consumer behaviour and to build new bands from scratch. And they’re no longer the exclusive province of the youth market. There are apps for all ages and lifestyles, from nought to ninety, student to judge, footballer to football fan.

The app market is far from mature. It’s still in serious growth mode so there’s a good chance your business will benefit from getting on the app train early. As a result new suppliers and designers are popping out of the woodwork like there’s no tomorrow. So how do you choose a quality iPhone app development partner? And what’s the best way to identify a trustworthy app designer who has a deep understanding of iphone app development? In Surrey you can’t go far wrong with CGMedia.

We’re experts in iphone gui design in Surrey, so you can rest assured we understand the importance of great graphical user interface design as well as the ins and outs of creative iphone app development. In Surrey you won’t find better than us. You can’t beat a design company with a local presence. Rather than deal with a faceless provider somewhere abroad you can talk to us face to face for superb quality service and inspirational apps.

What’s CSS? Cascading Style Sheets are a beautifully simple way to ‘tell’ search engines how to display your website without making a meal of it.

Once upon a time designers had to use a separate bit of code to denote and describe every element of a page’s content. You’d have to repeat the same old instructions time and time again, which made changes to the design and layout a real challenge. If you wanted to swap your 12 point Arial sub-headers to Times Roman 11 point throughout your site, you’d have to go through every page carefully and change the code for each sub header individually.

Designing with CSS means you only have to define the layout of your content once. If you want to change every main header from 15 point Helvetica to 16 point Tahoma, all you do is change the CSS and it cascades your amendments through the entire site automatically.

Make sure, when you choose a web design partner, that they’re fully aware of .CSS, New Web Methodology and won’t create you a site that’ll be a nightmare to update and amend. CSS is the latest and the best way to design online presences, and it becomes more important as your site grows. Changing the layout of a five page site without CSS is one thing. Changing an ecommerce site, with hundreds or even thousands of pages, is another!