There’s more than one way to bind a document. Many more! Are you familiar with binding methods? Here’s a quick ‘n’ dirty guide to today’s most popular binding techniques.
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!
