The Popular Types Of Book Binding

By: Shawn Nag  |  Posted In: Print News  |  August 10, 2010

Book binding is one of the most important stages in a book publishing industry. Book covers play an important role in the success and failure of books. This is quite ironical considering there is a famous saying “Don’t judge a book by it’s cover.” A good book cover is a result of good binding. Be it booklet or a standard book no good publisher compromises on the binding. Although there are many types of book binding the most popular among them are perfect binding, saddle stitch binding and spiral binding.

  • Perfect Binding: Popularly known as paperback binding, lay flat bid or Euro bind this is the most commonly used type of book binding. In perfect binding a flexible adhesive attaches a paper cover to the spine of the assembled signatures. This type of binding also comes with a spine which can be used to print the spine of the book. Perfect binding can be used for all sizes of books but the most popular are 8.5×11, 8.5×5.5 and 6×9.
  • Saddle Stitching Binding: This is usually used for booklet printing or in case of books which contains less number of pages. In saddle stitched booklets pages are held together by staples that run through the gutter. The pages need to be perfectly aligned in case of saddle stitch binding. This kind of binding can be used for books and booklets containing as less as four pages. Two of the most commonly used saddle stitched booklet sizes are 8.5×11 and 8.5×5.5. However many people opt for custom booklet printing.

  • Spiral Binding: This type of binding is very popular in the corporate sector for preparing reports, sales presentations, proposals, recipe books and maintenance guides. This is the most flexible of the book binding options available. In this method a plastic or metal coil is inserted and twisted through small holes or slots that run along the spiral edge of the book’s cover and pages. A spiral bound book can be opened 360 degrees, letting in open flat which serves as a huge advantage. Spiral bound books also gives the option of later addition of pages making them favorite with the corporate houses.

For the binding quality to be good there should be no compromise with the printing service provider. You need to hire the services of a professional printing agency like PrintPapa who has built expertise in the job. They are equipped with modern printing equipment and print brochures, business cards, letterheads, rack cards, notepads and many other domestic and corporate documents.