Having loose papers of your project, articles, or artwork can be tedious to manage. Just imagine a situation where you have an unbound book, and suddenly one night before the presentation you lose some of the pages. Horrifying, isn’t it? To avoid such nightmares, binding books or loose papers is of utmost importance.

Getting the loose papers bound together makes them more easy-to-use and keeps them in good condition for longer. Just imagine the impression you’ll leave in your boss’s mind when you bind the loose sheets and printed documents into a book. Your boss will think that you are a responsible employee who takes effort and keeps themselves organized. Using the right type of document binding and choosing the right printing company can provide you with many benefits for you and your clients. If you are planning to bind some documents together or make a book out of your art pieces, let’s quickly run through the different types of document binding.

1) Comb Binding

Comb binding (or cerlox or surelox binding) uses round, cylindrical-shaped plastic spines that have multiple curved tines or rings along their length. This rigid, shaped plastic form supports the spine of the book. Each tine is pre-formed into a closed ring shape and has tension. When these ring-shaped tines are spread apart and released, the tension forces them to close and retain their circular shape. This method used in comb binding makes documents durable and professional-looking. Comb binding is popular because of the plastic binding allowing the book to open flat to make the pages easily accessible. Photocopying books is easy as the pages can open up to 360°. Moreover, adding or removing pages from comb bound books is effortless. This bookbinding technique is preferred for official reports, school and library books, cookbooks, manuals, etc.

2) Saddle Stitched Binding

Saddle-stitched binding involves the gathering of the folded sheets and stapling through the folded line with wire staples. The wired staple passes through the folded crease from the outside and is clinched from the inside to hold the print documents in place. A minimum of two staples is used in the book, with larger books requiring more staples along the spine or the fold. The minimum book size for this kind of binding is either an 8-page self-cover book or a 4-page plus cover book. Depending on how thick or fine the paper you use is, you can bind up to 100 pages together with this technique. It is a cost-effective way to bind booklets.

3) Coil Binding

Coil and comb binding look alike because they are very similar. No glue is used in both the process, only punching, inserting the binding material, and closing the binding. So how are these two types different? Coil binding, also known as spiral binding, is a relatively simple bookbinding method. This method involves the use of plastic or metal spring-like coil that secures the print documents. The coil resembles a long spring that is inserted and twisted through small holes punched along the spiral edge of the book. After the insertion of the coil through all the small punched holes of the book, the coil is crimped on both ends to keep the coil from shifting or coming out. Coil binding is one of the few bookbinding styles that allow a book to fold (360°) and yet remain flat. Coil binding is more durable than the comb technique. The coil used in this process is made of thicker, stronger coil material. This material feeds through smaller round holes which run the entire length of the edge of print documents, whereas comb binding has more separated rectangle holes drilled in the binding process.

4) Perfect Binding

Perfect binding is a widely used softcover binding technique. Hence, a perfect bound book is also referred to as a softcover book. It is a form of binding used to make books that you may read at home or in offices. The technique is used for novels, magazines, manuals, catalogues, brochures, and annuals. The pages are folded into sections and glued with a strong yet flexible glue. Books bound with this technique have a square, printed spine, and the cover is usually made from paper or cardstock that is heavier than the interior pages. But it’s not the most reliable form of binding. The only benefits of perfect binding are that it is easy to stack and looks super professional.

Bookbinding can be a tedious task for any person. It involves several processes like cutting, folding, stitching, gluing, binding, and wrapping. If you wish to bind your documents, reports, or books at reasonable prices, then check out our prices for bindery and finishing services.