which binding is best?
My previous post about binding described simple ways to bind with saddle stitching, side stabbing, and screw binding. It also covered perfect binding – a popular way to create magazines, catalogues, and paperback books. This time we’re exploring the more traditional thread sewn and case binding processes, board binding, and variations on wire-o binding.
Every type of binding creates a different look and feel, impacts practical use, and will impact your printing costs. Understanding these differences, and their pros and cons, should help you to make more informed decisions and achieve the results you seek.
thread sewn binding
As the name suggests, this binding method uses thread to sew pages together. Printed sheets are folded, and the folded sections (or signatures) are gathered into book blocks, usually 16 or 24 pages, and stitched together along the fold.
The book blocks are collated and sewn together before being finished with either a soft cover or a hard case.
Soft covers can be attached with hot melt adhesive, as used in perfect binding, and this type of binding is known as ‘sewn limp’.
note: because of the extra processes involved, thread-sewn binding is more expensive than perfect binding. It does, however, create very hard-wearing books that will open flat.
case binding
Case binding creates hardback books and is a traditional way to bind books. The case is made by covering three sections of greyboard – the front, spine, and back – with the binding material. Cover material can range from a fully printed sheet of paper (creating a ‘printed paper case’) to book cloth, genuine cloth, synthetic leather, reconstituted leather, or goatskin.
Fabric cases typically have the book's title foil-blocked onto the spine and front cover.
The case binding process starts with the book’s pages being thread sewn – folded and gathered into sections, stitched on the fold, and then sewn or glued together to form a book block. Endpapers are attached to the first and last pages of the book block and reinforced with a cloth strip lining (or ‘Mull’).
The case is attached to the book block by gluing the endpapers to the inside of the case.
note: a case-bound book with a plain cloth or leather cover will often be produced with a dust jacket – a loose printed paper wrapper that provides extra protection and can feature full-colour cover artwork.
board books
Board books are made for young children and have pages of heavy paper or card. The thick pages make it easy for small hands to hold and turn them, and make them highly durable. Board books are usually laminated or varnished throughout and can have rounded corners to make them extra resistant to, and safe for, young children.
Board books tend to be bound by hand, so are time-consuming and expensive to produce. Each side of the page is printed and glued to the paper board before the pages are glued to each other. A cover paper is then wrapped and glued to the body of the book to hold the whole thing together.
An alternative and more cost-effective way to produce board books is to hold the board pages together using wire-o or similar binding.
wire-o, comb, spiral, and coil binding
Wire-o, comb, spiral, and coil binding are all variations on a theme and can be used with soft or hardcovers. In each case, small holes are punched close to the binding edge. A wire or plastic fixing is inserted through the holes, holding everything together.
These types of binding are popular for notebooks, calendars, product manuals, reports, cookbooks, and music books – essentially, anywhere you want the pages to lay flat. Each has advantages and limitations and offers colour ranges and capacity flexibility.
wire-o binding: the teeth of a length of double wire loops, C-shaped in section, are fed through the holes and then squeezed together to form a circular tube.
comb binding: the teeth of a circular plastic comb are pushed through the holes and spring back to form closed loops. The flexibility of the plastic means that the comb can be removed and replaced to add or reorder pages with relative ease.
spiral/coil binding: a spiral wire or plastic thread is fed through the holes forming a continuous closed loop through the pages. Because spiral binding allows the pages to rotate 360°, it is the only type of binding where pages can be folded back on themselves.
note: when designing a document or book to be wire- or comb-bound, remember to allow a generous margin along the binding edge.
If you need help with a magazine, book, or other document-binding challenge, we’re always happy to help. You don't have to be an expert to work with us and we've created several quick guides to help you get a better understanding of design and print, including:
Call 01865 242098 or get in touch using the button below for a free no-obligation quote.