It’s Bound to Go Down

We encounter books, magazines, swatch books, and information packets all the timeBelieve it or not you’re bound to go crazy about all of these ways to bind books. Now there are a lot different binding techniques and I’m gonna mention common ways to bind.

Saddle & Loop Stitching

Saddle and loop are very similar to one another except that saddle is one of the more common types of binding. Saddle stitching is when the wire is punched from the outside through the center of the spine (kind of like a staple but slightly different). Many magazines are are done in this binding technique. Saddle is also best for 8 – 80 pages and is a cheaper binding.

Loop is very similar to saddle except that the wire punched through the center has a loop left on the outside of the bind. The reason it has the loop allows the bound pages to be in a ringed binder. This is also a cheap binding option but is better suited for meeting materials and information statements.

Loop binding

Saddle Stich

Sewn Binding

This is a very expensive process because though it is a similar process and binding technique rather than using wire to bind the pages, yep you guess it, thread is used in its place. This type of process can be used for works 8 – 24 pages long.

L–R Saddle, Loop, Sewn

Perfect Binding

Perfect binding is a common one seen on many books ranging from 50 – 250 pages. This binding process is a bit more extensive which is bound to make it a bit pricier. This process includes folding segments of the book aligning them on their spines and placing them on the perfect binding machine. Once on the spines of the paper are roughed down to allow the glue to better adhere. Then after it is roughened it is ran over the heated glue and placed situated in the covers of the book.

Stabbed / Side Stitched

You’re bound to find this one amazing. Stabbed book binding is a fun technique to try yourself. The process can handle anywhere from 2 – 300 pages, yet if you do it by hand I’d suggest less pages. The way that the pages are bound are by rather than binding them through the spine and center they are bound through the front and back covers. The wonderful thing about stabbed book binding is that you can creative with your binding and make designs and shapes out of your binding creating intrigue and uniqueness.

Tape Bound

Being able to contain 50 – 250 pages this binding is fairly expensive. This method is done with pages, usually, being stitched together first and then adhered together by an adhesive tape around the spine.

Screw Bound

As another expensive option of binding this process holes must first be drilled allowing barrel posts to be inserted into the holes and screw capped off. This bonding is best for swatch books and hold 16 to an astonishing 400 pages.

Hardcover & Case Bound

Another expensive binding process that can hold 60 – 400 pages is one that uses many of the techniques spoken about above. This binding is most commonly used for hard-cover books. The pages are typically first bound by sewing groups of them together, then they are glued to end papers, and finally glued to the cover.

Plastic Grip

Plastic grips are 3-sided plastic spines that when the two outer sides are pulled apart and the pages are pushed in-between.

Combo/Plastic, Spiral/Coil, & Wire Bound

I’m sure we have all seen this kind before *cue the torturous flashbacks of rushing to buy all the supplies and notebooks.* These kinds of binding are all very similar and their differences are the material that hold the bind together.

Combo or plastic bound allows the book or manual to lay flat when opened. This is also the cheaper of the three binds. The document is punched with rectangular holes and then threaded with the plastic wire.

Spiral or coil is a smooth coil that allows the book to lay flat while also allowing the option to fold pages back all the way around.

Wire bound is weaved through the holes and allows it to lay flat just as the other two. They come in variety of colors and are durable enough for whatever kind of project you can conjure up!

Are these binds bound into your mind yet?

Now that you know about binding techniques you can have an idea for what you will need for your next project. As a designer, I know I have to know what is best for my clients projects and what they can afford.

Now go be that DIY-er I know you are and make some of your own bound books!