Different Options for Binding Your Booklets

Binding is the process that transforms your stack of printed papers into an effective marketing booklet. Knowing the different options you can go with in booklet binding gives you control on how bulky your booklet will be or how formal the final output of your booklet will be. Most importantly, though, booklet binding decides how long your booklet will last against strain before coming apart. There are three general alternatives to booklet binding, each of which having its own advantages and disadvantages.

Punch and Bind. As the name implies, this method of booklet binding involves punching out holes in your prints and covers and using different materials, such as rings and wires, through these holes in order to attach the pages of your booklets together. Some examples of this are ring binding, comb binding, and spiral binding, and all of these make use of different binding materials that each have their own uses. For example, ring binding is more advisable for booklets that are continuously updated, while spiral binding takes the spine durability into consideration. There are other types of punch and bind booklet binding, but the differences merely lie in the number of holes and the type of binding material.

Stitched Binding. The basic idea behind stitched binding is to create a booklet that would have durable bindings without the need for hard covers. Saddle-stitched binding is one example of this, and this method staples pages along the fold crease while the pages are still flat, thus creating a strong bind once folded. Effort-wise, stitched binding may or may not have the edge over the other printing methods, but whatever the effort exerted for this is worth it. The advantage of this is good durability versus its cost, while a disadvantage is that the pages do not lie completely flat.

Thermally Activated. This binding technique is the only one among these three that makes use of glue or resin in order to bind the pages together, and this has just about the same number of methods under it as the punch and bind method. Perfect binding, tape binding, and thermal binding are a few examples of thermally activated booklet binding methods. Just as the main difference between the punch and bind techniques are in the holes and the binding materials, the main difference between the thermally activated techniques are the type of glue used and the process followed in using this glue to bind the pages.

Choosing a booklet binding technique for your promotional booklet is akin to deciding how durable you want your booklets to be. There is no such thing as a perfect or the best booklet binding method, all things considered, but understanding how this works will help you quite a bit in perfecting your prints.

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