How Many Different Kinds of Binding Are There?

here's a whole lot of different ways to bind a multi-paged project. Some of these methods can be applied by affordable equipment while other methods are best left to bindery professionals found in a bindery. Here's a bunch of professional and office methods for holding pages together.

Saddle-stitch binding This is a very common binding method and involves using one or more staples on the fold of a signature. Magazines, like TIME for example, are the most common example of this kind of binding. Where does the saddle-stitch name come from? Well, it has to do with the way the staples are applied. The signatures are fanned open with the inside pages face down on the binder, like a horse's saddle, as they are stapled. Hence the name.

Side-stitch binding This method involves putting all the signatures together, much in the same way as saddle stitching, and staples the pages on the side rather than the fold. Not quite as nice as saddle stitching binding.

Perfect binding Many annual reports use this method and it's ideal for holding 50+ pages together. This binding method takes all of a project's signatures together and the spine edge is ground to a perfectly flat edge. The cover is then glued to the outside edge of the signatures. One word of caution when using perfect binding: one will lose the visibility of part of the inside pages because of the binding area. A designer should take this into consideration and should allow a bit of an extra gutter for this. You'd be surprised at how often I see this goof.

Case binding This is the method that one sees most often on hardcover books. Signatures are sewn together, glued to a gauze strip and then glued to end papers which are attached to the hard covers. It's quite a process!

Plastic comb binding Ideal for business reports and the like, this method uses plastic teeth that insert into a series of tiny holes made in a stack of pages. Comb binding machines are pretty inexpensive and the spines can be removed and reattached as needed.

Three-ring binding C'mon, you remember these from high school! Watch your fingers!

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