First, a few terms
Head – the top of a book
Tail (or foot) – the bottom of a book
Face – the front of a book/the opposite edge of the spine
Spine – the bound edge of a book
Leaf – a single sheet of paper in a book (one leaf equals two pages, if perfect bound)
Sheet – also known as leaf
Page – one side of a sheet or leaf of paper
Signature – a single press form folded but not bound or trimmed to final size
Bleed – image that runs off the edge of page (1/8-inch is industry standard)
Trim marks – indicates the final size
Cutter
Folder
Saddle Stitch Binding
Also called wire stitch binding
Two wire staples on spine of booklet
Booklet must be in 4-page increments
Very efficient method of binding
Saddle stitch
Loop stitch
Side-by-side stitching
Perfect Binding
Sheets are glued together at the spine
Can use single sheets but folded signatures are most common
Very efficient binding method
Variation of binding style
Hard Cover
Sheets are sewn or glued in hard cover “case” but not attached to the spine
Requires four signatures of sufficient bulk
Will last for centuries
Variation of binding style
Mechanical binding
Sheets are held together with a device
All sheets do not have to be the same size, color, weight or shape.
Lends itself to hand assembly before binding
Often best method for low quantities
Types of mechanical binding
Wire-O binding
Spiral binding
Screw Post binding
Account Book binding
Plastic Comb binding
Velobind
Ring binding
See also:
Perfect Binding
Saddle Stitching
Spiral Binding
Comb Binding
Case Binding
Wire-o Binding
Binding and Finishing Home Page
Printing Resources
Request a quote or consultation
Purchase printing, upload your PDF or design online