There are several automated binding methods used in commercial printing.
Stitching techniques are the most widely used methods. Stitching refers to the use of metal staples, not thread as one would assume. There are three types: saddle stitching, side stitching and loop stitching. In saddle stitching (also called saddle wire), 4-page signatures are opened and laid over a “saddle” and stapled along the spine. Side-stitching staples are placed on the left-hand side of a stack of cut pages, close to the gutter margin. The staples appear on the front cover, which can wrap around to the back creating a narrow spine. Loop stitching is a variation of saddle stitching. The wire staples are formed with a loop so that the booklet can be placed into a 3-ring binder.
Spiral and double-wire binding are techniques that insert wire or plastic into a series of punched holes along the edge of the book. These methods allow the book to open and lay flat. Spiral binding features a continuous spiral of wire, which can be coated with a colored plastic, or a solid plastic. Double-wire binding, commonly called Wire-o ®, uses double loops of wire in each punched hole to hold the book together.
Book binding has a few variations as well. Perfect binding is very common, used for magazines, catalogs, and annual reports. An adhesive is applied to the spine of the cut pages, and then the spine of the cover is glued to the spine of the text “block”. This method provides a nice printable spine but the pages do not open flat. Lay flat binding looks like perfect binding but allows the book to open flat on a surface. The text pages of the book are glued together on their spine and then the cover is attached to an area on the first and last page of the book instead of the spine. Case binding refers to hard cover books. The
Stitching techniques are the most widely used methods. Stitching refers to the use of metal staples, not thread as one would assume. There are three types: saddle stitching, side stitching and loop stitching. In saddle stitching (also called saddle wire), 4-page signatures are opened and laid over a “saddle” and stapled along the spine. Side-stitching staples are placed on the left-hand side of a stack of cut pages, close to the gutter margin. The staples appear on the front cover, which can wrap around to the back creating a narrow spine. Loop stitching is a variation of saddle stitching. The wire staples are formed with a loop so that the booklet can be placed into a 3-ring binder.
Spiral and double-wire binding are techniques that insert wire or plastic into a series of punched holes along the edge of the book. These methods allow the book to open and lay flat. Spiral binding features a continuous spiral of wire, which can be coated with a colored plastic, or a solid plastic. Double-wire binding, commonly called Wire-o ®, uses double loops of wire in each punched hole to hold the book together.
Book binding has a few variations as well. Perfect binding is very common, used for magazines, catalogs, and annual reports. An adhesive is applied to the spine of the cut pages, and then the spine of the cover is glued to the spine of the text “block”. This method provides a nice printable spine but the pages do not open flat. Lay flat binding looks like perfect binding but allows the book to open flat on a surface. The text pages of the book are glued together on their spine and then the cover is attached to an area on the first and last page of the book instead of the spine. Case binding refers to hard cover books. The
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