Bookbinding is often confused with the actual process of binding the books that you see in a library or a bookstore.
However, in the printing industry, bookbinding is the art of taking paper and putting it together into books in mass quantities. There are several different binding methods used in modern bookbinding (also referred to as print finishing.)
Here are the most common types of commercial binding for books:
- Saddle Stitching- books that are bound with staples on the spine
- Perfect Binding- bound with hotmelt adhesive like a paperback book
- Wire-o Binding- bound with a “double wire”(It is actually one piece of wire that is formed by a machine that makes it look like it is a double piece of wire), comes in a variety of colors to match your artwork
- Plastic Coil or Spiral binding– bound with continuous plastic coil element that is crimped on both ends, comes in a variety of colors to match your artwork
- GBC Comb Binding– bound with a plastic “comb”, not used much any longer
- Metal or Plastic Screw Post- bound with either aluminum or black or white plastic posts
- Eyelet Binding- bound with a nickel or brass colored metal eyelet that is inserted into a predrilled hole and pressed until the flange spreads on the back to hold to book together
Typically, the use will determine the binding. As you can see from these photos, there are a variety of different projects in different industries that can make use of bookbinding (or, print finishing.) Interesting bookbinding projects work great as direct mail pieces - learn more about how you can use it to increase engagement by 30% here.
To learn more about bookbinding, download our Quick Guide to Bookbinding here!
