Stapled documents, wiro bound or perfect bound books

Help your customers decide on the best type of document binding

As a print reseller you’re obviously expected to supply quality print and great value for money to clients. However, they also depend on you for professional advice on the best solutions to their marketing problems. When it comes to multi-page documents they’ll depend on you to advise on paper, size and importantly, binding.

There are three types of binding commonly used and each has advantages for certain types of documents. So what type of binding should you recommend for your client’s new project?

Saddle stitched or stapled documents

Stapled documents bind pages together using staples along the folded spine of the spreads. It’s a popular method for booklets and documents of up to 48 printed pages. It’s a straightforward form of binding and often used for magazines, reports, brochures, company booklets and catalogues. If your stapled document is between 24 and 48 pages you can have the spine squared off to stop it springing open. Because stapled documents open fully the design can go across a full two-page spread which is really handy for large diagrams and graphics. Because it’s made from folded spreads the page count must be a multiple of four so if your booklet is sitting at 25 pages, why not suggest a striking, two-page image or graphic across the centre spread?

Perfect binding

Nearly every book you’ve read is perfect bound. Perfect binding allows up to 700 pages and is the perfect recommendation for larger reports, books, manuals or catalogues. Modern PUR adhesive is extremely flexible so the spine won’t crack or pages become dislodged. If you’re not involved in the design, do advise your client to leave a 15-20mm margin on inside edges so that the text is easily read.

Wiro bound

Wiro bound or spiral bound documents use single leafs. You can have up to 180 leaves giving you a maximum of 360 printed pages. Because the pages are bound using wire fed through holes punched at the edge, wiro bound documents open completely flat and can be folded back around. That makes them ideal for presentation documents or other books that need to lie fully opened, like recipe books, notebooks and reference material.

Each type of binding comes in a range of sizes and can be portrait, landscape or square. You’re not limited to certain papers so you can offer clients the full range of premium and luxury papers and finishes supplied by your print provider. That means the option you recommend will usually come down to the page count and final use of the document.

TradeDigitalPrint.co.uk supply perfect bound, wiro bound and saddle stitched or stapled documents to our trade customers. You’ll find full details on our website as well as information on the full range of products we supply. To find out more and to order your bound documents online visit www.TradeDigitalPrint.co.uk or contact our trade print team for help and advice.