Most Graphic Designers have learned early on that you need to take into consideration the finishing processes (folding, trimming, binding and finishing etc) before you progress too far with a design job. Not taking these things into consideration can incur costly re-designs or re-prints, for example if you did not allow a wide enough inner margin on the inside pages of a perfect bound publication. This article will help you to understand some of these processes better, and hopefully prevent you from making some of these common errors.

There are many different ways to combine multiple pages into a single finished piece. In its most simple form we could use staples, paper clips or binder clips to combine sheets of paper, but on a more professional level, methods are a little more elaborate. These include Saddle Stitching, Side-stitch Binding, Perfect and Case Binding, Comb Binding, Coil or Spiral Binding, Wire Binding and Post Binding to name but a few.

So, how do these binding methods actually work . . . let’s find out!

Saddle Stitching
This is a very common, simple and cheap binding method and uses one or more staples on the spine of a signature. (A signature refers to the group of pages that are printed on the same sheet of paper which is then cut down and trimmed to the finished page size. The number of pages on a signature depends on your page size and the size of the printer’s sheet or roll of paper.) Magazines are the type of media that most often use this method of binding. The staples that are used to anchor the signature at the spine are more commonly created from a spool of wire. When binding, the loose sheets of pages are laid over a saddle-like holder (which is where the name comes from), the wire is put into position, cut to the correct shorter length, bent into shape and then the legs of the staple are forced through the signatures. The legs are then bent into the staple shape. This whole process is done incredibly quickly, usually less than 2 seconds from start to finish. Creep can be a major factor though when using this method of binding if large numbers of signatures are used, so remember to allow for larger margins when using this method, especially when the outside edge of the bound job is trimmed to produce a flat outer edge.

Side-stitch Binding
A similar process to saddle stitching, but rather than putting the staple through the spine, the staple is instead put through the sides of the signatures, close to the fold. The resulting binding is not quite as nice as saddle stitching.

Perfect Binding
This method of binding is commonly used in larger publications (50+ pages) such as annual reports and textbooks. In this method of binding, all of the project’s signatures are placed together (usually in smaller groups of 16-page signatures) and stitched through the spine and then the spine edge is ground to a perfectly flat edge. The cover of the project is then glued to the outside edge of the signatures.

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