FINISHING: binding

Hardcover

The Hardcover book features a hard external cover (called a “case” by the binding industry). These are usually covered with cloth, leather, or textured paper. On some books, the spine has a different covering material than the front and back panels. This is called quarter-binding and is very popular in the publishing industry.
Hardcover binding is a good choice for publishing, photobooks, yearbooks, dissertations, theses, high-end presentations, and proposals.

Tape binding

Tape binding uses a thermoplastic adhesive on a strip to bind books. In technique, it is similar to perfect binding, where the individual pages are glued to the book spine. Tape binding is a good choice for office documents, review books, or other presentations.

Perfect binding

Perfect binding is a punchless binding method that works by fastening the book block to the cover spine. It is often used for softcover books and is most familiar to people in the form of paperback books. It is also called adhesive binding, or unsewn binding. 

Sewn binding

Sewn binding is usually used in conjunction with hard cover binding. The book block, or sections of the book block are sewn together prior to the addition of the cover. This makes for a very sturdy book. The biggest disadvantage to sewn binding is that it requires specialized, expensive equipment, and, when done on a custom basis, is a slow process.

Wire stitching

Wire stitching is a form of binding that uses wire staples to bind sheets together. Wire stitching can either be used as side stitching, or saddle stitching. Side stitching is used for thin books that are usually then either covered with a hard cover, or a tape strip. Saddle stitching binds the sheets together through the fold in the center of several pages. It is the form of binding commonly used on comic books and magazines.

Plastic comb binding

Also called GBC binding, plastic comb binding is a punch-and-bind system that is used for many office documents. Its main advantage is that it is inexpensive and easily edited. Its disadvantage is its appearance and the security of the final book. Also, like other punch-and-bind systems, it requires more labor than tape binding.

Wire-O binding

Wire-O is a punch-and-bind system that is similar in technique to the plastic comb binding, but resembles wire spiral binding in appearance.

Velobinding

Velobind is a punch-and-bind system that uses a two-part binding element. First the paper is punched with a series of tiny holes. One half of the binding element consists of a plastic strip with evenly spaced plastic spikes on one side. The other half of the binding element is a plastic strip with evenly spaced holes that match the punches. The spikes are pushed through one side of the paper and then fed through the plastic strip with holes. The ends of the spikes are melted off, creating the bind. A Velobound cannot be edited without rebinding.

Spiral binding

Spiral binding—as its name suggests—is a punch-and-bind system that uses a plastic or metal spiral wire that is wound through punched holes on the binding edge. It is the type of binding most often used for school notebooks and steno pads.

Perfect bound

Method of bookbinding where a flexible adhesive attaches a paper cover to the spine of the assembled signatures is called perfect binding. 
Perfect binding puts all the pages or signatures together, roughens and flattens the edge, then a flexible adhesive attaches the paper cover to the spine. Paperback novels are one example of this.

Saddle stitch

A saddle stitch is appropriate for small booklets and, in general, for volumes with only a few pages. Most magazines that are not glued are saddle stitched: that is, they are held together by staples that run through the gutter. Once the pages are aligned and in the right order, this type of binding is quite straightforward. Staplers with extremely long jaws, designed specifically for saddle stitching, are available in office supply stores. Some photocopiers produce saddle-stitched volumes automatically.

If neither of these options is readily available, an improvised saddle stitch can be accomplished by using an ordinary stapler in "tacking" mode. This usually requires swinging the anvil away from the bottom, or detaching the lower jaw of the stapler. The working surface should be reasonably soft and durable, such as carpeting or a cork board. Staples can be driven through the centerline of the pages to be bound, and then bent down individually using the cap of a pen.

Saddle stitching can also be done to the individual codex, using a needle and thread, as part of the process of binding them together into a larger book.

French fold

A French fold is a sheet that is folded vertically and then horizontally, allowing a piece to start the size of a booklet or brochure and expand to a final size that feels like a poster.

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