Types of Book Binding: How to Choose the Best Option (+Infographic)

Binding plays a key role in the appearance and performance of a printed booklet. Choosing between the different types of book binding really comes down to several factors: the function of the booklet, the number of pages, the desired quality of presentation, and your printing budget.

But what are the different types of binding? Read on to learn about saddle-stitching, spiral binding, and other book binding methods. Then take a look at our infographic about how to choose the right binding for your next project!

Jump to Infographic: How To Choose The Best Book Binding

8 Types of Book Binding: Your Options Explained

There are several different types of bookbinding, each with their own benefits. So, when you need printed books, reports, or other printed projects, learning about these eight book binding styles can help bring your vision to life.

1. Saddle stitch binding

What is the easiest method of book binding? Saddle-stitching – it’s one of the most common and economical binding methods for simple booklets with lower page counts.

The process works by folding printed sheets together and stapling them through the fold line of the booklet. Two staples are used for booklets up to 64 pages. However, Printivity now offers a square spine saddle binding that allows pages up to 144 page count (4 covers + 140 interior).

Why is it called saddle-stitching if the pages are stapled instead of sewn? During the binding process, the folded sheets are draped over an apparatus that looks like a saddle. Early on, this process was given the name “saddle-stitching,” and it’s been a printing industry term ever since. Today, any bookbinding process that attaches wire staples through sheets of paper is commonly referred to as saddle-stitching.

Saddle Stitch Book Printing are ideal for presenting articles, advertising, or news, such as:

• Programs
• Wall calendars
• Newsletters
• Pamphlets
• Direct mailers
• Comic books
• Thin magazines and catalogs

Designing for saddle stitch binding

Because saddle-stitching uses folded pages, the total page count for the booklet must be a multiple of four. This is important to keep in mind when designing and laying out your booklet. Otherwise, you might end up with one or more blank pages.

The folding process also determines the size of the paper needed for the booklet. For example, if you want a standard 8.5″ x 11 booklet, you would use 11″ x 17″ sheets of paper to accommodate the fold.

One point to remember: don’t place any text or graphics too close to the fold of the book’s spine or near an edge that will be trimmed. Otherwise, you may inadvertently cut off part of the content of the booklet.

2. Spiral binding booklet printing

Spiral binding is another popular binding option. It offers a wide array of print applications and is especially popular with business professionals for its simple design and ability to cost-effectively “dress up” small print projects of only a few pages.

Also known as coil binding, spiral binding holds the cover and the loose pages together with a long plastic coil. The coil is threaded through evenly spaced holes punched into the binding edge of the book cover and pages. Once fully inserted, both ends of the coil are crimped to keep it from unraveling.

The plastic coils can be custom ordered in dozens of colors to coordinate with the cover, with black being the most popular. They also come in many different diameters to handle the number of pages in the booklet. Thicker books need a larger diameter.

Spiral binding works well with pocket-sized books, oversized books and everything in between. The plastic binding allows for portrait or landscape paging and can even have the binding coil on top of the book instead of the side. This is a popular format for businesses and common applications range from instruction manuals, cookbooks, and directories to travel guides, PowerPoint presentations, textbooks, and calendars. 

The primary advantages of this booklet binding option include:

• Can open completely flat and rotate 360 degrees
• Pages are easy to turn
• An economical choice for short production runs
• The durable plastic coils resist distortion
• Great for wall calendars and other booklets that hang flat against a wall
• Can accommodate index tabs
• Quick turnaround times because no adhesives are needed

3. Wire-o booklet printing

The Wire Bound Book Printing option provides an upscale yet durable way to bind a wide variety of booklets ranging from presentations, reports, and workbooks to catalogs, cookbooks and more. The technique for this popular binding method is similar to spiral coil binding. However, unlike spiral binding, each coil is separate from the others, filling up two punched holes at a time with “o” binding wire.

Wire-o binding loops are made of sturdy wire and can be custom ordered in a variety of colors that can coordinate with the color and design of the cover if desired. Wire-o bound books offer the same lay-flat, 360-degree functionality of spiral binding, along with extra benefits like:

• Enhanced durability for environments that involve frequent handling or exposure to elements
• A professional appearance that’s slightly more upscale than spiral binding
• Fluid page movement for books of up to 200 pages

4. Perfect bound book printing

Perfect bound book printing is another popular method with one big difference from the three book binding types above – it uses a flexible adhesive rather than wires or coils to hold the book together. The adhesive is applied along the spine of the book to bind the cover and pages, which are cut to the exact same size to produce a perfect edge on all three sides.

This booklet binding option is far and away the leading choice for soft cover books, especially paperbacks. The cover usually consists of a heavier stock of paper than the other pages, and a clear coating can be added at an additional cost for more durability and improved visual appeal. Perfect binding is also very popular in the business world because it combines cost-effective binding with a professional look and feel. Common business applications include corporate reports, catalogs, product brochures, manuals, and magazines.

Benefits of perfect binding include:

• High-quality presentation
• Costs less to produce than hardcover books
• Very strong, durable spine
• The square spine allows for printing on the spine
• Spine will not crack or break in extreme high or low temperatures
• Is suitable for short runs

5. PUR perfect binding

Upgrade your perfect bound book to PUR when you need your product to withstand heavy use over time. Benefits of PUR include:

• Thin coat of adhesive allows for a more flexible spine and cleaner appearance
• Lay-flat abilities – can be pushed down without the spine cracking
• 50% stronger adhesive than EVA perfect bound books
• Ideal for high page count books

With the flexible properties of PUR glue, PUR perfect bound books can be opened flat without the glue cracking at the spine. Due to the strong bond, less glue is required, making it more flexible and creating less distortion of the spine. Ultimately, PUR allows for an even cleaner appearance than the traditional adhesive. 

6. Hardcover binding

Of the different types of binding, hardcover book binding also called case binding, is the most premium book binding option in the industry. Once your custom cover design is printed and protected by lamination of your choosing, it’s glued to a heavy-duty chip board. The book block, which ranges from 30 to 400 book page, is attached to the hardcover spine using the strongest glue on the market.

There are unique properties to case bound books that you will not find in other types of book binding. The feature that stands out the most is the end sheets. These sheet are glued to the inside of the front cover and back cover to cover the chip board to give a smooth appearance. The endsheet extends past the cover and is the first and last sheet of your book. The extended part of the sheet is commonly referred to as the flyleaf. Setting up your content will be different compared to other book types due to the flyleaf.

Hardcover binding can be used for any of your book printing needs, such as:

• Cookbooks
• Yearbooks
• Coffee table books
• Textbooks
• Photobooks

Designing for hard cover binding

Setting up your content will be different compared to other binding styles due to the flyleaf. Most booklets allow printing on the inside cover, but unfortunately printing is not available on the endsheet/flyleaf. Because of this, you will need designing your content to start on the right side.

7. Three-ring binders

Three-ring binders are one of the newest binding offerings at Printivity. Binders offer two different products that, when combined, create an infinitely interchangeable binding option that includes three-ring binders and binder documents.

All three ring binder offerings hold 8.5″ x 11″ documents, but you can choose different spine thicknesses, depending on how much you need it to hold. The spine thicknesses offered are 0.5″, 1.0″, 1.5″, 2.0″, and 3.0″. You can also choose to print custom front and back covers and a spine to match your brand and purpose of the binder, which are showcased in the clearview pockets.

Printivity’s binder documents let you choose between black-and-white and color copies. A three-hole punch is included to easily add to your binder. Add divider tabs to your order when you want to find the exact section as fast as possible. These divider tabs extend 0.5″ past the other documents to quickly thumb through the sections.

8. Comb binding

Comb binding uses a plastic comb with a row of curved teeth that slide through rectangular holes punched along the binding edge of the pages.

It’s one of the most common binding techniques in offices and schools, mainly because the machines are inexpensive and the combs can be reopened to add or remove pages later. That reusability is why it turns up in training packets and course readers, where pages get swapped every term.

The trade-off is durability. A comb-bound book won’t fold back on itself the way a coil or wire does. The plastic also distorts under heavy or repeated handling. For a professionally printed piece that needs the same hole-punched or to lay flat, spiral binding or Wire-O holds up better.

How Do You Choose Between the Types of Book Binding?

The best way to choose the right type of book binding for you is by working through four questions in order, starting with page count.

The methods above fall into three families based on what physically holds the pages together: staples, coils and wires, and glued edges. Each family has a natural page range and a natural price point, so knowing which family you’re in eliminates most of the options before you start comparing individual book binding techniques.

• Page count narrows the field first. Under 64 pages opens up saddle stitch, which is the cheapest option. Over 400 takes hardcover off the table and points at PUR. The middle range is where the real choice happens.
• Does the book need to lie flat? If someone will write in it, cook from it, or prop it open on a desk, that points at spiral, Wire-O, or PUR perfect binding. If not, this constraint drops out and the less expensive options come back into play.
• How hard will it get handled? A conference handout lives for a day. A field manual lives for years. Daily use over time points at hardcover or Wire-O, since both are built to take it.
• Does the spine need to be printed? Only the glued and cased methods give you a flat spine you can print on. If the book needs to be findable on a shelf by its spine, that narrows things immediately.

When you finish answering these questions, you’ll usually have a short list rather than a single answer. What settles it from there is budget and how the finished piece should feel in someone’s hand. The infographic below lays the options side by side.

Need More Info About Different Types of Book Binding?

Printivity specializes in booklet binding options designed to meet your booklet printing needs. Whether you’re a company looking to give your print marketing materials a boost or a first-time author looking into different types of binding options, Printivity has the perfect binding style for you.

When you need a professionally bound booklet, bring it to the experts at Printivity. Request an instant cost estimate with our online booklet printing price quoter to get started on your next project. Or, call us at 1-877-649-5463 with any questions.

Infographic: How To Choose The Best Book Binding

FAQ: Types of Book Binding

How do I choose the right type of book binding for my project?

Choosing the right type of book binding starts with how the finished book will be used. Page count narrows the field first, because several methods only work inside a set range. After that, decide if the book needs to lie flat while someone reads or writes in it, how much handling it will take, and what your print budget allows. Most projects end up with two or three workable options rather than one.

What type of book binding lays flat?

Spiral binding and Wire-O binding both lie completely flat, since the pages rotate a full 360 degrees around the coil or wire. PUR perfect binding also opens flat without the spine cracking, which makes it the option to look at when you want a printed square spine and lay-flat pages together. Standard perfect binding and saddle stitch do not lie flat.

What is the most durable type of book binding?

Hardcover binding is the most durable type of book binding, because the rigid case protects the pages from bending and the spine from wear. Wire-O comes next for books that get handled daily, since the metal loops hold their shape better than plastic coils do. Among adhesive methods, PUR is the strongest, with a bond 50% stronger than standard EVA perfect binding.

What is the most affordable type of book binding?

Saddle stitch is the most affordable type of book binding for documents under 64 pages. The process uses folded sheets and two staples, so it takes less material and less machine time than any other method. Book binding cost climbs as you add page capacity and spine construction, which is why perfect binding runs higher than saddle stitch and hardcover runs highest of all.

How does page count affect which binding type I should choose?

Page count sets the range of binding types available to you before any other factor does. Saddle stitch handles up to 64 pages with standard staples, or up to 144 pages with a square spine. Wire-O moves pages fluidly up to 200 pages, whereas hardcover book blocks run from 30 to 400 pages. Saddle stitch adds one more rule: the total has to be a multiple of four.

Perfect binding vs saddle stitch: which should I choose?

Perfect binding vs saddle stitch comes down to thickness. Perfect binding suits books with enough pages to form a spine, whereas saddle stitch suits shorter documents of 64 pages or fewer. Saddle stitch staples folded sheets through the fold line, which keeps costs down on short runs. Perfect binding glues the pages into the square printed spine you see on a paperback book, so the title shows when the book sits on a shelf.