Binding FAQ
What features should I look for in a bookletmaker?
BookletMakers take stacks of paper, staple them in the center, and then fold them along the staples to create a spine. Smaller machines fold and staple up to 10 sheets, while larger machines handle up to about 30 sheets.
- Friction feed bookletmakers automatically grab the paper, jog (or straighten) it, and then sends it through to be folded or stapled.
- Manual feed bookletmakers require an operator to feed the paper to folded and stapled.
- Collators are used with a BookletMaker system to sort and stack your document in order to then be folded and stapled.
- Trimmers or face trimmers can be used alone or in conjunction with a bookletmaker to trim the edges of a folded booklet. Because the edges are sometimes uneven after a booklet is made, a trimmer can be set to remove up to about 1/2” from the edges to straighten them up.
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What is binding pitch?
Pitch is the number of holes punched per inch for binding. A 5 to 1 pitch means there are five holes per inch along the bound edge of the document.
For coil/spiral binding, 4:1 is the most common pitch and is best for documents under 1" thick.
Twin loop wire comes in 2:1 and 3:1 pitches which have 2 and 3 holes per inch.
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What are coil and spiral machines?
Coil binding, or spiral binding, machines punch and bind documents with one continuous spiral coil. A coil binding machine can either punch and insert the coil or the coil is inserted by hand.
Coil bound documents fold around completely to lay flat. Old spiral notebooks were bound with metal coil that had sharp edges and bent easily, so PVC coil is replacing metal for coil binding.
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What are comb binding machines?
Plastic comb binding machines will punch holes into the edge of your paper, open the comb as you insert the paper, and close it over a row of evenly spaced plastic rings.
- Depth of punch control allows you to set the distance of the holes from the edge of the paper on certain machines. Not all machines allow you to control the depth of the punch.
- Comb openers are included on many comb binding machines. They hold the spine open while you insert the document after it has been punched.
- Disengagable dies allow you to punch and bind documents smaller or longer than the standard 11." Disengagable dies are available on certain machines.
Plastic comb sizes are available up to about 2" combs, which will hold 425 sheets.
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What are my options with plastic combs?
Plastic combs come in a variety of colors: Black, white, blue, clear, gray, green, hunter green, maroon, navy, red, and charcoal.
And these sizes:
- 3/16 = 5-10 sheet capacity
- 1/4" = 11-25 sheet capacity
- 5/16" = 26-45 sheet capacity
- 3/8" = 46-65 sheet capacity
- 7/16" = 66-80 sheet capacity
- 1/2" = 81-100 sheet capacity
- 9/16" = 101-120 sheet capacity
- 5/8" = 121-145 sheet capacity
- 3/4" = 146-165 sheet capacity
- 7/8" = 166-185 sheet capacity
- 1" = 186-210 sheet capacity
- 1-1/8" = 211-235 sheet capacity
- 1-1/4" = 236-260 sheet capacity
- 1-1/2" = 261-310 sheet capacity
- 1-3/4" = 311-360 sheet capacity
- 2" = 361-425 sheet capacity
Standard plastic combs for binding 11" have 19 comb rings. They will have more or fewer rings if you are binding different sizes.
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What do I look for with binding covers?
Look at the shape of the corner of your binding covers. They can be rounded or squared.
Look at the weight of cover. Thicker covers are generally more durable.
Some feature a window so that you can see through the cover to the front page.
- Clear plastic covers are made for use with comb, spiral, and coil binding.
- Vinyl covers look and feel like leather and are usually used with spiral or coil binding, but also work with coil and comb binding.
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What are die punch machines?
Die punch machines are standalone paper punches frequently used in high volume binding.
The advantage of a standalone die punch machine (over a combined punch and binding machine) is that they can change the dies to punch for different types of binding and they can usually punch more sheets at a time than the punches on a combo punch and bind machine.
Usually die punch machines are electric to cater to high volume use in print shops, etc., although there are a few manual models.
Paper weight and punch pattern (binding style you are punching for) affects the number of sheets a machine can punch per hour. They greatly increase the number of sheets you can punch per hour, which increases the number you can bind.
Die punch machines either come with interchangeable dies or you can purchase dies to punch for various binding styles.
Die punches are cartridges that go into a die punching machine, allowing it to punch holes in various sizes and shapes for different binding styles.
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What do I look for in glue binding?
Glue binding machines come in two types: perfect binders and padding presses.
Perfect binding is a glue binding solution almost exclusively used in professional settings for soft cover or paperback binding.
The bound edge of a perfect bound book is sanded or roughened before glue is applied to create a strong bind, and clean, straight finish. Tape binding is another type of perfect binding where a spine is taped that wraps around the edge of the pages and glues them together.
Padding presses are used to make notepads. The press holds the stack of paper in place while glue is applied to the back side. After the glue has dried, the stack can be cut to make smaller notepads.
A standalone padding press is usually a simple wooden clamp system. An operator must clamp the pad and apply the glue.
Some machines combine taping, padding, and binding, such as the Standard BQ-P6. The larger machines like the Standard BQ-140 can glue much larger books and do more per hour. These machines are metal, electrically operated, and will automatically glue the paper for you.
Notching is cutting or scoring the edge to be glued so that the glue has a better surface to adhere to. Most electric padding presses or glue binding machines will do this for you.
Nipper clamps come with some glue binding machines to straighten the cover of a paperback book for a clean, perfect fit.
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What are ProClick binding machines?
ProClick, from GBC, is a new type of binding for previous users of wire, comb, spiral binding. The advantages that ProClick binding provides are a professional, clean looking finish, the ability to easily edit a bound document, and a book that can be opened to lie flat. None of the other binding styles offers all these three advantages.
ProClick binding spines are one small plastic wire running the length of the spine connecting 32 rings. The result is durable, clean looking, and easy to edit.
ProClick binding can be done with a ProClick binding system from GBC, or the binding can be put in by hand into paper punched in a 3:1 pitch. A zipper tool is also available to open and close ProClick-bound documents by hand.
Because ProClick uses a standard binding pitch (3:1) and can be inserted by hand, you could bind with a ProClick spine and punch with another machine. You could also use your ProClick machine to punch the document and then wire bind it by hand if you want.
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What do I look for in tape or thermal machines?
Tape and thermal machines heat and apply pressure to a strip of plastic or cloth tape that binds pages together.
One advantage of tape and thermal binding is that the paper does not need to be punched first. Another advantage is that the binding is flat so books can be filed and don’t lean to one side when stacked.
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What are Unibind machines?
Unibind machines bind by heating, which activates an adhesive in spines made for the Unibind.
Like thermal binding, Unibinding, does not require a document to be punched and uses heat to secure the binding. Unibind differs from thermal binding in that a bound document can be easily edited by placing the spine back on the machine.
Unibinding can be done with two types of spines made specifically for this machine. One type is a strip that goes down the binding and wraps slightly over the edge of the document. The other is an entire cover with a built-in Unibind spine. This type comes with either a soft plastic cover or a hard cover.
To bind with a Unibind machine, simply place the pages in a Unibind spine or cover, and place it, spine down, on the machine. After about 90 seconds, the book is finished.
Unibind hard covers come in 8-1/2 x 11” or 5-1/2” x 8-1/2” sizes.
Steelmat have a translucent front and back cover that can be seen through but still has a slight colored or white tint. Steelcrystal covers are clear plastic.
Steelbook covers are hard, opaque covers that cannot be seen through and look like hardback book covers.
Bind up to 340 pages with a full size cover.
Covers come in 8 colors: aluminum, black, bordo, dark blue, dark green, graphite, and white.
Unibind spines come in various thicknesses that will bind up to 340 pages.
Spines come in 8 colors: aluminum, black, bordo, dark blue, dark green, graphite, and white.
Unibind binding machines will vary in price based on the number of books they will bind at once. The smallest model is the XU138, which will bind 8 documents at a time, and the largest is the XU638, which will bind up to 48 documents at once.
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What are velobind machines?
VeloBind machines are different from other bindings in that the spine covers the front and back of the document with a strip that goes over the punched holes on both sides. The binding is flat for easy filing and stacking.
Hot knife is a type of VeloBinding that fuses the front and back of the spine together. After the spine is placed through the punched holes, the spine is heated to melt it to the back piece of plastic. The result is an extremely strong bond that can only be removed by cutting the spine off.
Hot knife binding uses an 11 pin system, which requires a page with 11 punched holes. Paper can either be purchased pre-punched or punched by the machine.
VeloBinding with a non-hot knife system is less expensive, and the spines can be reused on a new document or when you need to edit one that you’ve already bound.
A system such as GBC VeloBind V110E simply punches the documents for you and then you manually insert the spine. Rather than melting the plastic together, the recloseable spines snap into the back end of the document, providing a durable bind.
Recloseable spines require a document with 4 punched holes, but will also work with 11 punched paper because they cover the entire punched edge of a document.
VeloBinding can be done in thicknesses up to 3”. There are three sizes of VeloBind spines for documents: up to 1”, up to 2”, and up to 3”.
VeloBinding is popular for use on SQQs for construction companies, legal files for law firms, and real estate because they can bind such large books and the final product can easily be filed.
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What features do I look for in wire binding?
Wire binding comes in two types: spiral-o and twin loop
Twin loop wire binding is also called wire-o, double loop, or double wire. This type of binding consists of a series of open rings, each a piece of wire folded over so it goes through the punched hole twice. A twin loop binding machine closes the wire over the folded end of the wire forming a complete circle.
With no spine, a twin loop bound document will fold around completely and lay flat.
Twin loop wire can bind documents up to 1-1/8” which is about 230 sheets.
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How do I determine the size of spine that I need?
The size of spine that you need is determined by the number of sheets that your document will have. Below is a guide to help.
Spine Size |
1mm |
3mm |
5mm |
7mm |
9mm |
12mm |
15mm |
18mm |
21mm |
24mm |
30mm |
36mm |
| 20 lbs sheets |
1-10 |
10-25 |
25-40 |
40-55 |
55-75 |
75-100 |
100-130 |
130-160 |
160-190 |
190-220 |
220-280 |
280-340 |
| 80 lbs sheets |
1-5 |
5-10 |
10-15 |
15-20 |
20-25 |
25-30 |
30-35 |
35-40 |
40-45 |
45-50 |
50-55 |
55-60 |
| Note: Number of sheets may vary according to your actual paper. Pages should always fit easily into the spine. |
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