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FINISHING
Products and services + Customer service

Prices + Start your order + Glossary

Binding + Collating + Cutting + Drilling + Folding + Packaging + Perforating + Scoring + T-slotting + Trimming

Binding
The binding method you select will depend on your publication's size, budget, and purpose, as well as your personal preference. The Printing Department offers the following options:

GBC and plastic coil binding are commonly used for custom course packets, manuals, and notebooks. A series of round or slotted holes is punched into the binding edge, and black plastic or plastic-covered wire coils are inserted. The inside margin should be generous to allow for the holes. These publications lie flat when open.

Padding is often used for forms, and for note and memo pads. Printed sheets are collated and stacked alternately with chipboard. The stacks are then clamped together and glue is applied to one side of the stack. After the adhesive is dry, the stacks are trimmed, if necessary, and separated into pads.

Perfect binding is widely used for paperback books. After the signatures are folded and collated, a grinder roughens the paper along the outside of the fold. Then adhesive is applied along the fold and a cover is placed over it. Perfect-bound publications lie almost flat when open.

Saddle stitching is used for booklets, programs, and small catalogs. Signatures are nested, then the publication is opened to the centerfold, placed on a saddle, and stapled through the spine with a mechanical stitching head. When opened, saddle-stitched books lie flat for ease in reading and handling.

Side stitching works well for publications that are too bulky for saddle stitching. Signatures are collated, placed flat under the stitching head, and stapled. Because staples are inserted about 1/4 inch from the binding edge, the inside margin should be generous. Side-stitched pieces do not lie flat when open.

Other finishing options:

Collating is usually done by machine, but hand collating is available and is used for some orders.

Cutting refers to raw stock. Sheets that have not been printed, folded, or bound are cut to the needed size.

Drilling provides an alternative to GBC binding. Holes are drilled into printed pages so that they can be used in notebooks and binders. The number and location of the holes can be adjusted to suit each order.

Folding is the only finishing some publications need. Publications made of signatures, which are large sheets with as many as 16 pages printed on each side, need several folds, as the signatures are folded to the finished size before collating.

Packaging includes boxing, wrapping in paper, or shrink-wrapping an order before delivery. Let your customer service representative know if you have a preference. Slip sheets can be inserted on request.

Perforating creates a line along which paper will evenly tear by punching a row of tiny holes into the paper.

Scoring makes a shallow indentation on the surface of a sheet of paper, ensuring a smooth, crisp fold. It is especially helpful for heavier stock that is folded against the paper's grain.

T-slotting is commonly used for hospital forms. A series of T-shaped holes is cut along the binding edge of printed pages so they can be used in a particular kind of record book.

Trimming refers to finishing cuts made after a piece is printed. Often, sheets are automatically trimmed by machine as they are folded and bound.