Types of binding explained

Once you’ve finished creating a brochure or booklet, you’re going to want the finished product to match the quality of your work. As well as the paper size and finish, you need to consider how it’s all going to be bound together.

It might not seem like a big decision, but the binding you choose can make a huge difference to your finished product and the overall impact it has on your audience. After all, you don’t want to spend your time perfecting the design and content of your brochure, whilst investing your money to find the spine damages easily or the pages become loose.

To give you some guidance, we’ve rounded up the main types of binding, so you can know the difference between spiral bound, staples, and everything in-between.

Spiral bound

It’s in the name – spiral bound is a single piece of plastic in a spiralled shape that is wound through the pages. Once the paper is hole-punched, the spiral is threaded through the all the holes to bind the pages together. The spiralled plastic is durable, meaning it is great for an item that will be used regularly such as calendars, diaries, handbooks and manuals.

Wiro bound

Wiro uses a metal wire to bound your pages together, however, sometimes it does get mixed up with spiral bound as they look fairly similar. This type of binding requires the holes to be punched into the pages before the metal wire is inserted. Like spiral bound, wiro is also great for diaries, manuals and reports as when the book/brochure is opened, it can lie flat or be folded around fully.

Stapled

This process works great for smaller booklets, magazines and programmes. The spine of the booklet or brochure is staples to keep the pages together. We would recommend no more than 50 pages for a stapled booklet as the pages will not sit quite right if they’re too many.

Perfect bound

This is ideal for thicker documents such as a prospectus or magazines that hold a lot of pages. For a perfect bound brochure or booklet, it is best to use a thicker page for the outer cover such as 250 – 300GSM. This process involves an adhesive used along the spine of the document.

So now you know the different binding options available to you, it’s also just as important to get the paper right! Here at OnTime Print, we offer a vast range of sizes and finishes, from gloss and matte laminate to UV varnishes. If you’re looking for your brochure or booklet to stand out and have maximum impact, we also offer spot UV, stamping and hot foil stamping. Take a look at our products or get in touch to find out more!

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