The Different Book Binding Types

Book binding may be one of the most boring subjects to most of us. But having an idea about the different book binding types can come in handy when we need to bind important documents and information together.

If you are in bookstores or libraries, you’d notice that books are made differently. They have different sizes, thickness, and binding types. To many of us, all this is unimportant. But for people who need to bind important documents, these are few important information they need to know. Having a firsthand knowledge of the different binding types will help determine what binding type is best for different documents. Book binding is usually used for important business documents, school reports, and books. Learning about them will give you more option in choosing the kind of binding type you’d need.

In the following, you’ll see brief descriptions and pictures of the different book binding types.

This kind of binding is rarely used. And if used, it’s usually used for binding of notes together.

Case binding is used in hardcover books. The spine of the book are sewn, glued, and added with gauze cloth before binding them in the case binding machine.

Thermal binding (hot tape binding) is often called perfect binding. It is well suited for thick books and thick magazines. Thermal binding uses heat and glue to bind the book together.

It is one of the most common binding forms. Plastic combs are used to hold the adjoining pages together. Similar to a spiral binding, the difference is in the material used. It looks like a notebook with wire binding except that plastic comb is used to hold the pages together. This form of binding allows the pages to be opened flat. The material can be removed and reattached as needed.

This kind of binding is usually used in thin comic books and news magazines. The pages are joined together and are stapled in the middle to hold them together. It is the most widely used binding method because of its simplicity and economical method.

It is sometimes called coil binding or plastic wire binding. It depends on the material used. Spiral binding may use plastic wire, coil, or wire to hold the papers together. It is used in notebooks all of the time. A perfect example of spiral binding is the binding of spiral notebooks. This type of binding allows the document to be opened flat.

Not a very common binding type. It is also known as side stitch binding. The binding together of the document are not done in the middle or the spine of the book but are stapled at the sides. This kind of binding looks very informal and is more appropriate for unofficial documents.

As the name implies, tape binding uses tape to bind the book together. It is sometimes called cold tape binding. Tape binding places a cloth strip of adhesive tape to hold the pages together.

Twin loop wire is similar to spiral binding. Wires are used to bind the book together. This is used in some notebooks to hold the pages together. This type of binding is very durable and allows the pages to be opened flat.

Velo binding looks like a perfect bound book. That is because this type of binding is also perfect. It is usually used by lawyers for their documents. Velo binding uses heat, glue, hot knife, and plastic strips during its binding process.