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Welcome to the Printing Partners Binding Guide. Use the Pull Down Menu to select the type of binding method you would like more information about. A description and list of advantages and disadvantages are available with a photo showing the binding.
Wire-O, spiral and GBC Wire-O, spiral and GBC are types of mechanical binding in which pages and cover are held together by a metal or plastic coil. Though more expensive than wire stitching, mechanical bindings allow their contents to open wide and lie perfectly flat. Advantages: Lies flat; pages can be removed without deletion; adaptable to different paper types; offers singe-sheet insertion for flexible page count; bindings come in a wide variety of colors. Disadvantages: Greater expense; can detract from project aesthetics.
Perfect binding
Advantages: Accommodates greater number of pages and higher page weights than saddle-stitch; accommodates multiple sheet weights and sizes; allows intermix of stocks; provides clean finished edge. Disadvantages: After pages are collected into signatures, the binding edge is ground off to improve adhesion. That, along with a three-knife trim, takes approximately 1/8-inch from each side of a document. Does not lie flat; crossover images and type may be partially hidden by the binding edge. Case or edition binding
Advantages: Provides perfect crossover of images from page to page; archival quality. Disadvantage: Most expensive binding method. Saddle wire stitch
Advantages: The saddle wire stitch allows the book to lie flat for reading ease. It can be bound with either a self-cover, or a separate cover. It is the most economical. Disadvantage: The page count must be divisible by four. This restricts the number of pages. It is the least flexible of all binding options.
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Many annual reports and larger catalogs use this binding method. Here, pages are assembled in groups or signatures, and bound together with flexible adhesive, then covered. Perfect binding accommodates books approximately 1/8-inch to 2-inch in thickness. 
Case, or edition binding is the conventional method used in most hardcover books. Sheets are folded into 16- or 32-page signatures, pasted with end leaves and sewn together. This process culminates in a hard cover, which ensures durability for years to come.
The saddle wire stitch allows the book to lie flat for reading ease. It can be bound with either a self-cover, or a separate cover. It is the most economical solution.