Binding Equipment and Supplies Key Terms

Know terms you'll encounter when shopping for binding equipment and supplies

You can use binding equipment to bind what were formerly loose pages into a book. Printing firms often provide binding services, but you can buy inexpensive binding machines to do some binding yourself.

You can be more confident in your binding purchase if you to take the time to learn the names for the different types of binding, the supplies you'll need to buy, and other terms related to binding. Each type of binding has advantages and disadvantages, both in cost and in the durability of the bound product.

Adhesive binding

Adhesive binding is a type of binding that uses a glue or an adhesive substance. Perfect binding is a well known form of adhesive binding. Padding is another binding form. Padding produces a temporary bind that allows you to rip off pages.

Thermal binding

Thermal binding uses heat to activate adhesive on pre-glued spines, producing a professional-looking binding.

Combination binding machines

If you want to have the ability to use more than one type of binding, but don't want to buy two machines, you might consider a combination binding machine. This type of machine is generally one that combines two types of binding that use binding elements and punch holes in the paper, such as comb and wire binding.

Pitch

Many bindings that use binding elements also punch holes in the paper at regular intervals to accommodate the binding elements. The pitch of the individual binding is the spacing between the holes, or the number of holes in an inch.

Margin depth

The margin depth is the distance from the edge of the paper to the inside edge of the binding. The part of the paper covered by the binding will not be easily visible, so you need to account for the margin depth when designing the layout of your pages.