Catalog Binding Options

Need a durable way to present a professional image to clients and prospects? Looking to hand out branded reports, catalogs or booklets at your next company presentation? If so, one of the binding options discussed below could be the right product packaging solution for you.

Binding is more than just a fastener that holds a catalog together. The right binding can create an image, improve durability, or make a catalog easier to read.

At Printing for Less, we offer several catalog binding options.

Saddle Stitch

 is the most common catalog binding method. Folded catalog pages, or “signatures” are placed, or “saddled” on equipment and then stapled together along the center fold. More on saddle stitching.

• Saddle stitching is appropriate for catalogs that are 4 to 64 pages.
• Saddle stitched catalogs or booklets should be designed to account for “creep.” As catalog pages are stacked and folded, the outer pages protrude farther than the inner ones. Be sure your design allows room to trim the catalog edges so they’re flush and uniform.

Perfect binding

 is the same binding used for magazines and paperback books. With perfect binding, pages are securely attached to one another with a strong adhesive, creating a professional-looking, squared-off spine. Perfect binding, also known as edge binding, is best suited to catalogs that are more than 40 pages long. More on perfect binding.

Square Back binding

 offers an affordable compromise between the economical and secure saddle stitch and the professional-looking perfect binding. With square back binding, the pages are secured with two staples along the center fold. Then we apply pressure to the spine to create a squared-off look. Square back binding is suitable for digital printing projects of 28-120 pages. More on square back binding.

Spiral or coil binding

 is traditionally used on school notebooks and manuals, with strips of metal or plastic coiled through holes on one side of the paper. We offer coils in black or colored plastics to give projects a professional and custom look. Coil binding is suitable for projects from 4.25 x 4.25 inches to 12 x 14 inches. More on coil binding.

Wire-O Binding^®

 lays flat when opened, and it’s a durable and user-friendly way to bind booklets and manuals that will be used again and again. C-shaped wires are threaded into holes along one edge of the pages, creating an attractive binding that stands up to repeated use. More on Wire-O binding.

• Wire-O binding comes in a variety of colors and can secure up to 350 pages.
• Wire-O bound pages line up perfectly when opened. This makes them ideal for overlays, two-page maps, or any project where exact alignment is important.

Choosing and Using Custom Binding Options

With so many options, it’s clear that custom binding isn’t just for product catalogs. Here are some things to consider when deciding which binding option works best for your project:

• The number of pages. Some binding options, like saddle stitch, work only for shorter catalogs, while perfect binding can create a catalog that feels more like a book.
• The way the catalog will be used. Retail catalogs and or owner’s manuals work well with saddle stitching, perfect binding and square back binding. Spiral and wire-o binding can be good choices for presentation documents, handbooks, calendars, journals, training manuals and cookbooks.
• Will it be mailed. Catalogs with perfect or square back bindings are easier to handle and stack than saddle stitched catalogs, making them good choices for mailing.

Catalogs can accommodate magazine-type layouts that show your products in action alongside in-depth articles about the way they’re made, your company story, or the way your business is helping the environment. Perfect binding and square back binding make catalogs feel more like magazines — meant to be saved and re-read.

Annual catalogs are like reference manuals that customers can consult again and again. Use perfect binding for the maximum page count, or use spiral or Wire-O binding for durability and easy reference.

Binding does far more than hold a catalog’s pages together. It improves usability and sets the tone for the entire catalog. Printing for Less’s wide variety of binding options ensures that you’ll always find the perfect binding solution for all your catalog, manual and booklet projects.

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Custom Printing of Diplomas, Awards, and Certificates

No matter the occasion, awards mean more when they are polished and attractive. If you obtained a professional certification that took you years to achieve, chances are, you wouldn’t be too excited about framing a generic, pre-formatted form your boss found on the internet and printed off.

You might even feel a little insulted.

To give your awards and certificates the appropriate degree of flair and craftmanship you need the help of the custom print professionals. Custom printing effects like embossing and foil stamping help any print stand apart from the crowd. When you need to notice someone for achievement, make the award noticeable as well.

A Story of Elegant Certificates on a Budget

Printing for Less customer Dave Molmen needed custom Leadership Achievement Diplomas for several students. He came to Printing for Less with a great design, pictured below.

The entire piece honors the accomplishment of the recipient with a sculptured embossed seal. See how the blue, gold, and red foil stamping accentuates the design?

These awards are 12.5″ by 15.25″ on #80 cover stock (similar weight to a standard business card) which contributes to its impact. What’s more, Dave didn’t have to go in and hand-write every recipient’s name. Using variable data printing, Printing for Less printed each graduate’s name on their diploma in stylized text that matched the theme. Dave’s final take: “I was thrilled with the quality of the printing. It’s a work of art. Beautifully done, with great attention to detail!”

How to Create Award-Winning Award Certificates

Of course, having a great design from the start made Printing for Less’s job a lot easier. Here are 4 tips for streamlining the certificate-creation process.

#1: Emboss the right way.

Embossing (and its opposite, debossing) is one of the easiest ways to give a printed piece a touch of class. It’s best used sparingly, however. Think of it as an accent wall. It draws the readers’ attention, but also leaves space to see the other beautiful design elements. Logos, header text, names, and patterns or embellishments are all great candidates for an emboss or deboss.

Here’s how it works. Two dies, which are big pieces of metal, sandwich your certificate. These dies are custom-made to imprint a specific design onto your paper. For an emboss, the male die (the one with a relief of your design sticking up) goes under your paper, and the female goes on top of it. For a deboss, the dies are reversed – pressing your image down into the paper instead of raising it up. If you emboss elements that won’t change, you can use these dies for later print pieces as well.

#2: Use a metallic foil stamp.

We’re huge fans of metallic foil stamping for certificates and awards. Why? Nothing says sophistication quite like it. To get that Midas touch, first identify which part of your design (could be text, an image, or a shape) should get the special treatment. Your printer will use a heated die to create a stamp of this element directly onto your paper or stock.

A note about metallic foil stamping (also called hot foil stamping): the foil is tough! It has a more pronounced sheen than a metallic ink, so it’ll glimmer from far away. This is what makes metallic foil stamping ideal for certificates and awards, which will should live up high within frames or display cases.

Another important point about metallic foil stamping is that you’re not limited to the shades of precious metals like silver and gold. Designing for a company? Render their logo in classy metallics. Creating diplomas for a high school? Use school colors! We even have holographic foils.

#3: Try a metallic ink.

If you’re not sold on the foil stamp, a metallic ink can have a similar effect. It won’t have as strong of a luster, but it’ll definitely appear more luxurious than standard CMYK colors. Metallic ink actually has bits of metal within it that give it shine: aluminum, copper, bronze, or zinc. It’s very similar to metallic paint on a car.

One of the benefits of opting for metallic ink instead of the foil stamp is budget limitations. Metallic inks are cheaper and a bit easier to design for than foil stamping, so if cost is a concern, you may want to give this custom print effect a try.

#4: Don’t skimp on paper.

The way an award feels is every bit as important as how it looks. This is why premium paper is usually the go-to choice for certificates. Premium paper may cost a little more than standard paper, but it’s worth it. For starters, your design will look better on higher-quality paper, because premium paper contributes to print performance. Premium paper will also make it so your ink won’t show through on the other side.

Not to mention, the wrong stock – too thin, too glossy, the wrong color – may make your award difficult to read when it’s on the wall, or make it susceptible to rips and perforations. Important certificates should last a long time, and paper quality is integral to this.

Printing for Less can help you get a custom printed certificate, award, or diploma that reflects well upon your business or organization. Our friendly print experts know their stuff and are ready to assist you. Call 800-930-2423 to share your ideas or get a quote for your project.

Rip Cards or Tear Off Cards

This under-utilized marketing concept is perfect for increasing customer engagement and campaign lift. Rip cards are ideal for a number of specialized, printed marketing materials.

Examples include:

These 2-in-1, promotional postcards serve dual purposes. They give you more advertising space and allow you to attach a removable tab that can house a business or discount card.

A postcard with perforation allows fun, interactive customizing of your marketing campaign. We specialize in doing the difficult. One unique perforated postcard project is highlighted on our Blog. Custom printing is our specialty. Don’t be afraid to call and talk to a printing expert to help you get the finished product you want.

Be creative with your custom rip card design. A variety of finishes, sizes and card stocks are available. Unique design can make the concept memorable as well. For example; a weight loss clinic could make a layout with a person’s stomach over the perforation. When the tear off is removed, it “slims” the overweight image. The card could read, “We Are Here To Help You Remove Those Extra Pounds: Tear off this card for 25% off your personalized weight loss program.”

Many real estate professionals make use of rip cards. The main portion of the card is a highlight of one or two listings. Images and listing specifics are housed on this portion of the card. The tear off piece is the agent’s business card. Insurance agents are another ideal candidate for rip cards. The insurance ad, with rates or benefits, is the primary portion of the card. The remaining area is a tear off business card.

Creative professionals, musicians, charitable organizations, and special event companies often incorporate perforated post cards to promote both their brand and a specific event, product, or service. In this case, the ticket, or event stub, is the smaller portion of the card. A branding advertisement is then placed on the larger portion which the customer keeps.

Rip cards are affordable.