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Perfect Binding: Creating The Perfect Booklet

By: Shelby

If you’re in the business of marketing and branding products and services, then you’ve probably had to have booklets made at one time or another. If that’s the case, you should know that not all booklets are made the same. We’ll be glad to talk you through and explain the differences between perfect binding and saddle stitching. It’s our goal to help you create the perfect booklet for your needs.

You might ask us, “First of all, why would I need a booklet made?”

That’s a valid question. At SLB Printing, as well as in the rest of the printing and bindery industry, we use “booklets” as a term for a small bound book. The book is typically made with a paper cover. So if your business gives out catalogs and pitch books, or if you’re a magazine publisher, then you’ll definitely want a booklet printed. The same goes for comic book creators who are interested in printing copies of their work.

Perfect Binding for booklets

What goes into printing the better booklet?

If you’re looking to have a standout booklet printed, the most important thing to look for is a printing company that can give you consistently vibrant full-color prints.  This is true whether you’re having your magazine or catalogs digitally or color offset printed.

Keep in mind that the choice between digital or offset printing has little to do with quality.  Both processes should always give you clear, beautiful and precise prints regardless. Instead, picking between one or the other depends on how soon you need the booklets and how many copies you need. For instance, if you need 300 or less, we recommend digital printing for saddle-stitched booklets with a maximum of 40 pages (or what we call “short run”). This is especially true if you’re looking for quicker turnaround times. For longer run booklets of 500 or more which have a maximum of 72 pages, it’s more cost-effective to go with offset printing. Either method can also be finished with perfect binding instead of saddle stitching.

Aside from printing techniques, pick out the appropriate printing material for your booklet. Your printer should typically have a variety you can select from. At SLB Printing, we can hook you up with glossy or matte stock, and you can choose between uncoated and laser weight options as well. We also offer self-cover or card stock covers.  The former meaning that we can use the same paper for the cover as we do for the interior. For a cardstock cover, we can even customize your booklets to include pockets which you can use for ad inserts or calling cards.

Of course,  getting an amazing-looking booklet is not a one-way street. To make sure you get the booklet of your dreams, it’s important to provide your printer with a high-resolution file to print. We request our clients to submit their PDF files built with 300dpi graphics and type generated in the CMYK format.

Perfect binding styles make perfect booklets

The final step to getting the perfect booklet is making sure it’s bound sturdily. Printing companies usually have thermally-activated and stitched binding. SLB Printing also offers saddle-stitched booklets which is durable and great for short run booklets, or you could go with our newest service: Perfect Binding. 

Perfect Binding is the perfect option if you’re looking to have paperback book-quality binding done. This is great if you can imagine having your own trade paperbacks, manuals, or graphic novels printed in quantities of as little as 1 to as many as 250 (or even more).

Perfect bound booklet with corner hing scoring from SLB Printing in Los Angeles

SLB Printing offers perfect binding on booklets at a maximum size of 8.5” x 12”. We can do this on relatively thin booklets with a minimum of 5 sheets of paper to something as thick as 2-1/4 inches.  You can always contact us for more size and paper options.

To find out which binding technique is perfect for your booklet, feel free to ask your printing company.

And that’s how it’s done!

Printing and binding the perfect booklet doesn’t have to be such a daunting experience. All it really takes is finding a great printing company who can walk you through the experience and make sure you get what you really want.

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