When you need to print an instruction manual, one of the first things you will need to think about is the type of binding you want to use. Of course, you might think about doing this yourself and resorting to one of the types you can find here, but if you want things to really be professionally done, you’ll need to have it bound and printed by a great printing company. Even then, you will be presented with a lot of different binding options.
One of the most popular options nowadays is known as saddle stitch binding. It is a popular method for many different types of publications, including magazines, booklets, and similar. Would it, however, be good for your instruction manual? In order to be able to answer that question, we will need to look a bit more carefully into the whole process. Let’s get started.
What Is Saddle Stitch Binding?
This method owes its popularity to the fact that the design is beautiful and yet extremely affordable. Books printed this way are stitched with the help of a long metal wired. That wire is conveniently pushed through the sheet and then folded into something that represents a staple. The whole process is as simple as that.
The easiness of the process makes this method popular both among clients and among printing companies. Of course, those companies need to be properly equipped in order to be able to perform this procedure. You didn’t think that they would do this by hand, did you? That would be rather time-consuming.
Here’s the process explained in detail: http://printwiki.org/Saddle-Stitching
There are different machines that can be used in this process. While the principle behind all those machines is the same, they differ in speed. Slower, low volume machines are operated manually and the faster, high-volume machines can complete the job much faster. The result, however, is the same, regardless of the machine, as long as you find the perfect printing company.
What Is It Used For?
This type of binding is used for printing books that have at least 8 pages. In other words, anything with a lower volume than that won’t be able to be done this way. There are other printing methods that you can resort to if you instruction manual has less than 8 pages. Keep in mind that the booklet needs to be in page multiples of four in order for this method to even work.
As a more budget-conscious option, this method is widely used for all the publications that need to be printed frequently, such as magazines. There is, however, another precondition that you need to keep in mind if you are thinking of employing this method. Just like there is a lower limit, there is also the upper limit of pages that you have to consider.
Usually, saddle binding is recommended for up to 100 pages. Anything higher than that can be problematic and it can cause a phenomenon known as “page creep” to appear. This is when the inner sheets start sticking out further than the ones which are closer to the outside and it occurs due to the thickness of the paper. It is visually unappealing, which is why using this method for over 100 pages should be avoided.
Is It Good For Instruction Manuals?
If you have been paying close attention to the explanations regarding saddle stitch binding which I have provided above, then I suppose that you will be able to answer this question all on your own. In case you still aren’t sure whether you should be printing your instruction manuals using this binding method, let me make things perfectly clear to you. Let’s not make a philosophy out of this, since everything is quite simple.
When your instruction manual has more than 8 but less than 100 pages, you can freely and safely choose saddle stitch binding. Make sure to check whether the document you want to print falls within that range and you won’t have anything to worry about. The reason why you should choose it over some other methods is because it provides you with a beautiful design while being rather budget-friendly.
