Why Perfect Binding is a popular choice for books and magazines

Offering a clean and professional finish at an affordable price, perfect binding is chosen by many businesses and organisations for their books and magazines. Most printers will offer this service, allowing you to produce publications that are finished to a high standard.

So why is perfect binding such a popular choice and could it be right for you?

What is perfect binding?

Perfect binding is a technique that’s commonly used for softcover books and magazines that have more than 32 pages. When using this method, the pages and cover of the printed product are glued together at the spine with a strong, flexible thermal glue. The other three sides are then trimmed to give them a clean, ‘perfect’ finish. Look at the magazines and paperback books in your home or office and they are likely to be perfect bound. You’ll see that pages are neatly bound together to create a flat spine which gives them a professional look and finish.

Perfect binding can be used for a variety of publications, a few examples are shown below.

The benefits of perfect binding

The many benefits of perfect binding are key to its popularity. For a start, the method is very affordable. Compared to other more complex methods of binding, the process is quick and straightforward and most professional printers will offer the service.

Books that have been perfect bound are easy to stack and store, and because of how they are made, the title of the book or magazine can be printed along the spine. This is a great feature to help your publication get noticed, and something that many other binding methods don’t allow for. Perfect binding is also ideal for short runs and on-demand printing, making it a great choice for businesses trying to keep their costs down.

Durability and design

When books are finished using perfect binding, the covers are often clear-coated to ensure the product is durable and the spines are also very strong thanks to the thermal glue that’s used to hold the pages together. This makes this type of finish a good choice for books and magazines that are going to be handled by a lot of people.

The covers of perfect bound books and magazines can be used with extra finishes, such as laminating or varnishing, to not only enhance the design and feel, but increase its resistance to marking.

To learn more about perfect binding, or to find out about other binding techniques, explore our site or contact a member of our team.

For more details about other binding options see How to choose the right binding for your printed document.