With regard to book binding, one of the most common and suitable books that are produced and commercialized for professional use is the perfect bound books. Perfect binding can be used when one is publishing a book on their own, when printing business documents or even when marketing quality company catalogs. Finally, the article will define what is a perfect bound book, its advantages, or disadvantages in comparison with the other types of book binding, and why it is preferred for use by different publishers.
What is a Perfect Bound Book?
When it comes to mechanized bookbinding, a perfect bound book is a book whose pages are joined at the spine by a flexible adhesive and these books usually have covers that are made of paper or card stock. In contrast to both spiral and the saddle-stitched binding, perfect binding makes the spine of the bound object straight and neat to make the final product look polished and professional.
This binding method is mostly used in publishing soft back products such as novels, magazines, catalogues and corporate annual reports. It gives the book a much more trendier feel; however, it does not call for the prices of hardcover binding.
Benefits of Perfect Bound Books
There are several benefits that are associated with perfect bound books and this makes them suitable for use by business persons, authors and designers. Here’s why they stand out:
- Professional Appearance
Perfect bound books offer a neat and polished look at the spine and edges making the books look more professional and classy.
- Cost-Effective
Unlike the hard cover binding, the perfect binding is cheaper while preparing the books for the print and for this reason, is suitable for large scale editions without having to sacrifice on the quality.
- Durable and Sturdy
As they are bound with a strong adhesive in the middle, perfect bound books can be more robust than other books that are bound in saddle-stitched manner to become more appropriate for long term use.
- Customization Options
Perfect bound books can come in a variety of cover lamination types, namely matte, gloss, and soft touch ones. You can also apply a spot UV coat or use the technique of embossing in order to give the leatherette your design.
- Compact and Easy to Store
The square spine let the books to be piled one on top of the other in a perfect manner without compromising their conditions in terms of damage.
How Perfect Binding Compares to Other Binding Methods
Before going further, it’s imperative to give proper introduction about perfect binding and to compare it with other types of binding:
|
Binding Type |
Description |
Best For |
|
Perfect Binding |
In this type of binding, the pages are joined at the spine and the rear cover is made of soft material. | Books, catalogs, manuals |
|
Saddle Stitching |
Bound in such a way that different pages are folded and stapled at the middle of the spine part. |
Brochures, booklets, magazines |
|
Spiral Binding |
Pages bound by having punched and attached with a plastic/metal coil |
Notebooks, reports, planners |
| Hardcover Binding | Perfect binding, spiral coil or spiral binding with a proper exoskeleton on the front and the back cover. |
Premium books, academic publications |
In light of the discussed facets, perfect binding is seen as the best solution in terms of cost efficiency, durability, as well as giving the book a professional look.
Perfect bound books can be designed to achieve various objectives as follows;
There are few design characteristics you can do when preparing your project to guarantee a perfect bound book is printed:
- Allow for Spine Width
When designing the cover, note that perfect bound books have a glued spine thus the thickness of the latter should be considered. This factor depends on the number of pages and the thickness of the paper that is to be used.
- Use High-Quality Paper and Adhesive
Paper selection and adhesive choice are the main factors in overall product quality and page firmness. The suggested materials should be of high quality with an aim of producing a book that has a long life span.
- Do not put critical content near the spine
Specifically for simple books such as textbooks meant for college or higher education, there are certain guidelines that if followed, can make the result far better than if just using a format chosen at random.
Due to the fact that they are connected at the middle of the fold, do not print text or images that are close to that side of the page since some may be hidden in the margin that is sandwiched by the joined edges.
- Ensure Proper Bleed and Margins
It is recommended that there is a bleed of at least 0.125” to avoid the white edges after the final trimming. It is prudent to draw proper margins so as to give the work a professional outlook as much as possible.
Common Uses for Perfect Bound Books
Perfect bound bindery is very useful and is used in a number of different ways across different industries. Here are some common applications:
Self-Published Books – A popular choice for authors publishing novels, memoirs, or poetry collections. It is important for professional publications as perfect binding provides the books with a slim look.
Annual Reports & Business Presentations – This is adopted to bind reports in the best manner for business and other organizational purposes.
Product Catalogs & Portfolios – Business owners and artists among them depend on perfect bound books for their promotional material.
Training Manuals & Educational Books – Every school and business establishes training manuals and educational books in a professional way possible.
Where to Print Perfect Bound Books?
In our area and over the internet, there are numerous printing companies that provide perfect binding for their clients. There are many reliable providers though some of the most popular ones are as follows;
Blurb – Ideal for self-published books and creative projects.
Print Ninja – Specializes in high-quality custom book printing. Offering 48HourBooks to authors as well as businesses for fast delivery turnaround.
Moo – Offers premium printing options with customization features.
Vistaprint –recognized to offer cheap and quality business and other types of printing services.
Final Thoughts
Perfect bound books are one of the most popular and suitable options for affordable and high-quality binding of your materials. Regardless of being an author with independently published books, a business person, or graphic designer, binding is one of the most professional ways of finishing your work.
High-quality printing options and well designed guidelines that one takes will help him/her in getting a book printed that can attract attention. Perfect bound books are ideal for your next printing project and therefore now is the time to proceed with it.
