Binding Half Letter Size Books

Are you looking to bind half letter sized documents (8.5" x 5.5")? If you have looked around at the binding machines and binding supplies that are available on the market you have probably noticed that most of the equipment and supplies are designed for binding documents on the 11" edge. Even so, if you are looking to bind half sheet books on the 8.5" side there are a number of options available. Here are some of the things that you will need to consider if you are looking to bind half letter sized documents ...

1. You will need to make sure that you have a binding machine that is capable of punching holes on the 8.5" side of a piece of paper. In order to accomplish this you will most likely need to disengage a die so that you aren't left with a half a hole on the edge of your paper. Many binding machines have disengageable dies to make this possible. However, some machines don't and if you are planning on binding half letter sized documents (or landscape documents) you will need to make sure your machine has this capability.
2. After ensuring that you have a binding machine that is capable of punching an 8.5" length you then need to find a binding spine that is 8.5" in length. Here are some of the options that are available if you are looking for 8.5" binding spines.
   • Plastic Comb Binding Spines are readily available for binding 8.5" lengths (15 rings).
   • Spiral Coils can be ordered in 9" lengths or can be cut down from standard 12" lengths.
   • Twin loop wire can be ordered for half sized books or can be cut down from standard 11" lengths using a small pair of wire cutters.
   • Hot knife Velobind strips are available in 8.5" lengths for use with the Velobind system one, Velobind system Two and Velobind System Three Binding machines.
   • GBC Proclick and GBC Zipbind Binding Supplies can be cut down to 8.5" using a sharp pair of scissors.
3. Finally, after ensuring that you have a binding machine that can punch the 8.5" length and a binding spine that is 8.5" long you will need to make sure that you have binding covers and paper that is the correct size for your project. Clear binding covers and opaque binding covers are readily available on the market for the 8.5" x 5.5" size. However, finding 8.5" x 5.5" paper can be slightly more difficult. If you have a high quality paper cutter you can cut the paper yourself. Otherwise, half size paper will have to be special ordered (it is available from Mybinding.com).

Some individuals choose to print pages for their half sized books 2 up on a page and then cut them afterwards. Others choose to use pages that are already 8.5" x 5.5". Either way, binding half sized documents isn't that difficult and they tend to be ideal for training manuals, users guides, cookbooks and more.