Options for Binding Thick Documents

Customers often call me and ask for help choosing a binding system for their thick documents. This article is designed to give a quick overview of the different binding styles available for binding large sized documents. Here is a quick overview…

1. Plastic Comb Binding: Plastic Comb binding can handle documents up to two inches thick using oval shaped binding combs. Plastic combs is by far the least expensive way to bind large sized documents. These oval shaped combs include special locks to prevent pages from falling out. Plastic binding combs are available in 12 different colors and in a number of sizes up to 2”.
2. Twin Loop Wire: Twin loop wire binding spines (also known as wire-o, double loop wire or Wirebind Spines) are commonly available in sizes up to 1-1/4”. However, 1-1/2” twin loop wire binding spines are now available in Black only. If you are going to use these larger sized twin loop wire binding supplies you need to make sure that you have a 2:1 pitch wire binding machine and if you elect to use the 1-1/2” wire binding spines you need to check to make sure that your binding machine has a wire closer capable of handling 1-1/2” wire elements.
3. Spiral Coil: Spiral coil binding supplies are available in sizes up to 50mm (approximately 2”) in diameter. However, spiral coil spines larger than 1 inch (25mm) can be difficult to use. Using 2” spiral coil is very much like trying to insert a slinky onto the edge of a book. Just imagine the fun J However, if you do decide to use spiral coil binding for your large sized books make sure that you check out our article on using Spiral Coil with Large Sized books.
4. Velobind: GBC Velobind and GBC SureBind are the only binding systems available on the market capable of binding books up to 3 inches thick. Using the Velobind System 3 or the SureBind System 3 you can bind documents as small as one page or as large as 3” thick. Plus, you only need three sizes of binding strips to bind all of your documents making it cheaper and easier to order supplies. Velobind is a great option for binding large books. However, Velobind does not allow your documents to lay flat and does not allow for easy editing.
5. Thermal Binding: Thermal binding covers are available for documents up to two inches thick. Using a binding machine such as the Covermate 700 you can bind your thick documents using your thermal binding machine. The only drawback is that you need to have covers sized to your exact document size and the covers must be custom made (they take about 2 weeks). For companies that use one or two sizes of documents, thermal binding can be a good option. However, if you do a large number of sizes the supplies for thermal binding large documents can get somewhat expensive.
6. Unibind: Unibind binding spines and covers are available in sizes up to 36mm thick (approximately 1-1/2” thick) and can accommodate up to 340 sheets of 20lb paper. Like thermal binding, you have to match the size of your cover or spine to the size of your document requiring you to stock a variety of supplies. However, Unibind does allow you to purchase supplies in smaller quantities and their supplies are stocked making them more readily available than supplies for Thermal Binding.
7. Screw Posts: If all else fails and you need to bind a document larger than 3” you can always consider using Screw Posts. Screw Posts (also known as Chicago Screws) are available in sizes up to 4” in length and can be extended using screw post extensions. You could potentially bind documents up to 5” or 6” thick using these screw posts.

If you are still not sure what binding system might be right for binding your large sized documents please feel free to contact us and we would be glad to help you make your decision.