Welcome to MyBinding video. There are many ways to bind a book. Are you trying to find out what's the best for you? This video is designed to help you find the basics and the details.

There are two main categories of binding. First is the punch and bind. Basically, you punch a pattern of holes on the side of a book, and then you bind it all together with a spine, usually plastic or metal, that goes through the holes and closes. The second category is the sort and bind. This is often done with heat, known as thermal binding. Take your packet of papers, or the book block, set it inside a spine, and the whole thing goes onto a heater. Adhesive is warmed up and binds the pages together, for both hard and soft cover books, with no punching required.

For the punch and bind, plastic comb binding is one of the most popular systems. It's rather inexpensive, the binding process is simple. It can bind books of up to 425 pages and it's easy to edit, but it's not very secure. It has a 19-hole punch pattern. Using the same punch pattern, GBC has developed Zip binds. They're a little bit snazzier. They're inexpensive, simple, can handle up to 85 sheets. They're easy to edit, yet still not secure. But with the same machine you punch for comb binding, you can also use Zip binds.

Very popular is plastic coil or spiral binds. They're a little less expensive but the binding process is more tedious. They can bind books of up to 440 sheets but cannot be edited without a new spine. Therefore, it's a bit more secure. And since thicker documents are more difficult to bind, Turbo Coil has been invented to make that process easier for larger books.

Another popular way to bind is with twin loop wire binding. These are small metal binds that can bind a book up to 250 sheets in length. The spines cost less money, but they're more tedious to put together and generally require a closer to finish it off. There are two punch patterns with wire binding, 2:1 and 3:1 pitch, used for smaller or larger documents. Editing is not possible without a whole new wire, so they're more secure. Among the brands selling these kinds of systems are GBC, Akiles, Tamerica, Rhin-O-Tuff, Renz, JB USA, and DFG.

VeloBind is a different kind of system. It's more costly, it's very impressive, simple to use, and has two punch pattern options: 4-pin and 11-pin, binding up to 200 or 250 sheets. Although you can edit the four-pin VeloBind system, you cannot edit the 11-pin, making it the most secure punch and bind system on the market. Two companies for this system are GBC's VeloBind and Tamerica's SecureBind.

And now for sort and bind. There is Masterbind, which does channel binding. It's more costly, it's more technical, but it's very impressive. It works with hard covers; the covers and spines can be embossed and can bind up to 300 sheets in a book. There is no punching required and these metal spines, called channels, are on the outside, and they clamp the book and hold pages in place.

And then there is UniBind, a very simple thermal binding system. Simple, more costly, it's impressive, professional, no punching involved. It can bind up to 340 sheets in length and you can use their crystal clear covers or use any cover that you would like with their spine.

FastBack is one of the most impressive systems on the market, though quite costly. This kind of tape binding uses heat to adhere to pages and holds it fast. There is no punching and no mess. These binding tapes, called Super Strips, come in many different colors and pattern, and you can customize them for your own logo or your own graphic. FastBack can bind books of up to 350 sheets and you can use any kind of cover that you want. Very impressive, very professional.

ProBind is another thermal binding system. It's very simple, more expensive, professional, very customizable. Soft and hard cover books up to 500 sheets in binding capacity, no punching, no mess, and very versatile. ProBind is the originator of this but MyBinding also makes some compatible models.

There it is, a great overview with some specifics to know what kind of binds are out there. At MyBinding, we're here to serve you. For more demos, reviews, and how-tos, check out MyBinding.com.