What Should I Know About Thermal Binding?

Thermal binding is one of the fastest and easiest binding styles. However, people usually don’t know a lot about it. Let’s go over some of the questions we get the most about thermal binders so you can get your questions answered and decide if it is the right binding method for your next project.

What is Thermal Binding? How Does it Work?

Thermal binding creates soft and hard cover documents that resemble perfect bound books with minimal time and effort. The process uses heat-activated glue in the cover’s spine to adhere the pages in place. Simply insert your pages into a thermal cover, insert into your machine and run a binding cycle. You can explore our “How To Use A Thermal Binding Machine?” article for a more in-depth dive into how to make beautiful thermal-bound books.

What Do I Need for Thermal Binding?

Thermal binding supplies are rather minimal. You will need:

• The document you want to bind
• Thermal Binding Machine
• Thermal Cover or a Custom Cover with a Thermal Glue Strip
• (Optional) Hardcover Crimper

How Many Pages Can You Thermal Bind?

This depends on your machine's capacity and what size covers you have available. Most machines will handle between 10-100 sheets of 20# paper or approximately 1/16” to ½” thickness. However, some devices like the Helios 60 can bind up to 600 pages at once.

What are the Most Common Mistakes When Thermal Binding?

With any binding method, there are ways you can improve or worsen the strength of the bind. Here are a few of the issues we see most often, why it doesn’t work, and how to fix it.

• Cover Size: Make sure that you have the right size thermal binding cover for your documents. Too many pages in a cover will result in the first and last pages not binding securely. You can use this binding size chart to help you choose your cover. When in doubt, it is better to choose a cover that is slightly larger rather than smaller so every page sits snuggly in the glue.

• Jog Papers Thoroughly: Your pages need to be as straight as possible when you place them into the cover. The goal is to have as much contact with the adhesive as possible for a secure bind. Once in the cover, fan the pages with your finger to break up any that might be stuck together including the front and back pages sticking to the cover. If you spend a few extra minutes making sure every page is touching the adhesive, you can increase the bind quality.

• Don’t Immediately Open: Once the binding cycle has finished, wait until your book has cooled completely and the adhesive has set before you open it. Remove your finished product and firmly tap the spine on a hard surface. Then, let it sit for 3-5 minutes. Allowing the glue to harden is vital to ensure a solid, secure bind.

Can I Bind Glossy or Coated Paper?

Yes! However, coated pages can lead to a weaker bind. When you want to bind photo paper or other treated pages, take the extra steps to prepare your paper before attempting to bind.

Can You Edit Thermal Bound Documents?

Yes, as long as you are only adding or removing a couple of pages. All you need to do is reheat the adhesive. Follow these steps on how to edit a book bound with thermal binding.

Will My Thermal Binder Bind Hardcover Books?

Yes. For the easiest bind, you’ll want a machine with adjustable temperature or a hardcover setting; hardcovers require a higher temperature. You will also want to consider adding a hard cover crimper to finish off your covers. Without an adjustable temperature setting, you may have to run your hardcovers through the machine a few times to ensure that the glue is fully activated.

Can You Use a Non-Thermal Cover with My Thermal Binding Machine?

Yes, but you will need to add a thermal glue strip to the spine to turn it into a thermal cover. It is important you cut the strip to the right size to ensure all the pages are adhered and you won’t have glue leak out onto your machine. (Cleaning up stray adhesive is not fun)

Can I Use Thermal Binding to Add a Custom Cover to My Favorite Book?

Yes! You can both maintain, repair, and rebind books with the help of a thermal binding machine.

How do I Choose a Thermal Binding Machine?

There are lots of options out there for every budget. In our knowledge base, you can find an article where we went over some of our favorite brands and features to look for when choosing a thermal binder.

If you have more questions or want to dig deeper into thermal binding continue exploring our knowledge base. We cover all types of binding so you can choose the best option for your next project and create a bind you can be proud of. If you have specific questions you can also call us at