Research binding terms

Book binding methods

Perfect binding

The interior pages of a book are clamped together and glued at the spine, usually for the soft cover novels. Simple, cost effective, uses thermal glue, great for paper back books with a definite spine, seamless and square.

Spiral binding or coil binding

punched holes with a continuous plastic or metal loop that passes through the holes, freedom to fully rotate the pages whilst reading the book. User friendly, used for notebooks, planners and reports, relatively cheap and versatile.

Case binding

High quality professional appearance, mostly used for hard covers. High durability, pages are folded, gathered and sewn, and a case is made by gluing the printed pages then sewn and stitched together in the correct page order.

Saddle stich binding

Mainly used for magazines, booklets and brochures, affordable and economical used in lower page counts, and easy method for short term use booklets.

What type of binding is commonly used for children’s picture books?

Hardcover, paperback, saddle stitch and board book are the most popular binding types for children’s books printing.

http://www.kboards.com Perfect bound or saddle stitch for a 32 page children’s picture book? (2016)

because of the amount of pages, it would be recommended to use saddle stitching, glues for perfect binding are better these days, but saddle stitching will give more flexibility for the picture book to lay flat, which would work better for children, if they want to look at the pictures for longer. For books with full illustrations is best to use the premium colour option, the standard colour had thinner paper which the ink bled through.

Examples of the types of bindings in Children’s picture books:

Perfect binding

The Yawnicorn is a perfect bound children’s picture book.

Spiral bound

I didn’t have a children’s picture book that was spiral bound, but one of my art books was.

Inside the spiral bound book.

Case binding or hardbacked

The Real Boat is a hardback children’s picture book.

If I was going to choose one for my book it would be perfect bound, I think this suits a children’s picture book the best. It’s easy to handle for children, it has a nice smooth finish. It’s easy to store and carry for parents and grandparents, it keeps the colour well and is light weight.