Helpful Tips

This Month's Topic: Saddle Stitching
September 2004

A classic look and cost effective binding method, saddle stitching is a great option for calendars, booklets, brochures and much more. At Allied Bindery, saddle stitching is performed on our 6- and 8-pocket machines by multiple crews each day to turn your products around quickly and efficiently.

Loop stitching is ideal for products that will be placed in ring binders, as the loops offer more durability than punched holes.

Planning tip: While the longer makereadies required for multiple-up production can reduce efficiencies on lower quantities, longer saddle stitching runs of 40,000 pieces or more benefit greatly from the time and cost savings of multiple-up production.

At Allied Bindery, we can perform two-up production with inline trimming on pieces with a trim sizes as small as 3” spine-to face. For three-up or four-up production, we can stitch products with smaller trim sizes. For efficient, worry-free production, let Allied Bindery help you with multiple-up layouts.

Design tip: If your saddle-stitched projects are meant for loose-leaf ring binder applications, loop stitching is a great alternative to punching and drilling. In addition to stitching the book, this inline process places loops along the bound edge that easily slip over binder rings. The result is a handsome piece that won’t deteriorate as quickly as punched sheets, which may pull out of metal rings.

It’s Never Too Early to Think about Calendars
Our extensive saddle-stitching capabilities are ideal for producing calendars in a wide range of styles and formats. Inline drilling is ideal for wall-hanging applications, while our large-format stitching capabilities are great for calendars that will show off impressive graphics or photography.

When it comes to calendars, however, the best tip we can offer is start planning now. By planning your calendar projects in September and October, you can allow for distribution in December or even earlier—you don’t want to be stuck handing out your ‘new’ calendars in February!

The Allied Advantage
In addition to large- and small-format saddle-stitching products, Allied Bindery can add cover pockets, foldout index tabs or gate-folded covers for added utility and pizzazz. We also offer state-of-the-art perfect binding, high speed folding and a host of other finishing services. Involve Allied Bindery early in the design process to discover which solutions best fit your next project.