Allied Bindery

Bound for Excellence

Loop Stitching Success Tips

Have you ever printed and saddle stitched a brochure that was to become part of a master binder?   You need to have the brochure three-hole drilled to allow it to be added to a ring or post binder, only to discover that you did not plan correctly for the drill holes to avoid important text such as part numbers or pricing.  Now what?   Reprint?  Or, hope that your customer doesn’t complain?   There is a better way!

The incorporation of a loop stitch design into a saddle stitch product effectively expands the functionality of a saddle stitch catalog, parts list, price list or marketing brochure.   A loop stitched product may be used as a free standing piece, however, the true concept of the loop design is to allow the finished piece to be incorporated into a ring or post binder.   The use of loop stitches allows the booklet to be added to a master binder without the requirement of drilling any holes, thus eliminating any potential for drilling through the text.

The creation of a loop stitch requires a specialized stitching head.   A standard loop stitch head will create a six millimeter loop (approximately ¼” wide).   An eight millimeter loop stitch head can also be purchased.   Generally, a six millimeter loop is used when the finished piece will be included in a ring binder.  The eight millimeter loop option is primarily used when the finished piece will be included in a post binder.

When considering or planning for a loop stitch project, it is important to realize that book thickness must not exceed ¼”.  This is the maximum book thickness that can be accommodated and still allow for a tight closure of the stitch “legs” onto the spine.   Attempting to produce a book thicker than ¼” will result in the “legs” of the stitches closing further apart, resulting in less wire actually holding the pages together in the book and generating a high risk potential that pages will come loose from the spine.

It is important for the printer to communicate the required dimension from the head of the book to the placement of the first loop stitch.  When the finished loop stitch piece is included in a master binder with other products, this specific dimension requirement must be achieved in order that the finished piece aligns with other pieces in the master binder.

The Advantages of Split Binding

 Often times, your project may have multiple end uses. As such, there are occasions when one specific binding style may not fit all of your  requirements. For instance, a perfect bound sports media guide may be the desired binding style for the fans in the stands.  However, a sportscaster or reporter may require a binding style that opens and lies perfectly flat without being held in place. Similarly, a perfect bound book may work well for a student, however, the instructor may want a version in which specific sections may be removed and/or updated over time. When your project
requires a range of use such as these examples, a split binding production approach can be used to solve the challenge.

 Simply stated, split binding is the utilization of two or more binding methods to achieve the end use requirements of your customers. In the example of the sports media guide, combining perfect binding and a mechanical binding technology such as coil binding, addresses the needs of both end user groups.  In the case of the educational media or text book, combining a perfect bind design for the student, with a loose leaf option for the instructor achieves the use requirements for both.

Understanding the end use requirements of your customer, in combination with the finishing capabilities of your trade bindery, may allow you to offer multiple binding options that achieve separate and distinct requirements of the end users.

Allied Bindery routinely produces projects that require a combination of perfect binding and mechanical binding, or perfect binding and loose leaf options.   Involving the Sales and Planning Professionals at Allied Bindery can help you determine the binding options that will work best for your customer’s requirements.