Book Bindings Spiral Graphics Logo
Free Advice
Definitions:
Head:
The top of the book
Spine: The binding edge
Dummy: A pre-production sample
Pitch: The spacing/distance of the hole pattern.
2:1 means 2 holes per linear inch
Tail: The bottom of the book
Face: Opposite edge of the spine
Gutter: The inside margin between facing pages

Need your job to be the most economical and / or fast turnaround?
1. Always consult your binder before putting the ink to paper.
2. Use a stock color of coil instead of a special order color.
3. Two-piece flush-cut split back covers with no tabs and 5/8" or less, are less expensive and labor intensive that semi concealed, and semi is less than fully concealed.
4. Correct binding size for thickness of product. If binding is too tight, production will be slower and cost will be higher.
5. Single sheet collating reduces your costs and is the solution for jobs that have different sized sheets, different stock, single-sided printing, 120 pages or less, or tabs.
6. Job delivered cut and collated. SGI punches and binds. May save you time.
7. Job comes as flat sheets, SGI folds, gathers, trims, punches and binds. Will save money & hassles.
8. Does your job require die cutting, hand work, collating, trimming, or other finishing services? The more phases of a job that can be done under the same roof means time and money saved for you.
9. Good die cutters start with good die making. We make our own steel rule dies, thus when changes are required, they can be done within minutes.
10. Let us know of any special shipping requirements. We can package your product with labels so that when it reaches your plant it is ready to be shipped. We can also drop ship directly from our facility.

Free Advice:
1. Always consult your binder before putting the ink to paper.
2. Rule of thumb: To determine plastic spiral coil size add 1/8" to the book thickness.
3. Always consider the type of stock, including the cover. The caliper of the paper is critical. A small change in paper or cover and make a huge change in the thickness of the book. Paper bulk varies between different brands of paper. If you end up with binding that is too tight, your pages won’t turn easily. Too loose and you have a very sloppy book.
4. Rule of thumb: Print image needs to be at least 5/16" from the gutter. Consult your binder. Incorrect size causes punched type.
5. Sheets that come from the mill are not always the same size stock. Often they have to be clean trimmed on two sides to make uniformity before auto punching.
6. Thicker books should have a slight overhang on the face to compensate for pull back.
7. Sheets and pages are two different things. A 100 page book would have 50 (2 sided) sheets.
8. Clearly mark your gripper and side guides on your uncut press sheet for die cutting. Usually 3/8". If you need less, let us know. Mark your grain direction also, even if it is obvious.
9. Let us shrink wrap your printing investment. It protects your product during shipping, warehousing and even displaying.
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2350 Breton Industrial Park Dr. SE, Grand Rapids, Michigan 49508
Phone: 616-247-0060 • Fax: 616-247-3535 • Toll Free: 1-800-255-FOIL

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