When a one-page document isn’t enough to convey your message, booklets with saddle stitch binding offer a great way to communicate. At Publishing Xpress, we offer saddle-stitched booklet printing from 8 to 80 pages.

Booklets and catalogs can fulfill a variety of needs. They can be used as product booklets, programs for events, course schedules, multipage newsletters, and more. Many magazines also use saddle stitch binding.

Looking to create a program for an upcoming school concert or charity event? Need a colorful piece for an auction you are hosting? Or how about a marketing piece for your business? By printing booklets professionally, you are ensuring that your project will look the way that you envision it. And by having Publishing Xpress handle your booklet printing with saddle stitch binding, you are ensuring that your project is handled with the utmost professionalism and technical skill.

For a review of factors to consider when deciding whether to use saddle stitch binding for your printing project, check out our article entitled Saddle-Stitch Binding: A Guide for more information.

The Process of Saddle Stitching

With saddle stitch binding, sheets of paper are printed with two pages of the booklet on each side (four pages in total), then the paper is folded in half and two staples (called stitches) are placed in the spine of the booklet. By definition, since each sheet has four pages on it, saddle stitch booklets must be printed in increments of four pages. Since we can saddle stitch up to 80 pages, your booklet must have 8, 12, 16, 20, 24, 28, 32, 36, 40, 44, 48, 52, 56, 60, 64, 68, 72, 76, or 80 pages. Usually, the cover will be a heavier paper stock than the inside pages.

Our digital printing presses bind the saddle stitch booklets while the booklets are being printed. The inside pages are printed first followed by the cover. All of the pages are gathered in a holding area in the machine until all of the pages in one booklet are printed. It is then folded in half and two stitches are placed in the spine.

The booklet then moves out of the printing machine into a trimmer that cuts three sides, making it the finished size of the booklet. Thus, the booklet is printed on paper that is larger than the finished size so that the bleeds on the document are printed. Then, when it is trimmed, the bleeds are cut off and the printing extends right to the edge of the page.

Tips for Saddle Stitch Binding

First, you have to decide whether saddle stitch binding is the best option for your document. If it is over 80 pages, you will have to select another binding option. Or if the booklet is not in increments of four pages, perhaps it is 30 pages and you don’t want two blank pages in your booklet, saddle stitching won’t work. If your booklet is over 60 pages and you want heavy paper, the booklet can get quite bulky, making another option, such as perfect binding, look much better.

If you do decide to use saddle stitch binding, consider these tips:

Be very careful of putting text or graphics across two pages in a spread. This will work perfectly if you put the spread on the outside cover or the middle two pages, because these two pages are printed on the same sheet of paper, next to each other. Putting a spread anywhere else in the booklet can cause problems if the images shift even a little while printing.
We have seen many school sports teams where athlete’s faces have been cut in half between spreads. If you are concerned about this, ask us to take a look at a test copy of your booklet before all of the copies are printed. We will let you know if there are any issues.
Adjust your paper thickness based on the number of pages in your booklet. Select 100# text stock for booklets of 24 pages or less, 80# text stock for booklets of 60 pages or less, and 70# text for booklets of 80 pages or less. If you use too heavy a paper stock, the booklet will look very bulky and won’t lay flat. This article has some good pictures showing what happens when the booklet gets too bulky.
Always make sure that you have adequate margins between the edge of the page and your text and graphics. Because of the way the pages stack inside each other with a saddle stitch booklet, your middle pages will be cut off more than the outer pages. This won’t be a problem if you have adequate margins.

Saddle Stitch Printing Projects with Publishing Xpress

We offer full-color booklet printing; your booklets can be printed full color throughout, or you can use just black ink on the inside pages. We have a variety of paper options available, as well. You can print the cover on the same paper as the rest of the booklet (called self cover) or the cover can be printed on different paper (called plus cover). And — unlike other printers — we offer a minimum print quantity of only 25 copies. With our low minimums and low prices, there’s no reason for not printing booklet projects right now!

Publishing Xpress offers a wide range of printing options as well. You can select 5 ½ x 8 ½, 6 x 9, or 8 ½ x 11 finished sizes. Need a slightly different size? No problem. Just select the next larger size. For instance, if your booklet is 7 x 10, select the 8 ½ x 11 size.

These are all important details when it comes to printing booklet projects. But they are not the only things to consider when choosing a printer. At Publishing Xpress, we understand that we need to get the project right, and we work with our customers every step of the way to make the process as easy as possible. Projects can be easily uploaded right on our website, and our customers are treated to a full range of services.

You’ll find that Publishing Xpress will make your booklet printing project convenient and easy — and the end result will always exceed your expectations! Check out some of our spotlights on clients who used saddle stitch binding for their printing projects:

Learn how Saddle Stitching makes your book look professional!

Publishing Xpress can discuss how to give your Self-Published book a Saddle Stitched Binding. Or check out our other three binding options to see if one of those might be more appropriate for your printing project.