What is
Saddle Stitching?
The printing industry's Saddle Stitching is a binding method that uses staples to hold multiple pages together, creating a spine. The staples pass through the folded crease from the outside and are clinched between the center most pages. One or more staples may be used, depending on the size of the book.
The saddle stitch booklet is a popular and cost-effective way to bind your booklets. To make it easy for you, we've put together a guide with everything you need to know about the saddle stitch binding technique.
Guidelines for Saddle Stitching
Total pages must be in multiples of four: This booklet is stapled together in such a way that every page has folds in it. This means that the total page count needs to be divisible by four — otherwise, you will have blanks at the end of your book.
Your pages will be arranged in a different order than with a regular booklet: Designing your booklet using this booklet type will result in the pages being jumbled in the final product. To make sure that your pages are assembled properly, you'll need to design them in a different order than their appearance in your document.
Saddle Stitching can be used for small publications with up to 44 pages or less: It is not recommended for books with more than 44 pages because the spine may become bulky when folded, and it will not lie as flat as desired when bound.
Don’t forget the margins: When laying out your book, it is important to use ample blank space (margins) around the content of your pages. So that your print won’t be buried too deep in the fold of the book’s spine or too near an edge that may be trimmed after binding.
Have questions about Saddle Stitching that we may have missed or have any other book binding or printing questions? Just give us a call. We’ll be happy to help in any way we can.
