What is Saddle Stitching?

The saddle stitch booklet is one of the most popular and cost-effective ways to bind your booklets, offering a professional finish without the hefty price tag. Whether you're producing a brochure, a product catalogue, a magalog, magazine, a brandzine or a commic book / graphic novel, saddle stitching ensures a sleek, durable result that’s perfect for a variety of uses.

To help you get the most out of this binding technique, we’ve created a short guide packed with everything you need to know. From understanding how saddle stitching works to tips on choosing the right paper and layout for your project, our guide takes you through each step of the process. With this information at your fingertips, you'll be able to confidently choose saddle stitching for your next booklet and ensure a high-quality finished product every time.

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.