Everything you need to know about saddle stitching, also called stapled binding

The best way to bind your sales brochure, in-house magazine or advertising booklet is saddle stitch binding. In order to give you an overview of this simple, cheap and elegant binding method, we will review the definition of saddle-stitch binding, its advantages and disadvantages, before listing the most frequent uses and ending with some advice on how to best prepare a file before printing a document to be bound by saddle-stitch.

What is saddle stitching?

Saddle stitching is a binding technique that allows you to bind 4 to 40 pages (depending on the weight of the paper chosen). This binding method is also called " stapled binding This method of binding is also called "saddle stitch binding" or "two-point metal binding". It consists in binding sheets by inserting two staples in the central fold, straddling the two middle pages, hence the name "saddle stitch".

Saddle stitching is a simple method of binding pages of a brochure, booklet or magazine for example. The sheets of these communication media are assembled inside each other in a booklet. Then, they are held together by two metal staples inserted in the center fold of the assembled booklet.

The advantages of the straddle stitch

• The horse shot: an inexpensive method

Saddle stitching is one of the least expensive binding methods. It is therefore ideal for the realization of communication supports in large quantities. It is thus perfectly adapted to the conception of a commercial brochure presenting the articles on promotion in your store, brochure intended to be distributed in the boxes of all the residents.

• Saddle stitching: a fast binding method

Unlike the glued square back binding method, saddle stitch binding can be done by your professional printer in a very short time, even for large quantities. At Copymage, for example, we offer the Express option, which allows you to print all your brochures, booklets or magazines using the saddle-stitch binding method within 4 hours.

• Horseback riding: an aesthetic method

While quick and inexpensive, saddle stitching is still a quality binding method. It offers a professional and elegant rendering because of its discretion. Saddle stitching leaves all the room for the content, which allows a better immersion, especially when you integrate visuals on the whole width of your double page. The choice of paper type and finishes - especially for the cover - will nicely complement the sobriety of this binding method. You will be able to produce high quality magazines to present your company's offers.

• The sting on horseback: a practical method

The saddle stitch binding offers an excellent reading comfort. Indeed, the central staples allow a complete opening of your booklet or your brochure facilitating the reading of all the elements which are contained there. Moreover, this binding method allows a great freedom in the layout of your communication supports. The pages being bound edge to edge, it is for example possible to arrange an illustration or a text on two pages following each other.

The disadvantages of the straddle stitch

• Saddle stitching: a limited number of pages

The saddle-stitch binding method is not suitable for all communication media. Indeed, beyond a certain number of pages, it is no longer possible to choose the saddle stitch and it is necessary to prefer either the spiral binding or the glued square back binding. The maximum number of pages depends on the weight of the paper chosen. The higher the weight, the smaller the number of pages. If in doubt, don't hesitate to ask us for advice. At Copymage, we will always be there to help you design your booklet or magazine in an optimal way.

• Saddle stitching: a page number multiple of 4

Because the pages of your communication medium must be bound by the center fold, your booklets and brochures must have a number of pages that is a multiple of 4 in order to take advantage of this saddle stitch binding method. When one or two pages are missing, it is always possible to reach the right number of pages by leaving blank pages at the end of the booklet, they will allow the readers to take notes for example.

The uses of the horse sting

Saddle stitching is particularly suitable for certain communication materials.

• Your stapled commercial brochureYour brochure, your promotional catalog as well as your leaflets cannot benefit from a better binding method than saddle-stitching. It guarantees the solidity of your supports which will be consulted for a long time by your customers and prospects. It offers a great comfort of reading and layout.
• The saddle stitching method is also very suitable for the production of your magazines or booklets. Combined with a beautiful cover using a heavy paper weight and embellished with a peach skin coating, this binding method gives a great elegance to your communication supports.

Sometimes saddle stitching is not the most suitable method.

Thus, for a more flexible rendering or for internal use, for example for a training book or an association activity report, you will opt for spiral binding.

For a higher number of pages or for a very professional rendering, such as in the case of a self-published book, a doctoral thesis or a product catalog, you will choose the glued square back binding.

How to prepare your file for a horse sting?

The file of the document you wish to bind by the saddle stitch method will have to be written and laid out without taking into account the binding method as far as the order of the pages is concerned. Your professional printer will be responsible for creating the booklet in the center of which he will insert the two metal stitches.

However, there are a few key points to keep in mind when preparing your file:

• Once again, in the case of a saddle-stitched binding, your file must have a number of pages that is a multiple of 4 (even if some of these pages are left blank).
• Your final document should not have too many pages. Depending on the number of pages in your document, your professional printer will show you the type of paper you can use. The higher the number of pages, the thinner the paper used should be to avoid bounce or crow's feet effects.
• Be careful, the higher the number of pages, the greater the bulging effect will be. This means that there is a risk of the pages shifting. It is therefore necessary to check carefully the texts or numbers located at the edge of the page.
• The file you send us for the printing of your booklet, brochure or magazine must include a bleed and cut lines.
• The file you send us must be saved in pdf format.

If in doubt, do not hesitate to contact us: at Copymage, we offer free verification of all your files before printing. All our consultants are at your disposal and will be happy to answer you, whether it be :

• by telephone on 01 42 61 00 33
• by e-mail to contact@copymage.com
• or at the workshop located 8 rue Saint Roch, 75001 Paris