A Guide to Saddle Stitched Booklet Printing
When it comes to booklet printing there are a number of options to choose from. Saddle stitched booklet printing is one of the most common and cost-effective methods. Their versatility means they can be printed either portrait, landscape or square. They can accommodate full page spread imagery easily and they can be drilled easily for inserting into ring-binders. They are a great choice for magazines, brochures, price lists, programs, newsletters, direct mail, the list goes on! Simply add an attractive design, vibrant colours, different coatings and you can make something truly unique and special for a fraction of the cost!
We’ve pulled together a guide to saddle stitch printing to help you with your next publication:
Understanding saddle stitching
Saddle stitching is a binding method. It entails folding paper sheets in half and securing them together by stapling along the folded edge. The fold is then known as the spine that holds the pages together.
Advantages of saddle stitching
There are a number of benefits to saddle stitching. It requires less materials and less labour compared to other binding techniques making it more cost effective than perfect binding or wire binding. It opens flat allowing viewers to read the content with ease. It gives a professional look for marketing and promotional items. And the saddle stitching process makes for a quicker turnaround than other binding options too!
Planning your saddle stitching
Before you can begin to design your booklet, you need to consider the following factors; purpose for booklet, target audience, content and design elements. Will you want a hard cover or a soft cover? Full colour throughout or black and white inners? Once you know these you can begin to organise your content and plan your layout.
Layout and pagination
Saddle stitching booklets must have a page count in multiples of 4. So, the minimum number of pages is 8 – as the first four pages/sheet make up the Outside Front Cover, Inside Front Cover, Inside Back Cover and Outside Back Cover. Depending on the page type the maximum number of pages is 72. If you cannot fill content in multiples of 4, you will have blank pages, so make sure you have enough content for it to work.
Bleed and Margins
Make sure your design extends to the bleed area to avoid having any edges when trimmed. But be sure to leave space around content so it doesn’t get cropped off. A 3mm bleed is preferable on printed pages. You should also allocate space on the binding margin to ensure no content gets lost within the binding.
Image resolution and colour mode
Images of at least 300dpi are preferable as these high-resolution images will ensure you have a clean and professional look. Anything lower than this may result in pixelation and therefore a blurred and unprofessional piece of printing. Printed pieces should always be printed in CMYK. RGB is for screens only.
Fonts
Make sure you embed fonts within your printed piece. Convert text into outlines to ensure that the printed version maintains the correct font appearance. Otherwise, your printed piece may end up looking decidedly different than your on-screen version.
Proof-read before print
Make sure you proof-read your booklet thoroughly before it is printed – it will be a far more costly exercise if you find errors after it has been printed.
Printing your booklet
Set your files up in line with your chosen printers’ requirements. Where possible get a colour proof to check you are happy before you press go on the full print. Calculate how many copies you will need as you don’t want to find you need more after they are printed. Then wait for the printers to produce your very own saddle stitched booklet!
Saddle Stitched Booklet Printing with Enigma
Saddle stitched booklet printing is the solution to presenting your information in the palm of a hand. We think saddle stitched booklets are ideal for a shorter publication, and feel an A5 size brochure is the ideal size to really show off as you can have page after page of information at your fingertips.
Here at Enigma, we are a family run business with over 25 years of print expertise. Whether you require printing products for business management, marketing or personal reasons, our leading UK print shop provides quality products tailored to fit every specific budget. And our custom printing products and services are available for individuals, different organisations, and all kinds and sizes of businesses. With an expert team of graphic designers and printing professionals, we will ensure high-resolution printable’s with market leading prices delivered at a quick turnaround. Our products are guaranteed to be worthwhile.
For more information, contact us on 01322 559 224, email on studio@enigmaprintanddesign.co.uk or fill in our contact form.