Cutting
Our sheets are SRA3 (450x320 mm), 700x330 or 1000x330 mm in size, so with smaller formats we print several pieces in one pass. We get to the desired size by cutting.
Folding
Folding the sheets to get a smaller size (e.g. a map) or to divide up the content (for example a leporello (accordion fold)). With thicker or film-laminated papers, folding can be made easier by creasing. When specifying the size, the folded size and extent have to be taken into account, since this is how, for example, an unfolded A4 sheet can be told apart from one folded in half perpendicular to its long side, which then has to be regarded as an A5, four-page item.
Creasing
Papers heavier than 160 g can crack along the fold edge; this can be prevented by pre-bending the material.
Side stitching
The simplest binding method; probably everyone who has ever joined two sheets together with a stapler has done it. What we can do beyond that is do it even with a block 1 cm thick....
Saddle stitching
The technique for making a booklet; even as few as 2 sheets can be stitched into one another this way, but if the publication consists of a great many sheets, the spine of the booklet will no longer be square but oval because of the many sheets folded over each other. It can also be ordered with omega (loop) staples; the advantage is that a publication made this way can also be filed in a ring binder.
Kiss-cutting
Cutting self-adhesive materials along either straight or curved lines without cutting through the backing paper. For straight cuts, kiss-cutting can be replaced by a material with a slit backing, where the backing paper can be removed much like on an adhesive bandage.
Perforation
It serves to make the material easier to tear; its classic examples are the postage stamp and the numbered ticket pad. Along a curved line it can only be done with a die-cutting tool.
Hole drilling
This is what makes it possible to file the sheets of ring binders. The center-to-center distance of the holes is 8 cm in the two- or four-hole standard, but based on a sample they can also be drilled at any distance from one another. When designing, the optimal hole distance from the edge of the sheet (5 mm) and the diameter of the hole have to be taken into account, otherwise the punching may damage the text content as well.
Corner rounding
Rounding off the corners of the sheets (e.g. on pocket calendars). It can be especially useful with pouch-laminated materials (e.g. a pass worn around the neck or a badge), where the rigid plastic corner can be unpleasantly sharp.
Spiral binding
It comes in plastic and metal versions. The advantage of the former is that the sheets of the spiral-bound material can be replaced by opening up the spiral without damaging it. Of the latter, our company stocks the twin-loop wire; it is more elegant, more durable and reliably holds even thicker stacks together, but unfortunately it cannot be reused once it has been opened. It is always in stock in white, black and silver; in other colors or in a metallic finish the lead time can unfortunately be as long as several weeks. Although many people don't like it because of its office look, with stylish design, creative papers and a metallic-finish spiral can make an exceptionally beautiful, exclusive composition.
Film lamination
Matte or gloss surface protection (30-40 microns) that protects the print from getting dirty, from wear caused by frequent use and from becoming tattered by the moisture of hands (especially on frequently used publications such as book or booklet covers, folders, the covers of spiral-bound materials, etc.). Gloss film lamination brings out the colors, so it tends to be used for advertising materials; matte film slightly mutes and lightens the colors, but its effect is more elegant.
Pouch lamination
What sets it apart from film lamination is the thickness of the material (80-100 microns); the result is rigid, so it cannot be folded.
Thread sewing
Considered the most perfect bookbinding method, in which the sheets are sewn to one another along the fold and then to the other sheets. Its advantage is that the book opens easily and also stays open when laid on a table. It is recommended with a hard cover, but perfect binding can also be reinforced with it.
Perfect binding
A hot-melt process that can be used for thicknesses between 3 and 40 mm, in which the pages of the book are glued to one another and to the book's cover with a thermoplastic adhesive. It is an affordable solution, but with smaller sizes the glued spine, which works like a vise, makes the publication harder to open, so the content in the spine area is harder to read and images running across the spread are incomplete. It is not a fortunate choice with thick, stiff papers either, because on opening, the spine is put under increased stress, which can cause the adhesive to break and the publication to fall apart.
PUR perfect binding
A very strong bonding agent inspired by the construction industry, with which even stiffer, thicker sheets can be glued durably. The drawback of the process is that further processing (cutting, fitting the dust jacket, etc.) can only continue 24 hours after binding.
