How is the binding of your photo book done?

The binding of your photo book ensures its durability over time. We use professional and durable adhesives to craft it. Your books can be opened hundreds of times without any problems.

But what exactly is a photo book binding? It's the set of techniques / the tool that binds, connects, unites the pages of a photo album. It plays both a protective and aesthetic role.

Even if you don't really need technical qualifications to choose one for your work, its selection is intrinsically linked to that of the cover of the album.

Even if you're not a pro at custom photo album creation, you will be guided on the service provider's website. It ensures that the binding offered with the cover of your work is the most suitable.

Indeed, three important criteria determine the selection of the binding:

• The quality and the resistance of the paper, including its weight.
• The number of pages in the book, the more there are, the more a model of strong binding is required, and vice versa.
• The type of cover used.

How is the binding of your photo books done?

When you create a photo book online, the production stages are the responsibility of your service provider. To bind your custom work, it will perform:

• The folding and perforation phase: six types of fold, distinct from each other by the size and position of their format, are generally used. Depending on the specificity of the sheets used, the acceptable deviations for pagination are:
  1. +/- 1mm for a sheet folded into 4 faces with fold / folded into 8 faces.
  2. +/- 0.5 mm for a sheet folded into 4 faces without fold.
  3. +/- 1.0 mm for a paper folded into 8 faces / folded into 12 faces.
  4. +/- 2.0 mm for a sheet folded at least into 16 sections.
• The cutting of the booklets obtained from the previous phase. This is an operation that requires extreme precision for the success of a work. Technical deviations must be respected during cutting (margin of 1mm less accepted / margin of 1mm more rejected).
• The trimming phase. This phase consists of putting automatic folds on the prints. Here, the closure must ensure a good hold of the sheets and must adapt to the thickness of the work.

Specifics of the different types of bindings used for your albums

After the stage during which your service provider prints the photo album, comes the time when we need to bind its pages. Discover the three main types of bindings used for your books:

• Wire-O. A metal comb or ring is used which is inserted into the perforated sheets. They allow a 360-degree opening of the work. The color of the metal comb can be personalized according to your tastes.
• Sewn. This is a traditional model, ideal for a birth photo book or wedding memories, for example. It is the most used form for printing services, whatever its format.
• Casebinding. Here, the work and its covering are held together primarily by gluing. There are generally two types of casebinding:
  1. Glued binding.
  2. Glued and sewn.
  The choice of one over the other depends on the use to be made of the work, as well as the weight of the paper of your photo works.
  1. Glued binding is designed for sheets with weights lower than 70 – 135g/m2.
  2. Glued and sewn which is intended for sheets with a weight greater than 135g/m2.

Bindings will always be adapted to the covers you choose for your works, whether it's a baby photo book or birthday. However, for small bound albums with metal or plastic combs, you can personalize your bindings by choosing the color that pleases you.