Saddle stitching is popular in the printing industry. It refers to a book binding method where folded sheets are bound together by stapling through the folded lines with wire staples. The staples are clenched between the center pages; while two staples are typical, larger books may require more support along the spine. Some common projects that are saddle stitched are newsletters, pamphlets, calendars, and event programs.
Why would you choose a saddle stitch and not a perfect bind? It’s simple— saddle stitching is the most effective way to bind booklets with sixty or less pages. There’s no need to spend more money to perfectly bind a thin booklet; conversely, books with more pages will be unable to fold properly. Be aware to keep any text or images away from the edge of the page or near the spine, as it may be trimmed or folded over. Usually these issues are resolved in the early design stages— our team sends proofs before any books go to print to make sure you’re happy with the product.
A key note to remember concerns the layout of the book: intrinsically, saddle stitching requires the page count to come in multiples of four, so try to avoid any blank pages.