Saddle Stitched Book Binding

Saddle Stitched Books are a cost-effective and versatile booklet binding option that consists of a series of ‘spreads’ that are folded and stapled on the spine – like a typical magazine.

They’re a fast and effective way to turn your material into a booklet.

At Dinkums, we specialise in one-off projects or high volume, mass production saddle stitched books.

We print and bind the booklets on-site, in the same production process, which not only makes the process seamless and efficient and, if needed, we have the ability to print while you wait!

And we use the latest and most advanced binding equipment, including square spine technology, so you’ll your saddle stitched books will stand out!

Saddle stitched booklet binding is ideal for annual reports, product brochures or catalogues, high-quality magazines, journals, cookbooks, real estate presentations, and more.

Our saddle stitched books are available in a range of sizes and with various finishing options. Refer below for more details.

Cover Features – Customise with your own print design

Cover Media & Finishes – Most paperweights in gloss, matt & silk. Can be laminated.

Inside Covers – Like the outside cover, can be printed.

Page/Thickness Limits – With 80gsm paper, the maximum number of pages is 88.

Other Options – ‘Block’ Foiling & Embossing on cover*

Foil Colours – Black, Gold, Silver, Copper*

Sizes – From around A6 to A4 portrait

*Minimum orders apply.

Saddle Stitched Book File Setup

Saddle Stitched books consist of a series of spreads that are folding and stapled on the spine area.

– Artwork should be provided for the cover and the content in 1 file.

– The artwork, including the cover, should be set up as separate, individual pages to the final size with 5mm of bleed and crop marks. Our printer software will set up the artwork to print as a booklet.

– Especially for thicker saddle stitched books, be sure to keep pages number and other content at least 10mm from the edges. The actual position of the page numbers is prone to shifting as the book becomes thicker.

– Ensure your text and images are at least 10mm from the spine area.

– As there are effectively 4 (book) pages on each sheet or spread, the total page number of the book needs to be a multiple of four.

– Save and send your file as a PDF.

Paper Options & Page Numbers

It’s not uncommon for saddle stitched books to have a heavier weight cover, and sometimes a different finish, than the content paper.

Cover paper can range from 80gsm to 350gsm. For the content, the paper weight options depend on the thickness of the book. While we can bind up to 88 pages of content on 80gsm paper, we would suggest that if you wanted to use a 350gsm paper, for example, it might only be limited to 8 pages.

It’s more common for a saddle stitched book to use a maximum of around 150gsm paper for the content.

Be sure to consult with a DInkums staff member on page maximums for heavier paper.

Booklet Sizes

Saddle stitched books can be produced in a range of sizes, with the most common being around A4 size.

We’re able to produce most sizes in-house and quickly – from A4 portrait to around to just below A5 size and everything dimension in between.

For sizes beyond those, for example, A4 landscape, A3 portrait or landscape and smaller sizes, like A6, these can be done, but will take a bit longer and will require higher volumes to spread out the setup costs involved.

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