Small Format Saddle Stitching

Small format saddle stitching is a great way to put a lot of information into a small physical area.  Common applications include consumer product booklets, multi-lingual instruction sets and promotional devices string-tied onto bottles and packages.  Here are some tips to help get small format saddle stitching jobs done right.

1. Size multiple-up “untrimmed” books properly so they can be automatically stitched on high speed machinery.  At Rickard Bindery, our minimum size for inline automatic production is 2-1/2” x 3-1/2” upright.

2. If your product is smaller than the minimum size, layout multiple-up forms (2- to 5-out) like this:

3. Stitching heads on saddle stitchers cannot be positioned closer than 2-1/8”.  If the backbone of your product is shorter than this, you MUST allow at least 2-1/8” from the bottom of one book to the bottom of the next on a multiple-up form.

4. Just because small stitched products are little doesn’t mean that you can forget about “shingling” your images during layout.  Paper is three-dimensional regardless of trim size.  Just like normal-sized saddle stitching, small format projects must account for shingling.

5. Covers on small format products don’t have much bulk and tend to spring open.  Ask us about ROTARY SCORING covers as thin as five points.

BOTTOM LINE: Let our experts help you plan your next small format saddle stitching job.  We have the stitching, folding, gluing and rotary scoring solutions to help you look good to your customers.