What is Saddle stitching - well it is a way of binding together your brochures that are 8 pages or more.

They consist of many pieces of paper folded in half (to create 4 pages at a time), then they are nested inside each other and long wire staples are threaded/stitched along the fold to secure them together. Due to the nature of this binding your final page count will always need to be in multiples of 4. So for example, 8, 12, 16, 20, 24 pages etc are all acceptable page counts for a saddle stitched booklet.

So why is it called "saddle stitched" and not just stapled?

The long wire staples are "stitched" through the paper and the pieces of paper are sat on a saddle like piece of apparatus whilst they are collated and stitched. Peculiar name, but makes sense now you know!

How many pages does saddle stitching suit?

Saddle stitching is the preferred method for binding when you have a relatively low page count in your printed brochure from as low as 8 pages.

Once you go over 56 pages you will need to consider a different binding method called perfect bound or possibly wiro bound. You may also want to consider perfect binding from 40 printed pages, although saddle stitching is still an option at this amount.

The reason why you don't want too many pages in a saddle stitched brochure is because they become thicker, bulkier and won't lay flat.
But what's perfect binding?... Click here to read our perfect binding blog

Tell me more about Wiro binding....Click here to read our Wiro binding article

What sort of jobs would suit saddle stitching?

There are many types of printed jobs that would suit saddle stitching such as company brochures, product guides, instruction manuals, catalogues, story books, travel guides, price guides, information booklets and so much more.

Saddle stitched brochures are an economical binding method and are relatively strong and reliable. This is why you will see saddle stitching used so much around you in your everyday life.

What should you consider when creating artwork?

• page count must be in multiples of 4 to avoid any blank pages
  
• allow plenty of safe area/margins at the edges (area where there's no text or important imagery such as logos). At least 5mm is always a good guideline to follow. This is important at the binding edge so you don't loose sight of anything within the fold. On the outer edge you need the safe area to be sure nothing of importance gets trimmed off (as the thicker the brochure gets, the more will get trimmed off the middle pages, due to them getting pushed out by the collation). You can always check with us what we recommend specifically for your printed brochure.
  
• as with any print job, resolutions with a minimum of 150dpi are recommended.
  
• colour set up as CMYK.
  
• 3mm bleed.
  
• provided as a multiple page pdf as single pages (not spreads) .
  
  

If you don't understand any of the above artwork setup then please get in touch as we are happy to help you out. We won't refuse artwork but will work with you to make sure it's right.

So saddle stitching is a double stapled brochure. Simple.
Now you understand it you can make it work for you and your company.

Any Questions?

Still have some questions or keen to get started on your saddle stitched brochure? Then please don't hesitate to get in touch for advice and a no obligation quote. 

Is your saddle stitched brochure ready to print?

Then get in touch with us and lets get them brochures printed and bound! We offer brochure printing UK services - various sizes, material and binding options available. Let us know what you need and we can help advise on the best options and give quotes on various quantities. 

Do you know what your printed brochure needs to say, but struggling to get the right design?

Don't worry, we offer a professional design service at affordable prices. Get your UK design and print service all in one place.

Read more on our design service here.

See our printed brochures page here

PRINTED BROCHURES UK - GRAPHIC DESIGN AND PRINT SERVICE
BASED IN SHEFFIELD

We are a Sheffield Printers but we can deliver to the whole of the UK.

Call us on 07824 806299 

Or email print@abovethebelow.co.uk