Perfect Bound Book Printing for Magazines, Catalogues and Books

The Perfect Bound Book

An alternative to stitch binding is perfect binding, a cheap and cost-effective way to create professional looking publications including books and catalogues. Perfect binding consists of milling the binding edge of your interior pages and then affixing this to your chosen cover.

Perfect bound printing is a popular choice for books and catalogues as it has a number of benefits. It makes sense financially as it’s cheaper than hardcover yet still looks sleek and gives you the high-quality aesthetic you’re seeking. The added bonus is that the name of the publication can be printed on the spine, making it ideal for books or catalogues.

Pixartprinting provides a wide range of customisation options enabling clients to create perfect bound book printing jobs, each with their own paper type and cover designs. If you require other forms of binding please visit our stapled, stitch binding, or spiral binding pages for more information.

Perfect binding, also known as glued binding, glued perfect binding or grooved perfect binding, is used for the production of editorial products that exceed 3 millimetres in thickness and therefore require a binding that is both strong and reliable, yet elegant. In this type of binding, the main element of the process is the glue, which is used to attach the pages to the spine of the cover without the use of other elements such as staples or spirals.

Pixartprinting uses advanced perfect binding technologies and high-quality glues to ensure extremely durable paperback binding for books, catalogues and other editorial products. This makes perfect binding a practical solution for high-quality prints that are easy to browse and built to last over time.

Why choose glued and grooved perfect binding?

Perfect binding is a type of binding that allows you to produce books or catalogues under three advantageous conditions: affordability, fast turnaround times and high-quality production. It is ideal for creating professional printed products that are elegant, durable and easy to browse through.

• Extremely affordable prices – a more economical option than many premium binding methods.
• Very fast turnaround times – ideal for both short and larger print runs.
• High-quality production – a sleek, professional finish for books, magazines and catalogues.
• Easy page turning – the glue allows the book to open smoothly and makes the pages easy to flip through.
• Reliable durability – the spine is designed to remain strong even after repeated use.

Compared to sewn binding, perfect binding is generally more cost-effective and is suitable for books with a medium-to-long lifespan, although it may not be the best choice for premium volumes intended for particularly intensive use.

Perfect bound book printing - contexts

The Pixartprinting perfect bound book printing service is suitable for all sorts of publications, not only books. If you have a business, you can choose perfect binding for your corporate brochure containing company information, which you can hand out to prospective customers at trade fairs or when you visit their premises. You could also create a brochure to advertise a particular product or service. Or why not use perfect binding for your monthly newsletter or magazine? It is also ideal for shop catalogues and price lists. So, whatever your publication, there are many advantages to perfect bound book printing.

Perfect binding is suitable not only for catalogues and magazines, but also for self-published books, manuals, promotional publications and many other editorial products. It is particularly recommended when you need a publication with a refined appearance, a printable spine and a more substantial structure than stapled products can offer.

Perfect Bound Printing

Please note that when entering the number of sides for each document each page consists of 2 sides. Pixartprinting provides perfect binding for three publications sizes: 21cm x 29.7cm (A4), 14.8cm x 21cm (A5) and 21cm x 14.8cm (A5 horizontal). Alternatively, you can also choose your own dimensions.

At Pixartprinting, customisation is key. You can configure your perfect bound product in just a few clicks by selecting the options that best suit your project.

• Closed format – choose from predefined formats such as A5, A4, A6, 16.5 x 24 cm, 21 x 21 cm and 30 x 30 cm, or create a custom size with your own dimensions.
• Orientation – portrait or landscape.
• Inner page paper – choose the most suitable paper for the inside pages of your publication.
• Paper thickness – varies depending on the selected paper type.
• Cover type – choose between paperback cover, paperback cover with flaps or hardback.
• Cover paper – several materials are available to customise the cover of your perfect bound product.
• Lamination – ideal for increasing durability and enhancing the printed colours.
• Number of pages – choose the number of pages required, including the cover, which is always counted as 4 pages.
• Special finishes for the cover – selected configurations may allow you to enhance graphic details with gold or silver finishing, or 3D varnish.

Special finishes and certain lamination options are available exclusively for Classic Demimatt (Matt Coated) and Classic Gloss (Gloss Coated) papers.

Types of perfect binding

Pixartprinting offers different perfect binding solutions to suit different publishing needs:

• Perfect binding with paperback cover – made of cardstock, lightweight and easy to handle, ideal for books, catalogues and manuals for practical everyday use.
• Perfect binding with paperback cover and flaps – combines the practicality of a softcover with the elegance of inside flaps, providing extra space for presentations, biographies or promotional information.
• Perfect binding with hardcover – elegant and durable, with a cardboard core covered by a protective layer, ideal for premium or long-lasting publications.

The Perfect Paper for your Perfect Bound Book

There is a variety of paper types to choose from. Our standard paper options include Classic Demimatt – Matt Coated and Classic Gloss – Gloss Coated paper, whilst for a more luxurious appearance you can choose from the following: Extraprint – Brilliant White Smooth Uncoated; Rembrandt Stipple Textured Uncoated; Underwood – Woodstock Birch. Recycled paper can also be used for an environmentally friendly perfect bound printing project with character.

There are additional paper types available for the cover page. Really make an impact with the Pearl Paper, the Turner – Orange Peel Texture or the Ice White – Brilliant White Uncoated Linen Finish paper. For each paper type the weight is indicated on the online form, and in some cases, you can select from a number of possible weights.

For the inner pages of your perfect bound publication, you can also select from additional paper options depending on the configuration, including gloss or matt coated papers, Classic Uncoated paper, Extraprint, Rembrandt, Underwood and Recycled paper. Each paper offers specific visual and tactile qualities, enabling you to tailor the final appearance of your book or catalogue.

Cover lamination and finishing options

Lamination can increase the durability of the cover and improve the overall appearance of the final product by protecting the surface and enhancing the printed colours.

Perfect binding with paperback cover: lamination is available exclusively for the outer cover.

• If the cover is made with Classic Demimatt – Matt Coated paper, the available lamination options are Matt or Soft Touch.
• If the cover is made with Classic Gloss – Gloss Coated paper, the available lamination option is Gloss.

Perfect binding with hardcover: lamination is available in Matt, Gloss and Soft Touch.

Depending on the selected configuration, the cover can also be enhanced with special finishes such as gold or silver details, or 3D varnish, for an even more distinctive and premium look.

Technical file specifications

To achieve the best printing results, please prepare your artwork according to the following specifications:

• File format – PDF at 1:1 scale, not password-protected.
• Colours – all files must be submitted in CMYK with the Fogra 39 colour profile.
• Resolution – the optimal print resolution is 300 dpi.
• Crop marks – export the PDF without crop marks or registration marks.
• Bleed – each page must have a 3 mm bleed on all sides.
• Text safety margins – text must be positioned 15 mm from the inner margin and 5 mm from the outer margins.
• Fonts – fonts must be embedded in the PDF and not converted to outlines or paths.
• Minimum vector stroke thickness – 0.25 pt.
• Minimum font size – 6 pt to ensure perfect readability.

File setup recommendations by product type:

• Perfect binding with paperback cover – it is recommended to provide two files: one for the cover, composed of two adjacent images (one with the back and front cover, the other with the inside front and back cover), and a second file with the inner pages in print order as single pages.
• Perfect binding with hardcover – it is recommended to provide a single file consisting of one continuous image with the back and front cover side by side, followed by the inner pages in print order, presented as single pages.
• Perfect binding with paperback cover and flaps – it is recommended to provide two files: one for the cover, made up of two adjacent images (one with the back and front cover, the other with the inside front and back cover), and a second file with the inner pages in print order as single pages.

Perfect bound book printing – order online

The online order form is broken down into steps to make your purchase as simple as possible. The first step is to select your preferred options for your perfect bound book printing project. The second step is to choose your ideal quantity and delivery date. If you can wait a bit longer for your delivery, you can benefit from even cheaper prices. In this step, you can also select an enhanced file check for a small additional fee. The final step is to download the Instructions and Template