Print Finishing, Binding and Packaging
Finishing questions test the order of operations, the mechanics of each binding method, and whether a chosen finish is compatible with the stock. Expect creasing, folding, die-cutting, laminating, saddle stitching, perfect binding and carton construction.
Core rules
- Sequence: print → coat or laminate → cut → crease/die-cut → fold → bind → three-knife trim. Doing these out of order wastes the job.
- Cutting: guillotine with clamp and cutting stick; program cuts from the back edge; three-knife trimmers for book blocks.
- Folding and creasing: folds run parallel to the paper grain to avoid cracking. Crease every cross fold on coated stock and any fold on stock above about 170 gsm; a 300 gsm board folded without a crease will crack along the spine.
- Die-cutting, perforating, kiss-cutting, embossing, debossing and hot-foil blocking all need a steel die and makeready; foil needs temperature, pressure and dwell.
- Coatings: aqueous varnish (cheap, recycable, sealable), UV varnish (high gloss, needs primer for overprinting or foil adhesion), BOPP lamination in gloss, matt or soft-touch.
- Saddle stitch: pages in multiples of four, wire through the spine fold, creep (shingling) allowance needed, practical limit roughly 64–96 pages depending on stock. Spine thickness = number of leaves × sheet caliper.
- Perfect binding: milled spine, EVA or PUR adhesive; PUR for coated stocks and heavy books; minimum around 48–64 pages; square spine with a 3-knife trim.
- Packaging: dieline with crease, cut and glue-tab lines; EAN-13 barcode with quiet zones; board grade and flute direction determine stacking strength.
Worked example
A 64-page A5 brochure, saddle-stitched, on 130 gsm silk. Spine thickness: 32 leaves × caliper. Silk at 130 gsm has a bulk of about 1.1, so caliper = 130 × 1.1 = 143 µm; 32 × 0.143 mm = 4.58 mm. Creep over the whole section accumulates to roughly that figure, so the inner pages must be shingled outward before trimming or the trim will eat into the inner fore-edge. Also check thickness against the stitching wire capacity and confirm 64 pages is within the section limit for 130 gsm.
Traps that cost marks
Folding against the grain; no crease on heavy coated stock; perfect binding a thin coated job that should be saddle-stitched; spot UV on matt laminate without a primer coat; forgetting creep in saddle-stitched work; a glue tab too narrow to hold the carton.
Key points
- Correct order: print, coat, cut, crease, fold, bind, trim.
- Crease coated stock and anything above ~170 gsm.
- Saddle stitch needs multiples of four plus creep allowance.
- PUR adhesive for coated stock and heavy book blocks.
- Match the finish to the stock: laminate, varnish, spot UV, foil.
- Spine thickness = leaves × caliper, from gsm × bulk.