We all take book bindings for granted -- we want a book and we buy it. When you are having a special book made - like a photo book - and you get a choice of photo book bindings... it pays to know the difference. It can make the difference between an average digital photo album, and an extraordinary custom photo book.

Should We Choose Our Publisher If They Glue or Sew?

Some photo book printers mention their binding process on their web pages. Some photo book bindings are sewn, and others are glued. The lay-flat bindings used in top-quality photo books are even different from the standard book bindings. If you read what each publisher says, you are sure that their method is the best.

It is hard to find information on this. There is a very informative article called To Sew or Not To Sew by Rupert Evans. In the past, libraries would not accept books that were glued. The process of gluing has improved so much that it is now hard to find commercially published books that are not glued and all libraries accept them. Even if a book is sewn, there is some gluing involved.

So, the answer to the question is that you should not be choosing your publisher on whether they glue or sew.

Types of Photo Book Bindings

Case Binding: Case binding is the method commonly used to bind books. Folded pages are sewn, gauze is glued to the spine, and the first and last pages are glued to the cover (case).

Saddle Stitching: The pages are folded in half and stitched or stapled down the middle. This is inexpensive, but great care needs to be done to avoid having the middle pages longer than the cover.

Side Stitching: In this binding the pages are cut to size and not folded over. They are stacked together and stapled near the left hand fold.

Lie Flat Binding: The first and last pages are attached to the cover. The spine is unattached and this allows the book to lie flat.

Perfect Binding: Stacks of single sheet pages are ground along the left hand edge to create a rough textured spine to which the cover is glued.

For quick links to other photo book questions:

Choosing the Right Size for your Photo Book
Photo Book Covers
Photo Book Covers, Sizes and Prices
Photo Book Feature Set Review
Publishers We're Not Reviewing