Most quick order print-shops can provide some or all of the following types of bindings. Here is a description of each type of binding, and some of the pros and cons for comparison. Included for comparison at the end is the do-it-yourself 3-ring binder.
| Binding | Pros / Cons / Commentary |
| Thermal |
Pros:- Make a nice compact book when closed.
- Stacks easily.
- Shelves easily.
- No punching required.
- Binding process is simple, heat the binding glue strip (special heater required), jam in the pages, let cool.
- Supplies are relatively cheap. Binding strips range from 35¢ to 70¢ for various sizes. Clear, heat resistant covers are about 20¢ each (one or two per book, or can use cardstock).
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Cons:- Won't lay flat (180°) when open, or breaks if forced to open flat. Hard to use on table or music stand.
- Just glue holds it together, which can age and lose its grip, allowing pages to fall out.
- Cannot fold pages 360° (except by curling the pages).
- Cannot add pages.
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Comments:
- Similar to process used for “paperback books”, but they use a wrap-around cover, and the process is then called “perfect binding”. The listed cons still apply, and they are far from perfect.
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| Plastic comb |
Pros:
- Inexpensive punches available, which include comb insertion facility.
- Readily available materials (most office supply stores).
- Supplies are relatively cheap. Binding combs range from 17¢ to 35¢ for various sizes.
- Choice of cover material, as long as your punch can punch it.
- Book can lay flat (open 180°)
- Stacks easily.
- Shelves easily when supported.
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Cons:
- Cannot fold pages 360° (except by curling the pages).
- Combs tend to harden with age, and crack when flexed, especially in hot climates. They are cheap to replace, but tedious to replace manually.
- Doesn't have much strength when holding book for use (best for table or music stand use).
- Adding pages requires unbinding and rebinding, perhaps with a larger comb, and is tedious to do manually.
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Comments:
- Often incorrectly called “spiral binding”.
- Shown at left in this picture.
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| Metal comb |
Pros:
- Same inexpensive punches as plastic comb.
- Materials generally must be ordered.
- Book can lay flat (open 180°).
- Pages can be folded 360°.
- Choice of cover material, as long as your punch can punch it.
- Stacks easily.
- Shelves easily when supported.
- Stronger than plastic for maintaining shape, within limits.
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Cons:
- Combs are fairly sturdy, but if abused will bend. Once bent, it is hard to return the combs to exact alignment, and unaligned combs make pages harder to turn, and easier to tear. Replacement is nearly impossible to do manually.
- Adding pages requires unbinding and rebinding, perhaps with a larger comb, and is nearly impossible to do manually.
- Combs are more expensive than plastic, ranging from 50¢ to $1.00 for various sizes.
- The insertion device is an added cost for this process.
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| Comments: |
| Plastic coil |
Pros:
- Durable. Coil returns to original shape when flexed.
- Cheapest supplies. Coil ranges from 16¢ to $1.11 for 36" coils, which can do 3 11" bindings, or 4 8.5" bindings.
- Manual coil insertion is reasonably possible, although not fast. Special crimping pliers are helpful, although regular pliers can be used in a pinch.
- Books can lay flat (open 180°)
- Pages can be folded 360°.
- Choice of cover material, as long as your punch can punch it.
- Stacks easily.
- Shelves easily when supported.
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Cons:
- Requires a more expensive, precision punch.
- Doesn't have much strength when holding book for use (best for table or music stand use).
Adding pages requires unbinding and rebinding, perhaps with a larger coil, possibly with a new coil, as uncrimping and recrimping the coil at one end may cause it to break and be too short.
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Comments:
- This can correctly be called “spiral binding”. Using the term “coil binding” helps avoid ambiguity with other, incorrect, uses of “spiral binding”.
- Shown at right in this picture.
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| 3-ring binder |
Pros:
- Durable.
- Cheapest equipment. A hand-held paper punch, or a 3-hole punch, available in most office supply stores, and many department stores.
- Books can lay flat (open 180°).
- Choice of cover material (when you choose the binder). Some allow insertion of user pages on the outside of the binder.
- Shelves easily.
- Adding pages is trivial, within the limit of size of the binder. Can easily replace with a larger binder.
- Very sturdy when holding book for use. Can also be used on a table or music stand.
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Cons:
- Limited selection of page sizes, commonly letter or A4, depending on country of purchase.
- Pages can be easily torn out accidentally, as only 3 spots hold them in.
- Cannot fold pages 360°.
- Stacking is possible, but due to the variance in width if the binder is not filled to capacity, more than a couple will slide around and at least partially unstack.
- Some 3-ring binders have thumb releases at the bottom that protrude, and could scratch a music stand.
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Comments:
- Variations include binders that have more 4, 5, or more rings, to attempt to address the page tearing con, but these are more expensive, are less common to find, and multi-hole punches for them are also less common and more expensive than 3-hole punches.
- Clear plastic sheet protectors are available for 3-ring binders in a limited selection of page sizes. These address the page tearing issue pretty effectively, and smaller sheets can also be included for a bit more flexibility in ad hoc compilations. These add cost, and reduce the number of sheets that a particular binder can hold, but also eliminate the need for punching.
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