customized binding: giving body to your book
As a workshop specializing in fine printing, Bulk offers a wide range of customized bookbinding services. Over the years, we have acquired various binding techniques that enable us to excel in this art today. Each type of binding offers unique features to meet the specific needs of your creations. Singer® binding, glued square back, sewn square, Japanese binding: discover all the secrets of the bindings offered by Atelier Bulk.
What is personalized BINDING?
In the field of fine printing, binding refers to all the techniques and processes used to assemble and dress the leaves and cover of a printed work, giving it an elegant, long-lasting presentation.
It’s a meticulous process designed to create high-quality books, notebooks, brochures and other printed documents. The choice of binding techniques will influence both the aesthetics and functionality of the object.
Custom binding can include steps such as folding, stitching, gluing, embossing and other finishes. These give each piece an appearance perfectly tailored to the requirements of high-end printing customers.
What are the different custom binding techniques offered by atelier Bulk?
SINGER® BINDING
Singer® binding is a technique that seduces with its simplicity and vintage charm. Recognizable by its visible stitching, usually along the spine, it is used in particular for notebooks. The stitching threads, often in cotton or linen, add a handcrafted touch and create a retro aesthetic.
For a personalized binding, designers can choose the color of the wires on the edge of the notebook. This can be a tone-on-tone effect, or a high-contrast, fluorescent or even silver thread. Singer® stitching is generally done in the fold. Alternatively, you can sew in the thickness, with the seam visible on the first and last covers.
At Atelier Bulk, we’ve mastered the art of Singer® binding, an elegant solution for notebook projects. This binding gives each piece its own distinctive character. Our craftsmen take care of every detail to guarantee a meticulous finish and unfailing sturdiness.
If you’d like a quote for Singer® notebooks, we’d be delighted to hear from you.
CARré glued back
Glued square-back binding is a classic technique that gives your publications a streamlined aesthetic. Recognizable by its flat spine, this method uses a strong glue to join the leaves and the wraparound cover. The aim is to create a strong, clean bond.
At Atelier Bulk, we offer glued square-back binding for a wide range of projects: brochures, catalogs, books and more. Above, we showcase a customized binding with 1st and 4th covers on which we’ve laminated several layers of creative paper for a very rigid finish.
The glued square-back binding technique guarantees an uncluttered presentation. What’s more, it allows for a high degree of personalization: colored edges, subtle gilding on the cover.
Opt for the reliability of glued square-back binding for sleek, sophisticated projects.
sewn square back
Stitched spine binding, a true marriage of elegance and sturdiness, is distinguished by the visible stitching threads on the book’s spine. This process offers a handcrafted aesthetic while reinforcing the binding’s solidity.
The flat opening characteristic of this technique makes it particularly suitable for medium to large-scale projects, where durability and careful presentation are essential.
Whether for high-end photography books, art magazines or exceptional literary works, custom binding with stitched spine adds a touch of authenticity to your work.
This technique requires meticulous craftsmanship, and Atelier Bulk’s specialized craftsmen have mastered the art of sewn backs to bring your publishing projects to life.
square back, glued sewn, otabind binding
Glued-stitched spine binding is a binding technique that combines the strength of stitching with the durability of gluing. In this process, we fold the pages into sections and sew them together along the center fold. Then we apply a layer of glue to the spine of all the sections, and glue the cover to the whole.
This method ensures a sturdy, durable custom binding, ideal for books and fine art prints. Stitched and glued square backs offer a neat presentation with a flat cover and perfectly aligned spine, making them a popular choice for high-end publications and limited editions. The cover can be designed in canvas, imitation leather or creative paper.
Otabind binding is a variant of the glued-stitched square spine. As can be seen in the photo above, the spine of the cover is independent of the spine of the inner block. We glue the inner leaves together, but not with the spine, allowing greater flexibility in opening the book.
Japanese binding
Japanese bookbinding is distinguished by its unique aesthetic and its glueless, exposed stitching method. Unlike traditional bindings, Japanese bindings emphasize the seams, which become a decorative element in their own right.
This technique is characterized by the use of threads, often colored, visible on the outside of the cover. Each stitch is executed with meticulous precision, creating a solid structure and artistic design.
This customized binding is often chosen for its handcrafted look, bringing a touch of sophistication to any project. At Atelier Bulk, we’ve mastered this technique, offering a distinctive option for your books, albums or art projects, where subtlety and elegance blend harmoniously. Japanese binding brings a touch of refinement to your creations.
SCREW BINDING
Screw binding offers an elegant, original and functional solution for your printing projects. This binding technique uses metal screws to assemble the pages of the document.
What sets this method apart is its sturdiness and the ease with which pages can be disassembled and reassembled. This means it can be used flexibly for documents that need to be changed frequently, such asa menu or restaurant menu.
At Atelier Bulk, we offer screw binding to ensure the durability of your documents. Whether for professional paper objects, portfolios or restaurant cards, screw binding offers a contemporary touch while guaranteeing the practicality of easy page handling. Binding is an aesthetic and functional solution for enhancing your printed content.
BLOC NOTE: customized binder with detachable pages
The Atelier Bulk team’s services include the manufacture of personalized notepads with detachable sheets. These are everyday stationery items that extend the brand’s territory into practical everyday items.
To create these products, we first print the sheets of paper, then bind them together into a compact block using a suitable glue. This binding allows users to detach the sheets cleanly without damaging the remaining pages.
Notepads with detachable sheets are widely used in hotels, the graphics industry, architects’ practices, office environments and more.
Other customized bindings: metal stitching, wire-o binding
Atelier Bulk also offers classic bindings such as metal stitching (staples) and wire-o binding.
Metal stitching is identified by the metal staples on the spine. It is often used for documents with few pages. Examples include brochures, magazines and projects requiring economical binding, while maintaining a neat appearance.
Wire-O binding is the spiral binding we’ve seen since we were kids. This metal binding opens to a full 360°, making reading even more comfortable.
Although considered to be simple, even somewhat basic bindings, these techniques leave room for a certain amount of personalization thanks to black, gold or any other color. Designers can use this bias to create a contrasting effect on the edge of the printed object, as seen above for a spiral notebook produced for the Vilebrequin brand.