Binding systems for handouts

(Originally published in the September 1996 issue of Presentations magazine.)

Beyond Paper Clips and Staples
Binding Systems Enhance Your Professional Image

Quality presentation handouts are items your audience will want to keep for future reference. Binding these materials into a convenient booklet or manual makes access much easier — pages are less likely to become lost, mangled or mutilated as the materials get passed from person to person, stored on a bookshelf or filed for future reference. Beyond convenience for the recipient, binding your handouts gives a more valuable and professional appearance to your material.

5 most popular binding systems

There are essentially five ways to bind presentation handouts, surprisingly all very similar in cost:

1. Spiral binding.
Plastic spiral binders come in a variety of colors and sizes to meet just about any need. They start at 3/16 of an inch to accommodate fewer than 20 pages, and move up in size to 2 inches or more. Matching color or clear plastic covers and backings also are available for spiral binders. Using card stock rather than plastic for the cover will save you money, but provides less durability. Pages can be added to spiral-bound materials, but if you've ever tried it, it's not much fun. One advantage to spiral binding systems is that the booklet will lay perfectly flat, good for taking notes or reading without having to have a coffee cup weighing down one page and a tape dispenser on the other to keep the booklet from springing closed.

2. Velo binding.
This makes a sleek-looking packet whose binding element is two thin strips of plastic, front and back, snapped together. As with most bindings, a variety of colors are available. The completed packet feels official and doesn't have the loose feel of spiral-bound materials. Negatives? Pages cannot be added to a velo binding and it doesn't lay completely flat when opened like a spiral-bound piece.

3. Tape binding.
Tape has the look of a book binding. It's attractive, but after repeated use the tape tends to loosen and fray. Another negative is that pages cannot be added.

4. Booklet binding.
With this system, pages are stapled on the edges and your final product is a true booklet. This binding tends to be very durable and people will hang on to a booklet longer than other types of material. If you want to give your handouts the greatest sense of permanence and longevity, consider this type of binding.

5. Three-ring notebook.
Notebooks are available in a variety of sizes and colors. They can be custom printed if you're trying to sell a service or product. Notebooks also come with clear plastic pockets on the cover and spine so you can slip in your own presentation title sheet and your company or product logo. A key benefit is that three-ring binders lay flat. Pages also can be easily deleted or added, making notebooks a good option for a working conference where a week's worth of presentations should be kept together. Notebooks also store well on a shelf.

Okay, so you'll be paying more for a binder than for a staple or a paper clip, but the payoff will be in image, usability and longevity of your materials. And it's easy to have your presentation handouts bound. Kinko's and its many cousins have made the process fast, easy and inexpensive. Along with checking out your local quick-copy establishments, you may want to contact some of these binding system manufacturers:

AJM Company
1600 Wyatt, #12T
Santa Clara, CA 95054
800.845.6839

Bind-it Corp.
150 Commerce Drive
Hauppauge, NY 11788
800.645.5110

Duo-Tang
P.O. Box 208
Paw Paw, MI 49079
616.657.6011

General Binding Corp.
One GBC Plaza
Northbrook, IL 60062
847.272.3700

Graphic Packaging Resources
648 W. Randolph
Chicago, IL 60661
312.441.1900

Kruysman
170 Varick Street
New York, NY 10013
800.421.0350

Magnaplan Corp.
1320 P.O. Box 0158
Champlain, NY 12919
800.361.1192

Paper Direct
100 Plaza Dr.
Secaucus, NJ 07094
800.272.7377

Queblo, Div. of the Stationery House
P.O. Box 8465
Mankato, MN 56002
800.523.9080

Quill Corp.
100 Shelter Road
Lincolnshire, IL 60069
800.789.5817

The Rip-Tie Co.
P.O. Box 77394
San Francisco, CA 94107
415.543.0170