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Subject:Re: Type of binding From:Elna Tymes <etymes -at- LTS -dot- COM> Date:Fri, 1 May 1998 09:25:59 -0700
Folks -
PUHLEEEEEZE search the archives on this one! I know we talked this one
into the ground last year.
The sum of it all seems to be that 3-ring binders give a
less-than-professional impression, that they're so big that they take up
too much real estate on a desktop, and that the update pages rarely get
put in place in the binder. By the time you factor in the cost of the
binder itself, you don't save any money over other forms of binding.
Spiral binding also appears less professional, and its pages tend to
tear out.
Perfect binding has several options, including a 'lay flat' binding that
allows a book to stay open at a particular page. It appears to be the
preferred option in terms of appearance, and the smaller (7x9 or so)
format works better with multiple-shelf bookshelves. In most urban
printing markets, it's more or less competitive with other forms of
binding, although slightly higher than spiral.
That said, however, IT PAYS TO SHOP AROUND. For instance, much to our
surprise, we found the local Kinko's competitive for certain kinds of
printing at one point last year. When we did another check of the
market some five months later, things were different and Kinko's was no
longer competitive.