Wire Bound Books

• Material type: Wire bound book with metal wire binding
• Standard sizes: A4, A5 and A6
• Custom sizing: Available on request
• Orientation: Portrait or landscape
• Binding position: Left edge or top edge
• Wire colour: White metal wiro binding
• Cover material: Silk, uncoated or recycled paper options
• Cover weights: 100gsm to 350gsm options, depending on specification
• Inner pages: Silk, uncoated or recycled paper options
• Inner paper weights: 115gsm to 300gsm options, depending on specification
• Print options: Full colour or black only
• Cover finish: None, matt, gloss or soft-touch lamination
• Special finishes: Clear acetate cover available
• Page count: 6 to 340 pages including cover
• Page setup: Pages must be supplied in multiples of 2
• Suitability: Indoor use for manuals, reports, planners, notebooks, workbooks and presentations
• Artwork setup: Allow a safe margin on the binding edge so content is not affected by the wire holes

What is a wire bound book?
A wire bound book is a printed document bound with a metal wire along one edge. The pages are punched and held together by the wire, allowing the book to open easily and lay flat.

What are wire bound books best used for?
They are ideal for manuals, planners, notebooks, training documents, workbooks, reports, presentations, catalogues, handbooks, price guides and instructional documents.

Why choose wire binding?
Wiro binding is useful when a document needs to be handled often. It allows pages to turn smoothly and stay open, making it practical for reference documents, learning materials and working books.

Can wire bound books lay flat?
Yes. One of the main benefits of wiro binding is that the pages can lay flat when open, which makes them easy to read, write in or refer to during meetings and training sessions.

What sizes are available?
Standard sizes include A4, A5 and A6. Custom sizes are also available depending on the finished specification.

Can I choose where the wire binding sits?
Yes. Wire binding can usually be placed on the left edge or top edge, depending on how the book will be used.

How many pages can I have?
Wire bound books start from 6 pages and can go up to 340 pages including the cover. Pages must be supplied in multiples of 2.

What paper stocks can I choose from?
Paper options include silk, uncoated and recycled stocks. Silk gives a smooth finish with a slight sheen, uncoated has a natural matt feel, and recycled paper has a more textured, environmentally conscious finish.

Can I print in full colour or black only?
Yes. Covers and inner pages can be printed in full colour or black only, depending on your artwork and budget.

Can the cover be thicker than the inner pages?
Yes. Many customers choose a heavier cover with lighter inner pages to give the book more structure and durability.

Can I add lamination to the cover?
Yes. Covers can be supplied unlaminated or finished with matt, gloss or soft-touch lamination. Lamination can help protect the cover and improve the finished feel.

What is a clear acetate cover?
A clear acetate cover is a transparent protective sheet added to the front of the book. It helps protect the printed cover and gives the document a clean, professional presentation.

Do I need to allow extra space for the binding?
Yes. Keep important text, logos and page numbers away from the binding edge. We recommend leaving at least 10mm safe space on the binding side so content is not affected by the punched holes or wire.

Should I supply artwork as single pages or spreads?
Please supply your artwork as single pages in reading order, not spreads. This helps us check and prepare the file correctly for print and binding.

Do I need bleed and crop marks?
Yes. Please include bleed and crop marks on your artwork. Any background colours, images or design elements that run to the edge should extend into the bleed area.

What file format should I supply?
Please supply a print-ready PDF. PDF/X-1a is preferred where possible. Fonts should be embedded or converted to outlines.

What resolution should my images be?
Images should ideally be 300dpi at the final printed size. Low-resolution images may appear blurry or pixelated when printed.

Can I design my wiro bound book in Canva?
Yes. Export your file as a PDF Print file with crop marks and bleed selected. Canva artwork is usually RGB, so colours may shift slightly when converted for print.

Will colours print exactly as they appear on screen?
Not always. Screens use RGB colour, while print uses CMYK. Some colour variation is normal, especially with bright colours, Pantones, spot colours or RGB artwork.

Can SM1 check my artwork before print?
Yes. We can check supplied artwork and flag obvious print issues. If your file needs correction, layout changes or print-ready setup, we can quote for artwork support.

Artwork Templates

Our handy templates are available in Adobe InDesign and Acrobat PDF Format and the zipped folder can be downloaded to help you create your artwork to the right dimensions.

Download Templates

Unzipping a folder is easy on both Apple Mac and PC. On a Mac, double-click the zipped folder or right-click and choose "Open With" > "Archive Utility." The contents will be extracted to the same location. On a PC, right-click the zipped folder and select "Extract All." Follow the prompts, choose the destination, and you'll find the unzipped folder in no time.

Artwork Guides

Wire Bound Book - Guide

Spot Colour - Guide

Setting Up Artwork For Scodix Foil Gold – Guide

Setting Up Artwork For Scodix Foil Silver – Guide

Understanding Types of Lamination - Guide

Font and Image Preparation – Guide

Orientation Guide For Artwork – Guide

Understanding Paper Sizes – Guide

Accepted File Formats – Guide

Print Colour Variation – Guide