Perfect Bound Booklets
Sleek booklet with magazine finish
Sleek perfect bound booklets. Creates a premium, magazine-style finish perfect for catalogues and annual reports.
- • Available sizes: A6, A5, A4, Custom
- • Paper options: 100gsm Silk, 100gsm Uncoated, 120gsm Uncoated, 130gsm Gloss, 130gsm Silk, 150gsm Silk, 160gsm Uncoated, 170gsm Gloss, 170gsm Silk, 200gsm Silk, 200gsm Uncoated
- • Minimum order: 10 units
- • Turnaround: Perfect binding takes 4 to 5 working days from print preview approval because the glued spine has to cure before it can be trimmed and handled, so same-day and next-day are not available. Need it sooner? Choose Wire Bound Booklets, which can go same-day or next-day.
Not available same-day or next-day: the glued spine has to cure before it can be trimmed and handled. Perfect binding takes 4 to 5 working days; need it sooner? Choose Wire Bound Booklets.
Please supply your artwork as a print-ready PDF with 3mm bleed and no crop marks (we add our own). Make sure all colours are CMYK and imagery is 300dpi.
- • File Format: One PDF with the pages in reading order — we handle the imposition
- • Colour Mode: CMYK at 300dpi, with fonts embedded or outlined
- • Bleed: 3mm bleed on every page
- • Page Count: The whole book, cover included: a 36-page book is the 4-page cover plus 32 inside pages. A glued spine is built from flat leaves, so the count runs in twos — the Pages selector on this page lists the counts we can bind. If your file is shorter we add blank pages at the end
- • Cover Artwork: Supply the cover in the same PDF as the inside pages: page 1 is the front cover, page 2 the inside front cover, and the last two pages the inside back cover and the back cover, each with 3mm bleed all round. We build the wraparound cover from those four pages
- • Spine: We work the spine width out from your final page count and inside stock and confirm it before printing. The spine carries no wording: we build the cover from your front and back cover pages, with no separate spine artwork
- • Gutter Margin: Allow 10mm extra margin on the spine side of every inside page — the glued spine takes some of the inner margin
Free design templates
Each template has the bleed, cut line and safe area already marked, so your file is set up correctly first time:
- Download your size: PDF for Illustrator, Affinity or InDesign; PNG for Photoshop or Canva.
- Open it in your design app, or place it on a locked layer at 100% size. It already includes the 3mm bleed.
- Design over it: run your background right to the red bleed edge and keep text and logos inside the green safe area.
- Hide or delete the template layer, then export a print-ready PDF (CMYK, 300dpi) and upload it with your order.
Perfect binding takes 4 to 5 working days from print preview approval because the glued spine has to cure before it can be trimmed and handled, so same-day and next-day are not available. Need it sooner? Choose Wire Bound Booklets, which can go same-day or next-day.
Choose your delivery speed at checkout. Every parcel is tracked:
- • Standard delivery: 3-5 working days, free to UK mainland addresses on orders over £50, £5.99 below that
- • Not available same-day or next-day: the glued spine has to cure before it can be trimmed and handled. Perfect binding takes 4 to 5 working days; need it sooner? Choose Wire Bound Booklets.
Northern Ireland, the Highlands & Islands, the Isle of Wight, offshore and international addresses are priced live at checkout, as are unusually heavy orders: over 15kg is £14.95 whatever the order value. Flat prints bigger than A4, such as A3 posters or 25 cm stickers, travel in a larger, board-backed pack: paid delivery services carry a packing charge for it, shown at checkout, and free standard delivery stays free. Very large pieces (any side over 120 cm, such as A0 boards) go by courier rather than post, at the courier price shown at checkout for each service. Pieces over 150 cm, or over 100 cm both ways, are beyond the parcel couriers: they travel with a specialist courier at the rate shown at checkout, or we split the artwork into smaller panels for you free of charge. See live delivery prices and times.
Every order is covered by the Presswift Guarantee: printed to the print preview you approve and the specification you choose, or put right. If what arrives is damaged, short or does not match the approved print preview, contact us within 7 days of delivery with your order number, photos of the problem and a count of the affected copies, and keep the copies unused while we look. We reprint the affected copies to the same specification or, where a reprint is not practical, refund them; approved refunds reach your original payment method within 7-10 working days. Read the Presswift Guarantee.
Because every job is printed to your own artwork and specification, we cannot take a return simply because you have changed your mind, and errors carried through the print preview you approved, or colour and trim variation within normal print tolerance, are not print faults. That is what the free print preview is for: check the colours, wording and layout on the print preview and nothing goes to press until you are happy with it.
What is perfect binding?
Perfect binding gathers your pages into a block, roughens the spine edge and glues it to a wraparound cover. Once trimmed you get a flat, square spine, the same method used for most paperback books and thick catalogues.
Why choose perfect binding over saddle-stitching?
Saddle-stitching staples folded sheets and works best for thinner booklets, while perfect binding glues a square spine that handles far more pages neatly. If your document is thick, perfect binding usually looks and holds better.
Can the spine be printed?
Not with wording. We build the cover from the front and back cover pages of your file, with no separate spine artwork, so the spine carries no wording.
Does a perfect-bound booklet lie flat?
The glued square spine holds pages firmly rather than fully flat, so it sits like a paperback and needs holding open. If lying flat is essential, a wire-bound or comb-bound booklet is a better fit.
How should I set up my cover artwork?
Supply a print-ready PDF in CMYK at 300dpi with 3mm bleed, the cover in the same PDF as the inside pages: page 1 the front cover, page 2 the inside front cover, and the last two pages the inside back cover and the back cover. We build the wraparound cover from those pages and confirm the spine width from your page count and paper.
How long does perfect binding take?
Allow 4 to 5 working days from print preview approval. The PUR-glued spine has to cure before it can be trimmed, so same-day and next-day are not available on perfect binding. Need it sooner? Choose Wire Bound Booklets, which can go same-day or next-day.
How much do Perfect Bound Booklets cost?
Perfect Bound Booklets start from £53.96 with no VAT to add (zero-rated) for 10 units. The price updates live on this page as you choose your size, paper stock and quantity, and the price per unit falls at higher quantities.
What sizes do Perfect Bound Booklets come in?
Perfect Bound Booklets are available in 3 sizes: A6, A5 and A4. You can also enter a custom size in millimetres. If your size or page count is outside what the page can price, request a quote and we will price the exact specification for you.
Which paper stocks can I choose for Perfect Bound Booklets?
You can print Perfect Bound Booklets on 100gsm Silk, 100gsm Uncoated, 120gsm Uncoated, 130gsm Gloss, 130gsm Silk, 150gsm Silk, 160gsm Uncoated and 170gsm Gloss, plus 3 more stocks. Every stock is listed with its weight so you can balance feel and budget, and the page reprices as you switch.
Can I get Perfect Bound Booklets delivered the same day?
No. Perfect Bound Booklets cannot be produced same day or next day because the glued spine has to cure before it can be trimmed and handled: perfect binding takes 4 to 5 working days from proof approval. If you need it sooner, choose Wire Bound Booklets, which can go same-day or next-day. Standard tracked UK delivery then takes 3-5 working days.
How much is delivery for Perfect Bound Booklets?
Standard tracked delivery is free to UK mainland addresses on orders over £50 (£5.99 below that), and takes 3-5 working days once your order is ready to send. Northern Ireland, the Highlands & Islands, the Isle of Wight, offshore and international addresses are priced live at checkout, as are orders over 15kg (£14.95 whatever the order value). Next-day delivery is not available on Perfect Bound Booklets: allow 4 to 5 working days before dispatch.
Do you provide free artwork templates for Perfect Bound Booklets?
Yes. Free artwork templates for every perfect bound booklets size, in PDF and PNG with the bleed, trim and safe area already marked, are in the Artwork Guidelines section on this page.
About Perfect Bound Booklets
Perfect Bound Booklets have a flat, square spine formed by gluing the printed text block to a wraparound cover. The result is a bookshop finish with a clean, square edge, giving your document the substantial feel of a proper paperback rather than a stapled leaflet. We print them in A4 and A5, from ten copies upwards.
This binding is built for higher page counts. Where saddle-stitching relies on folded sheets and starts to bulge as pages mount up, perfect binding holds a thick block of flat leaves neatly and squarely, which is why catalogues, manuals and annual reports use it. Because the block is made of single leaves rather than folded sections, the inside page count runs in twos; the Pages selector on this page lists the counts we bind.
Cover and inside pages are chosen separately, and the pairing is what makes the booklet feel right. Covers run at 300gsm silk — matt, gloss or soft-touch laminated — or 350gsm uncoated heavyweight if you want a natural, tactile finish. For the text block, silk is a smooth coated stock with a soft satin sheen that keeps photographs and solid colour rich without gloss glare, while uncoated is crisp and natural in the hand, easy to write on and kinder to read across long stretches of type. For most documents a 100-170gsm inside stock gives the best balance of opacity and page turn; heavier stocks make a thick book stiff and expensive.
The spine width is worked out from your final page count and inside stock, and we confirm it before printing, and we build the wraparound cover from your file: supply the whole book as one PDF in reading order, cover included, with the front cover as page 1 and the back cover as the last page. Every order includes a free print preview to approve before production, the price per copy falls from twenty copies upwards, and standard UK delivery takes 3 to 5 working days once your booklets are bound.
One thing perfect binding cannot do is same-day or next-day: the PUR-glued spine has to cure before it can be trimmed and handled, so allow 4 to 5 working days from print preview approval. If you need it sooner, choose a wire-bound booklet, which can be produced inside the same-day and next-day windows.
Product catalogues
Showcase full ranges in a smart, shelf-ready format.
Company reports
Present annual reports with a professional square spine.
Event programmes
Produce thick event or theatre programmes that feel premium.
Design portfolios
Bind a substantial body of work into a paperback finish.
Related products & guides
Perfect Bound Booklets specifications
| Sizes |
|
|---|---|
| Stocks and materials |
|
| Binding | Perfect bound (glued square spine) |
| Page count | 32 to 300 pages, in twos (each sheet is printed both sides) |
| Spine | Worked out from your final page count and inside stock, and confirmed before printing. Supply the cover in the same PDF as the inside pages: page 1 is the front cover, the last page the back cover, with 3mm bleed |
| Minimum order | 10 units |
| Production and delivery | Perfect binding takes 4 to 5 working days from print preview approval because the glued spine has to cure before it can be trimmed and handled, so same-day and next-day are not available. Need it sooner? Choose Wire Bound Booklets, which can go same-day or next-day. |
| Delivery options |
|
| Artwork | Print-ready PDF, CMYK, images at 300dpi, 3mm bleed on all edges, fonts embedded or outlined, and important content kept 5mm inside the trim |
Standard delivery is free to UK mainland addresses on orders over £50 (£5.99 below that) and takes 3-5 working days once your order is ready to send. Northern Ireland, the Highlands & Islands, the Isle of Wight, offshore and international addresses are priced live at checkout. Delivery details.
Quality Guaranteed
Every order is printed to the proof you approve and the specification you choose. If what arrives does not match them, or is damaged or short, tell us within 7 days of delivery and we reprint the affected copies or, where a reprint is not practical, refund them. Read the Presswift Guarantee
Fast Turnaround
Perfect binding takes 4 to 5 working days from print preview approval because the glued spine has to cure before it can be trimmed and handled, so same-day and next-day are not available. Need it sooner? Choose Wire Bound Booklets, which can go same-day or next-day.
Expert Support
Every order gets a free file check and a free print preview within the hour (studio hours, 9am to 6pm Monday to Friday). Questions about your file? We reply within 24 hours, Monday to Friday. Contact us
