Saddle-Stitch Book Binding & Printing

What Saddle Stitching Means

In printing, saddle stitching is a common book binding method. Folded sheets are gathered inside one another and stapled through the fold line with wire staples. The staples go through the crease from the outside and are secured between the center pages. Most projects use two staples, but larger books may need more staples along the spine.

This binding style helps keep the pages together and makes the book easy to flip through. The cover is often made from heavier paper than the inside pages. Even though the process is simple, the finished piece looks clean, professional, and polished.

Why It Is Called Saddle Stitching

The name may seem unusual, but it makes sense in the printing world. In printing, stapling is often called stitching. The folded sheets are also placed over a saddle-shaped device during the binding process. That is where the term saddle stitching comes from.

To make this bindery process easier to understand, let's use a saddle stitched booklet with a finished size of 8.5 x 11 as an example. The pages and cover are printed on 11 x 17 sheets, then folded in half to create 8.5 x 11 pages. After folding, the sheets are nested one inside another and stapled along the folded edge, which becomes the spine. Each 11 x 17 sheet folded in half creates four pages, so saddle stitching always requires a total page count that is a multiple of four. Keeping that in mind during layout helps prevent unwanted blank pages. Saddle stitching happens after the pages and cover have been printed, folded, and nested together. Once the staples are added, the cover and pages are pressed more tightly together. For thicker saddle stitched books, the outer edge opposite the spine may also be trimmed so the pages stay even and the booklet has a clean finish. This binding method is commonly used for programs, wall calendars, booklets, newsletters, pamphlets, direct mailers, comic books, thinner magazines, and catalogs.