Spiral and coil binding

Where it earns its place

• Training manuals

  Course books that stay open while someone teaches from them.

• Workbooks

  Pages people write on, with the opposite side folded out of the way.

• Field references

  Specifications, songbooks, and guides used at a bench or on a job site.

• Reports you handle

  Documents that are read in the hands more often than they are shelved.

How the binding behaves

Coil is round stock wound through a row of holes. Plastic coil is the usual choice for manuals and workbooks. Metal coil is the same structure in a harder material. Pages stay put, the book lies open, and it can turn fully behind itself. Adding or removing a page means re-coiling the book, so this is a finished piece rather than a binder you edit every week.

Quoted by Tri State Printer, based in Port Chester, NY. Most of the printing is produced off-site.