What Is a Thermal Binder?

A thermal binder can create a bound document.

Binding is the act of adding a cover and spine to a collection of pages in order to hold them together. Thermal binding, using a thermal binder machine, utilizes the heating of adhesive set into a binder in order to create a bound set of pages. These machines are desktop devices often used in offices to bind business documents together.

How It Works

A thermal binder heats adhesive that glues the pages of a document together at the spine. Thermal binding comes in two types. One type uses thermal binding tape with adhesive on one side. This tape binds the covers and pages together at the spine, without needing a cover for the document. The other type uses a wraparound thermal binding cover, which is basically a book or document cover that has adhesive in the spine where the pages will be bound together.

Technique

The thermal binding tape is either placed onto the edge of the stack of pages or else the pages are placed into a thermal binding cover. The product is then placed into a thermal binder. The machine heats the adhesive so that it becomes thin enough to slightly seep into the pages and fuse them together. Once the adhesive cools, you have a bound document.

Considerations

Different types of thermal binders are available, typically using heating temperatures between 225 and 375 degrees Fahrenheit, for heating times between 45 to 120 seconds. Thermal binding tape is available in various thicknesses, materials and colors and can bind from three sheets to 350 sheets of 20-pound paper. For thermal binding covers, both hardback and paperback covers are available, usually letting you bind documents of up to 500 pages.

Comparison to Other Binding Methods

Other methods of desktop binding are available, including plastic comb binding and wire spiral binding. However, most other binding methods require punching holes in the pages, while thermal binding does not; this generally makes for an easier process, especially when binding multiple documents. Thermal binding typically costs more than other types of binding but also creates a more professional-looking document.

References

• Heavenly Office: Binding Guide
• Thermobind: Binding Machines
• MyBinding: How to Create Great-Looking Documents with a Thermal Binding Machine
• BindRite: Thermal Binding