What is the best way to bonding printed documents

[hajime]

Hello, my doctor asked me not to face the computer screen too much.

I often print out manuals some of which are 250-600 pages. Usually I use a 3-hole binder to keep the pages. However, I found it uncomfortable to go through pages by pages because of those 3 big rings. Are there are good ways to bond the thick documents? I remember about 20 years ago, students asked copy centers to do it. They had some machines to make lots of small holes and we could choose the cover. I guess those are good for thin documents. For 250-600 pages, it might be difficult to flip the pages.

 

[mobilehaathi]

Split your manual into chapters and bind them in smaller volumes, maybe ~100 pages per volume.

 

[A.Goldberg]

Hello, my doctor asked me not to face the computer screen too much.

I often print out manuals some of which are 250-600 pages. Usually I use a 3-hole binder to keep the pages. However, I found it uncomfortable to go through pages by pages because of those 3 big rings. Are there are good ways to bond the thick documents? I remember about 20 years ago, students asked copy centers to do it. They had some machines to make lots of small holes and we could choose the cover. I guess those are good for thin documents. For 250-600 pages, it might be difficult to flip the pages.

The afformentioned is called plastic comb binding. I think the maximum you can bind is 2 inches or about 500 sheets. Anything more split into multiple volumes or print double sided if you’re not already.

Note that different binding machines have different maximum capacities, so you’d have to find one that can handle 2” spines. There are also various hole patterns so you need to make sure you buy the right plastic spines. My work has 2 different ones and it has been known to create confusion.