Choosing the Style of Binding to Suit the Training Environment
Wiro Bind
Wire-O is a series of parallel wire loops attached along a wire. This binding method allows the product to lie flat. The user is able to fold the book back on itself which reduces the surface area of the book when in use. Clear or frosted acetate can be added to the front and back of the covers to protect the booklet.
Saddle-Stitched
Pages are folded in half and stitched through the fold with staples made of thin wire. These books can lie flat. However, saddle-stitching only works for shorter books of up to 80 pages or so. These books also have no spine on which to print a title. The total number of pages need to be divisible by 4 for the layout to suit saddle-stitch.
Ring-Binders
The vinyl covers can be silk screened or paper inserts can be printed and then inserted behind the clear covering of some ring-binders. Additional pages such as work sheets, questionnaires and notes can be hole-punched ready for tutors to hand out.
Perfect Bind
This looks most like a paper-backed book. It would have a card cover, normally 250gsm and the pages will be white and quite often 100gsm. The book is very popular as a text book because you can print a title on the spine and the covers can be printed full colour front, back and spine.
Contents
Colour or Black and White
If you print in black and white, it is the most cost effective method. Colour print is useful to enhance the training manual when you have pictures, diagrams or charts. If you just have colour on your company logo per page, you will have to print the whole manual in colour. The logo does not need to be in colour as long as the front cover has a colour logo. For manuals with a small amount of colour, you are able to print just these pages in colour with the remaining document in black and white which offers a good cost saving.
Margins
Ensure enough space has been left in the text to make room for your binding option.
Tabs
Use tabs to help delegates navigate to particular sections within the work book. Tabs can be printed both on the tab and the body of the page for ease of use.
Covers
Include crop marks if bleed is required (i.e. if you need the print to be right up to the edge of the page).
Once you have completed your training manual content, it is best practice to save the content as one PDF file. This is because different versions of programs (such as word, PowerPoint etc.) can have small changes such as font and ensures that the finished document prints to your satisfaction.
PowerPoint Slides
There are many options for setting up power point slides and the design is normally based around ease of use for the delegate and cost of printing. Select two slides per page to read content clearly, one per page to encourage note taking underneath or multiple slides for print cost reduction.
Use your work book at a marketing tool.
Add a list of upcoming courses to increase bookings. This will add very little cost and will be very powerful.
Ensure your website and contact details are printed on the cover or inside page
Have a referrals tear out page which can be used to generate new enquiries or a voucher to encourage repeat customers.
