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Printing manuals such as guides, handbooks, service manuals, employee manuals, or instruction manuals is made simple with Thomas Group Printing. We’re a family-owned, fourth-generation printer conveniently located in Manhattan and are capable of completing your print job with a variety of binding and finishing options. No matter the specifications, our custom manual printing will meet your needs. With fast turnaround times and shipping nationwide, you can ensure your project is delivered on time.
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Each side of a sheet counts as one page, so a book’s cover alone includes 4 pages: front cover, inside front cover, inside back cover, and back cover.
Binding-Specific Page Counts:
The binding method you choose will influence the page count range:
Coated paper has a smooth finish that visually sharpens images and enhances color. The coating can be glossy or semi-gloss, depending on the desired effect, but both options contribute to a polished, professional look.
Uncoated paper has a natural, porous surface. It’s perfect for projects where readability and a tactile feel are priorities. It’s also a practical option for items that need to be written on, like letterheads or notepads.
If your project includes color anywhere – even a single image or logo – it’s a 4-color (4C) job. Our standard pricing is designed for 4C printing, providing vibrant, professional results fast.
Single-color (one-ink) printing is available by custom quote and may offer some cost savings, but 4C remains the most common option. If you’re unsure, we are happy to talk with you to determine the best options for your unique printing needs.
Once PDF proofs are approved, production can take approximately 3 days for saddle stitched publications and roughly 3-5 days for perfect bound, plus shipping. Shipping times vary from next-day delivery to a few days, depending on your location relative to our NYC print house.
If you need a precise timeline, send us your project details, and we’ll set up a schedule that works for you.
Before submitting your file, double-check that it’s set up correctly to prevent any prepress delays:
If you’re still unsure about any details or need guidance on your options, contact us here. We’re here to make the process smooth, simple, and tailored to your needs.
Thomas Group Printing knows that manuals can serve as informational guides, impact your training or teaching of employees, or provide imperative product information that you want to relay to your customer concisely. With graphics that detail processes or share educational guidance, you will want a high-quality print that you can highlight and utilize over time. We have the experience and print knowledge to produce a quality manual for your business that you can specify with sizing and the binding type that you choose. Our custom manual printing allows you to fine tune your artwork and design file and ensure that the colors are vibrant and striking to the customer, employee, or student. We will collaborate with you to select the type of paper that will be best for your cover and internal pages. Lastly, we will ensure that your binding option features your manual in the way that it will need to be accessed and the durability you will need for the printed manual. Regardless of your manual printing needs, and the quantity of the print run, we can produce a custom manual that will help you communicate to your customers, employees, or students.
Manuals can teach or guide or provide reference information with eye-catching design that captures the attention of your audience and keeps them leafing through your content any time they need to reference important information. As such, your manual needs to be durable to be reused and paged through repeatedly. Heavy stock should be used for the cover, and for the pages of your manual. Thomas Group Printing also offers matte or gloss finish. We can help you decide on the paper and finish for your manual. Thomas Group Printing offers manual printing for small businesses, large enterprises, nonprofit organizations, schools, manufacturing companies, and more. Manuals can be printed on a wide variety of paper, an assortment of sizes, and with several different binding options so that you feature a professional, finished look with quality that withstands time.
Thomas Group Printing can work to establish the best binding option for printing your manual and we will adjust based on the use and needs you have for your manual. When designing your manual, be sure to leave a ½ inch for binding on whichever side of the manual you’d like it to be bound on.
Comb: Using a plastic spine, you will feature a ring-shape to bind the cover and pages together. There is a plastic, cylinder shape that has curved tines along the length used to bind the manual. This binding option is like spiral binding. You can print directly on the spine, and it allows for pages to easily be added or removed. This binding option allows for opening pages 180 degrees.
Plastic Coil: Like wire binding, this popular option for manuals allows your manual to lay flat and fold over. If you have children using the manuals, this is a good option as it won’t have sharp edges. The cover and pages are held together using a plastic coil that is shaped as a spring. We will thread the coil through evenly spaced holes punched into the spine of the cover and pages. At the end of the process, the coil is crimped to ensure the pages are kept intact in the manual. You can choose the color of the coil to accent your manual.
Tape: By securing the pages inside, this is perfect for binding an employee manual or reference manual. Strips are used with a thermoplastic glue that creates a strong and lasting bind for your manual. You can choose a variety of finishes and colors to offset your design and coordinate with your branding. Your tape-bound manual can be up to 1.5” wide and between 8.5” and 14” long. If you need your manual to lay flat, this is not the best option as it will limit how much the pages can rotate.
Saddle-Stitch: This is one of the most common binding methods offered. The sheets will be folded together and stapled through the fold line to create a booklet style for your manual. You must have a count of pages that works as a multiple of four. You will want to design the manual in spreads to achieve this count. This binding option is cost-effective and works best for manuals that have 64 pages or less. You can still achieve a professional finish though.
Wire-O: This option allows you to fold-over the manual like a notebook and ensures the manual will lay flat. By using heavier paper stock, you can ensure your manual lasts. Each coil is separate, filling up two punched holes. The wire can be sturdy and help to fold the pages around the back of the manual. Easy-to-turn pages can open a full 360 degrees, which allows for focusing on each page at a time. With wire-o binding, you can use index tabs, making it easier to use your manual.
Velo: This process uses a two-piece binding strip with punched pages and a flat strip that is laid over the prongs to bind the manual. A Velobinding machine is used to achieve this option for your manual, which will be needed if you ever need to open the binding. Printing and binding your manual with Velo allows for a secure option that is tamper-proof.
Perfect: The binding will have a flat edge and is good for larger manuals. This type of binding uses an adhesive to hold the manual together. You will have a perfect edge created on all three sides of the manual. You can add a clear coating to the cover to help keep it durable. You can also feature printing on the spine of the manual, which won’t break or crack in exceptionally high or low temperatures.
Our team is available to provide quotes and quickly process your manual printing project.
We provide messenger delivery to the five boroughs, but we also offer free ground shipping to anywhere in the US.
To get a fast, hassle free quote on your manual printing project, contact us at 212-947-6400 or fill out the form below.
Our templates are fully editable, free, and ready to print!
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