Do you ever wonder how a physical copy of your writing might look?

Want to see what all your hard work looks like on something more than just text on a screen?

Or maybe the experience of reading a real book of your first draft can help you edit your second.

Well, today I have a list of 11 bookbinding companies that will help bring your writing to life!

Now, I have a few side notes to keep in mind as you peruse this list.

I just wanna make a few things clear before you start perusing this list:

1. This list’s main purpose is to help you find companies who’ll print and bind one or more copies of your book for your own personal use (regardless if it’s for yourself, beta-readers, editing, as a gift, etc.).

I’m not totally sure about anyone’s publishing services, and it’s not why I’m listing them in the first place. Please do your own research on self-publishing.

2. In the “Min/Max Cost” sections, I use the price calculators they have on their websites. I’ll base the minimum price on the cheapest I can make the calculator, and the maximum on the most expensive within certain parameters (no more than 1,000 pages with the minimum amount of units).

The prices I present in this blog post are to give you an idea of what it may cost BEFORE tax and shipping. The price can be different based on where you live.

3. You can also go to a place that’ll print loose pages for you (or print the pages yourself). After you have everything printed, punch out some holes and put them in a 3-ring binder or tie them with twine.

4. Not every binding, size, paper, etc. is gonna be an option while picking out book specifications.

For example, if there’s a book size available that’s 12″ x 12″ (or 30.48cm x 30.48cm), that doesn’t necessarily mean you can pick the paperback binding with 75 gsm (grams per square meter) paper along with it.

Every book size won’t be listed, and I’ll stick to listing the smallest to biggest sizes. This is because sometimes they have a very long list of measurements, and again, your book specifications can be limited based on your other choices.

5. Some binding types will have different names for the same binding.

When listing what type of binding a company has available, I’ll stick to the name they have listed to make it easy.

Here are a couple of common names:

• Paperback, softcover, or perfect binding.

• Comb binding or Cerlox binding.

• Coil binding or spiral binding.

• Wire binding or wire-o binding.

• Staple binding or saddle stitch binding.

• Hardcover or Case Binding.

6. The page counts aren’t always exact. Sometimes the page count includes the front/back cover, and that could mean one side is a page or one paper is a page. It’s different between companies. They usually have a note next to the calculator that explains which, and sometimes you gotta go digging around on their website ( I suggest looking at the FAQ page).

And that’s it! Those are just a few things I want you to keep in mind while looking through this list.

Also, if there are any printing companies you know of that aren’t listed here, go ahead and put them in the comments below! Let everyone know about more options for their projects!

If none of these work for you, maybe try to find a local print shop (either through the internet or a newspaper) and see if they can help.

Okay, with all that said and done, you may finally cross over into the land of bookbinding companies.

I hope you find what you’re looking for!

Thanks for reading, and happy writing!

1. Barnes & Noble

International Shipping: Kinda

Here’s a list of countries they won’t provide shipping.

Min/Max Pages:

• All: 18 – 800

Book Sizes:

• 4″ x 6″ – 5″ x 8″

OR

• 10.16cm x 15.24cm – 12.7cm – 20.32cm

Minimum Units:

• All: 1 Unit

Min/Max Cost:

• All: $2.14 – $68.17

Types of Books:

• Paperback
• Hardcover
• Hardcover w/ Dust Jacket

2. Office Depot

There are several pages you can find cost calculators. I’m going to list them here for ease of use.

If any of the links bring you to a page that roughly says “Sorry, we’ll be back up soon!”, just try searching for the binding you want in the Office Depot search bar. Under the product will be a small, square, blue button that says “Customize.” That should bring you to its cost calculator.

• A page with most of the binding options.
• Hardcovers
• Paperbacks
• Copies, Manuals, Spiral-bound, and Comb-bound.
• Tape-Bound

International Shipping: Yes

“Yes, but not on our officedepot.com web site. Any order that is being delivered outside of the United States, including U.S. territories such as the Virgin Islands, may be subject to additional customs and delivery restrictions.”

Min/Max Pages:

• Paperback: Up to 99,999 Pages
• Hardcover: Up to 99,999 Pages(?) (It doesn’t give me a limit. So I assume it’s the same as the paperbacks. Unsure.)
• Spiral-Bound: 265 Pages
• Wire-Bound: 260 Pages
• Comb-Bound: 425 Pages
• Tape-Bound: 300 Pages

Book Sizes:

• All: 8.5″ x 11″ (Letter Size)

OR

• 21.59cm x 27.94cm

Minimum Units:

• Paperback: 10 Units
• Everything Else: 1 Unit

Min/Max Cost:

• Paperback: $53.10 – $951.30
• Hardcover: $13.61 – $103.49
• Spiral-Bound: $5.09 – $34.62
• Wire-Bound: $4.09 – $32.87
• Comb-Bound: $4.99 – $52.22
• Tape-Bound: $3.29 – $36.47

Types of Books:

• Paperback
• Hardcover
• Spiral-Bound
• Wire-Bound
• Comb-Bound
• Tape-Bound

3. PrintMe1

Two things:

1. Scroll down the home page a bit to find the price calculator.
2. Here’s a blog post on PrintMe1.com that has extra information about all their binding types.

International Shipping: No

“We ship to United States addresses including Puerto Rico and APO locations, and Canadian addresses.”

Min/Max Pages:

• Comb Bound: 65 – 800 Pages
• Spiral-Bound: 65 – 400 Pages
• Velo-Bound: 65 – 900 Pages
• Wire-Bound: 65 – 400 Pages
• 3 Hole Punch: 65 – ∞

Book Sizes:

• 8.5″ x 11″ (Letter Size)

OR

• 21.59cm x 27.94cm

Minimum Units:

• All: 1 Unit

Min/Max Cost:

• All: $57.81 (They have a calculator on their front page that estimates the cost, but I don’t know if it’s different between types of binding. So take the estimate with a grain of salt.)

Types of Books:

• Comb Bound
• Spiral-Bound
• Velo-Bound
• Wire-Bound
• 3 Hole Punch

4. Book Baby

International Shipping: Yes

“Yes, we ship to many International locations. Check the drop-down Ship to Country in the right column of the quoter. If your country is listed, you can place your order on the site.”

Min/Max Pages:

• All: 24 – 840

Book Sizes:

• 4.25″ x 6.87″ – 9″ x 12″

OR

• 10.795cm x 17.4498cm – 22.86cm x 30.48cm

Minimum Units:

• All: 1 or 25 – 2,000 Units

Minimum Cost:

• All: $99 (I’m not including the price of the additional services here ((e.g. text formatting, cover design, ISBN, etc.)), and I’m choosing the cheapest shipping option.)

Types of Binding:

• Softcover
• Hardcover
• Hardcover W/Dust Jacket

5. Lulu

International Shipping: Yes

There’s a dropdown on their pricing page where you can see all the countries they provide shipping.

Min/Max Pages:

• All: 2 – 800 Pages

Book Sizes:

• 4.25″ x 6.875″ – 11.69″ x 8.27″

OR

• 10.795cm x 17.4625cm – 29.6926cm x 21.0058cm

Minimum Units:

• All: 1 Unit

Min/Max Cost:

• All: $5.36 – $152.35

Types of Binding:

• Coil-Bound
• Hardcover
• Paperback
• Saddle Stitch
• Linen Wrap

6. Ingram

International Shipping: Yes

There’s a dropdown on their pricing page where you can see all the countries they provide shipping.

Min/Max Pages:

• All: 18 – 900 Pages

Book Sizes:

• 4″ x 6″ – 11″ x 8.5″

OR

• 10.16cm x 15.24cm – 27.94cm x 21.59cm

Minimum Units:

• All: 1 Unit

Min/Max Cost:

The price generator includes a shipping estimate. So you gotta put your country, province, and postal code in to get a price estimate.

Types of Binding:

• Paperback
• Hardcover

7. DOCU copies

International Shipping: No

The only thing I’ve found to indicate shipping outside of the U.S. is in their shipping policy (“Canadian shipments are subject to Brokerage Fees and Canadian Taxes.“)

Also, here’s a ship time map of the U.S.

Min/Max Pages:

• Spiral-Bound: 3 – 489 Pages (“A double sided sheet counts as 2 pages. Include any printed covers.”)
• Wire-O Binding: 2 – 154 Pages
• Perfect-Bound: 2 – 446 Pages
• Stapled-Bound: 8 – 180 Pages
• Comb-Bound: 2 – 322 Pages

Book Sizes:

• 4.25″ x 5.5″ – 11″ x 17″

OR

• 10.795cm x 13.97 – 27.94cm x 43.18cm

Minimum Units:

• All: 2 Units

Min/Max Cost:

• Spiral-Bound: $75.05 – $431.26
• Wire-O Binding: $60.79 – $385.61
• Perfect-Bound: $125.57 – $365.64
• Stapled-Bound: $113.45 – 121.74
• Comb-Bound: $74.79 – $358.80

Types of Binding:

• Spiral-Bound
• Wire-O Binding
• Perfect-Bound
• Stapled-Bound
• Comb-Bound

8. Dox Direct

International Shipping: Yes

Min/Max Pages:

• Unbound Documents: 1 – ∞ Pages
• Paperback: 10 – 638 Pages (max pages depends on type of paper used.)
• Hardback: 10 – 319 Pages (max pages depends on type of paper used.)
• Spiral-Bound: 1 – 600 Pages (max pages depends on type of paper used.)
• Saddle Stitch Binding: 4 – 128 Pages (Saddle Stitched page count must be divisible by 4)

Book Sizes:

• 11.75″ x 16.5″ – 4.125″ x 5.875″

OR

• 29.7cm x 42.0cm – 10.5cm x 14.8cm

Minimum Units:

• All: 1 Unit

Min/Max Cost:

• Unbound Documents: £4.86 – £1008.35
• Paperback: £11.47 – £113.05
• Hardback: £13.23 – £78.66
• Spiral-Bound: £5.42 – £358.54
• Saddle Stitch Binding: £7.94 – £40.30

Types of Binding:

• Unbound Document
• Paperback
• Hardback
• Spiral-Bound
• Saddle Stitch Binding

9. Printing Center USA

International Shipping: Yes

But you need to fill out an “International Shipping Application.”

Min/Max Pages:

• Saddle Stitch: 8 – 92 Pages
• Perfect-Bound/Softcover: 28 – 800 Pages
• Hard-Bound/Hardcover: 16 – 1,050 Pages
• Spiral-Bound: 8 – 800 Pages
• Wire-O Binding: 8 – 800 Pages

Book Sizes:

• 4.25″ x 7″ – 12″ x 12″

OR

• 10.795cm x 17.78cm – 30.48cm x 30.48cm

Minimum Units:

• All: 10 Units

Min/Max Cost:

• Sadle Stitch: $61.94 – $1,007.40
• Perfect-Bound/Softcover: $118.41 – $6,813.57
• Hard-Bound/Hardcover: $280.96 – $5,946.33
• Spiral-Bound: $52.65 – $18,116.73
• Wire-O Binding: $57.75 – $18,116.73

Types of Binding:

• Saddle Stitch
• Perfect-Bound/Softcover
• Hard-Bound/Hardcover
• Spiral-Bound
• Wire-O Binding

10. 48 Hour Books

International Shipping: No

Can only ship to U.S. and Canada.

Min/Max Pages:

• Perfect Binding/Case Binding: 16 – 1,052 Pages
• Spiral Coil Binding: 1 – 350 Pages
• Saddle Stitch: 4 – 36 Pages

Book Sizes:

• 4.25″ x 7″ – 11″ x 11″

OR

• 10.795cm x 17.78cm – 27.94cm x 27.94cm

Minimum Units:

• All: 10 Units

Min/Max Cost:

• Perfect Binding/Paperback: $116.12 – $496.41
• Spiral Coil Binding: $119.66 – $278.26
• Case Binding/Hardcover: $216.12 – $661.11
• Saddle Stitch: $114.16 – $304.91

Types of Binding:

• Perfect Binding/Paperback
• Spiral Coil Binding
• Case Binding/Hardcover
• Saddle Stitch

11. Printivity

International Shipping: Unknown

I can’t find anything specific that says where they do and do not ship. The only thing I could find was on the terms and conditions page where it says this:

“Packages shipped outside of the country of origin may be charged a duty based on the receiving country’s import tax. Delays can occur depending on your country of origin due to customs. Printivity is not responsible for the payment of this fee or any delay caused by customs.“

Min/Max Pages:

• Perfect Binding: 30 – 200 Pages
• PUR Perfect Binding: 30 – 400 Pages

Book Sizes:

• 5″ x 7″ – 9″ x 12″

OR

• 12.7cm x 17.78cm – 22.86cm x 30.48cm

Minimum Units:

• All: 1 Units

Min/Max Cost:

• Perfect Binding: $25.40 – $79.68
• PUR Perfect Binding: $98.95 – $139.21

Types of Binding:

• Perfect Binding
• PUR Perfect Binding

(“PUR Binding is an extra strong and cost-effective way of binding using polyurethane reactive (PUR) adhesives. PUR Binding is suitable for heavier papers and high-use and long-life items. It also allows the ability for the bound book to lay flat without compromising the binding strength.“)

12. Commissions

Surprise! There’s a sneaky 12th part to this post.

You can commission someone to print your writing! It’ll probably be more expensive, but the end product is much more personal.

Plus, you can help out a smaller business!

To add to that, have a look around someone’s website to see what they typically create.

From what I can tell, people who sell bookbinding services are usually creating handmade journals, and don’t always bind books with an entire manuscript in mind.

Try searching “bookbinding commissions” in any search engine.

Here’s a search in Ecosia.

If you’d like, you can also see if anyone’s offering commissions for binding your writing on the r/bookbinding Reddit.

As a side note, please don’t go asking people in random threads to bind your book.

Create your own thread, and ask if anyone’s available for commission.

The bookbinding Reddit is mostly for people to show off their skills or projects.

Please be respectful of everyone’s space and time!