Wire-O bindings for hardcover or soft cover
Wire-O bindings: to semi-conceal, be open, or conceal.

Wire-O bindings are better than spirals and are about the same cost. Wires come in quite a few colors and diameters. They can be for hardcover or soft cover books. Star Print Brokers prints books with all of these Wire-O bindings.
Open Wire-O binding
The standard Wire-O binding has no spine. Books should have a spine if they are to be sold in bookstores. A standard Wire-O can have a hard cover or soft cover.
Soft cover set-up
Easy! Simply design the front cover and back covers just as you would any interior book page. The covers are the same size as the text pages. However, they need to be provided in a separate file, unless the book is “self-cover”. This is because the cover paper weight will be a different stock and heavier weight than the text stock.
Hardcover set-up
Ask the service provider for a template or measurements for these bindings. Although there is no spine, the covers are larger than the pages. Three things to watch out for are:
- If the covers print, you will need to add the extra margin on top, bottom, and sides for the board wrapping area.
- Be careful not to put content in the margins that fold over the boards. Only background color or undefined images can extend into the background.
- Because it is a hardcover book, even if it has no spine, the inside front and back covers have endpapers. By default, the endpapers are white paper. However, they may have printing, or use a specialty stock, at an additional cost.
Semi-concealed Wire-O
The semi-concealed Wire-O can have the wire running through the spine or on the back cover next to the spine. This applies to hardcover and soft cover book bindings. Ask the service provider for a template or measurements for these bindings and any hardcover endpaper measurements.
Concealed Wire-O
The concealed Wire-O is hidden in the space behind the spine. Endpapers for Wire-O hardcovers are not like regular hardcover endpapers because of the construction of this binding style. Ask the service provider for a template or measurements for these bindings and any hardcover endpaper measurements.
See more about Wire-O bindings in Chapter 8, Printing on Press. Also, read about hardcover material cover wrap, hardcover, printed cover wrap, and soft cover books, as the same information often applies.
See gusset and pocket endpaper options.