The finishing jobs nobody notices until they go wrong

Binding, lamination and folding get most of the attention in print finishing. But a large share of everyday print also passes through smaller operations: padding sheets into notepads, drilling holes for ring binders and calendars, and rounding corners on cards, tags and tabs. They are quick on the day, yet each one has its own rules, and a mistake in the artwork or the spec can make an otherwise perfect print run unusable.

This guide explains how padding, drilling and round-cornering are done in a production print shop, what each one needs from your file and order, and the common problems we see when they are left as an afterthought.

Padding: turning loose sheets into notepads

Padding is the process that holds a stack of sheets together along one edge so individual sheets can be torn off cleanly. Desk pads, sticky-free notepads, order pads, scorecards, tear-off maps and many promotional notepads are all padded.

How padding works

The printed sheets are cut to size and jogged into a neat stack, usually with a chipboard backing sheet every 50 or 100 sheets. The stack is clamped, and a flexible padding adhesive is brushed onto the edge. Once it dries, the block is split into individual pads along the chipboard. The glue is designed to hold the stack together but release one sheet at a time when pulled.

What affects padding quality

• Paper type. Uncoated paper takes padding glue well. Heavily coated or very glossy stock can let sheets slide out of the pad, and some printers will suggest a different spec or a stronger adhesive.
• Which edge is padded. Pads are usually glued on the top or the left edge. Decide this before artwork is designed so headers and logos sit at the right end.
• Sheets per pad. Common counts are 25, 50 and 100 sheets. Thinner pads are more economical for giveaways; thicker pads suit desks.
• Grain direction. Sheets tear off more neatly when the grain runs parallel to the glued edge. Our article on paper grain direction explains why this matters for folds and tearing alike.

Padding versus perforation

If each sheet has a stub that must stay behind, such as a receipt book or ticket pad, perforation is used alongside or instead of padding. Numbered, perforated and multi-part books are covered in our guide to numbered and perforated print.

Drilling: holes for binders, calendars and tags

Paper drilling uses a hollow rotating drill bit that cuts clean holes through a stack of sheets at once. It is used for ring-binder inserts, wall calendars, swing tags, menus with cords, presentation packs and anything that will be filed.

Hole patterns and sizes

Ring binders follow regional standards. In much of the world, a two-hole pattern based on ISO 838 (holes 80 mm apart) is common for A4, and four-hole patterns exist as well. North American three-ring binders use a different spacing. If your documents are going into a client's existing binders, check which pattern they use before you order. A pattern a few millimetres off will not fit the rings.

Hole diameter depends on the use. Binder holes are usually around 5 to 8 mm; holes for string, ribbon or calendar hangers vary with the cord or hook you plan to use. Tell the printer the size of what will go through the hole, not just "a hole".

Designing for drilled print

• Keep text and important images well clear of the hole area, typically at least 10 to 15 mm from the drilled edge.
• For double-sided pages, remember the holes are on the left on the front and on the right on the back.
• Show the hole positions on a non-printing layer of your artwork so prepress can confirm placement.
• For laminated sheets, holes are drilled after lamination, and the laminate edge around the hole helps stop tearing.

Round-cornering: softer corners that last longer

Round-cornering cuts a curve onto one or more corners of a stack of trimmed sheets. It is quicker and cheaper than die-cutting a full shape, and it does more than look modern: rounded corners are less likely to dog-ear, which is why they are common on business cards, loyalty cards, tabs, menus, swing tags, playing cards and children's materials.

Choosing the corner radius

Round-corner machines use interchangeable cutters with set radii. Small radii, around 3 mm, give a subtle softening; larger radii, around 6 mm or more, give a more obviously rounded look. Check which radii your printer has before designing tight borders, because a border that follows the corner must match the cutter.

Artwork tips

• Avoid thin borders that run close to the edge. A rounded corner shows any variation in trim at once.
• Keep logos and text clear of the corners by at least the corner radius plus a few millimetres.
• Decide whether all four corners are rounded or only some; for tabbed dividers, often only the outer corners are.

For full custom shapes rather than simple rounded corners, see our article on die cutting, kiss cutting and forme design.

Order of operations matters

These small finishing steps sit at the end of the production chain, and their order affects the result. A typical sequence is print, then coat or laminate, then trim, then drill or round-corner, then pad or bind. Drilling before lamination leaves the laminate sealed over the hole; padding before trimming produces uneven tear-off edges. Our guide to guillotine cutting and trim accuracy explains why trimming tolerance carries through to every step after it.

When you request a quote, list all finishing in one place: sheets per pad and padding edge, hole size, count and position, corner radius and which corners. Leaving one out of the order is the most common cause of a reprint or a delay.

Timing and cost on larger runs

None of these operations is slow, but each one is a separate pass through a machine, and on a large run the passes add up. Padding needs drying time before pads can be split and packed, often a few hours and longer in humid conditions. Drilling and round-cornering are done in lifts of a set height, so a thick stock means more lifts and more handling than a thin one. When a deadline is tight, ask for the finishing time to be shown separately in the schedule, not folded into "printing". It also helps to keep finishing consistent across a range: the same corner radius and hole position on every card or insert lets the shop set a machine once and run everything through it.

Common problems and how to avoid them

• Sheets falling out of pads printed on glossy coated paper. Ask about stock suitability before ordering.
• Holes drilled through text because the hole area was not marked on the artwork.
• Binder inserts that do not fit because the hole pattern was assumed rather than measured.
• Thin borders that look uneven next to round corners.
• Calendars drilled on the wrong edge because the hanging orientation was not specified.

Finishing at S7 Printing

We handle padding, drilling and round-cornering in-house alongside our binding, lamination and cutting work, so notepads, binder sets, tags and calendars move from press to finishing without being shipped elsewhere. Our prepress team checks hole positions, padding edges and corner clearances against your artwork before anything is printed, and flags any stock that will not pad or drill cleanly.

If you are planning notepads, filing inserts or tagged products, send us your size, quantity and finishing details and we will confirm the best sequence and stock. See our general printing services or contact us for a quote.