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Printing and binding a thesis: your ultimate guide

A printed and bound thesis

You have finally completed your thesis. It has been a long process of getting your bachelor’s thesis or other college paper to completion. Before you can submit it, high-quality printing and binding is essential. Any student has two concerns when it comes to printing and binding their thesis:

  • What is the best way for printing and binding my thesis?
  • Which is the best place to have my thesis printed and bonded?

Here is a detailed guideline on salient issues to keep in mind when going about printing and binding your thesis.

What is the best way for printing and binding your thesis?

Most students have never printed and bound any research paper before their thesis paper. Therefore, it may be a difficult task selecting the ideal printing and binding configurations. This article provides all the information you need for printing and binding a thesis.

What issues do I have to keep in mind when printing a thesis?

Some of the questions that are in the minds of students when it comes to printing their papers include:

  • Do I print in colour or just black and white?
  • Which is the right kind of paper
  • Where do I get the best deal so that I can print at a reasonable price?

We have compiled some guidelines on printing a thesis to make it easier for you.

Factors to consider when printing a thesis Tip
Colour printing: You have two option when it comes to printing your thesis; either go with black/white or coloured printing. Between the two, colour is the most expensive. If you print your thesis in colour, it will look precious. However, be warned, using too much colour in your paper will make it look a less serious paper.
Paper: the 80g/m2 is the most probable paper quality that most copy shops use. However, it is quite thin and therefore, not sturdy. You may also find printing on the reverse side shining through. It is important that everything is right about your paper. Even the paper quality will count in your final mark. Consider going for 100g/m2 as it improves the look of your thesis. Some providers use this quality as the default quality
Price: Your total price is determined by such factors as use of colour, the weight of paper and the length of the paper. Compare offers from different providers. For example, if you go for colour-printing, pick a provider that will not ask for a surcharge.

What issues do you have to watch out when binding your thesis?

Most students just think about the ‘how’ to go about binding as they do not know the best type of binding to pick for the thesis. Your choice depends on the type of thesis. A paper that requires extensive research and work, such as research paper may require better binding than your regular term paper that takes just a fraction of the time.

The weight of these papers also differs. Your term paper counts just a small percentage of your final mark where your thesis, whether masters, bachelors or a research paper takes the higher percentage.

Keep in mind: printing and binding your thesis is a very important thing. You should find a appropriate binding to make your dissertation worthy and unique. Here, a simple spiral binder may not be the best choice. It is best to go for leather book binding as it is sturdy and looks worthy of a major paper.

Essentially, the choice of the binding to use depends on the type of college paper that you would like to submit.

Tip!

Most tertiary institutions have specific requirements when it comes to the type of binding to pick. Therefore, check with your institution, whether there any regulations on printing and binding your paper.

What is the right binding for my paper?

There are several options out there for your binding. We shall explain each to make it easier for you to make a choice.

Printing and binding your thesis with the leather book binding

A leather bound thesis

Our recommendation for important papers: thesis printing and binding with the high-quality leather book binding. The leather-look gives your thesis a solid look, which is classy and professional-looking. When you decide to use BachelorPrint, you are given a wide choice of customized options that include a bookmark, custom embossing and corner protectors to have a superb look for your thesis.

Recommendations:

Leather book binding works great for your final papers such as

  • Research Paper
  • Bachelor thesis
  • Dissertation
  • Master’s thesis

Thermal binding as a classic way for printing and binding your thesis

A thermally bound thesis

Thermal binding is the most versatile type of binding. Its cover is transparent, thereby allowing you to show the title of your thesis right on the cover. Besides, it comes with a leather-like back cover and you get to choose the colour of the cover. A very good way for printing and binding your thesis.

Recommendation:

Thermal binding works great for smaller research papers. It is also ideal for situations where you need various print-outs of the paper.

The softcover as the most flexible way for printing and binding your thesis

A thesis with a softcover

If you would like to have a final paper that looks creative and stands out, consider going for the softcover. This is because it allows you to design the cover in the way you want. There is a wide choice of pictures, fonts and logos available when you need to go wild with your designs, especially if you are quite creative. However, ensure that your paper does not get too cluttered with creative pieces. You are interested in printing and binding your thesis, not a comic – it has to look serious and professional.

Recommendation:

You are allowed to use a soft cover binding on whichever paper you are submitting. However, there is a maximum number of pages that you can bind with a soft cover. Therefore, it might not work with a comprehensive thesis or dissertation.

The cheapest way for printing and binding your thesis: the spiral binding

A bound thesis

Spiral binding is the simplest binding method and the sleekest. It has similarity to the thermal binding in that you have a transparent front cover and a leather-like back cover with several colour choices. However, unlike other binding types where your pages are glued together, in this case, your papers are held together by spirals. You have a choice of metal or plastic spirals if you decide for printing and binding your thesis with the spiral binding.

Recommendation:

Spiral biding works well for small research papers like the term papers. It is not recommended for important, large final papers such as research papers and dissertations.

A quick look at binding methods

We have tabulated the information above about various types of binding to help you determine which would be the best way for printing and binding your thesis.

  Research paper Bachelor’s thesis Master’s thesis Term paper Dissertation
Leather book binding
Leather book binding is not only classy but also professional. It is recommended for use in all major final college papers such as essays, Bachelor’s and Master’s thesis. We do not advise using it for smaller papers.
Thermal binding
Thermal binding is the most versatile type of binding. Its cover is transparent, thereby allowing you to show the title of your thesis right on the cover. Besides, it comes with a leather-like back cover and you get to choose the colour of the cover.
Softcover
The soft cover is the best for creative study programs. This is because it allows you to design the cover in any way. However, there is a limit to the number of pages that you can bind with the cover. Therefore, it is not ideal for all types of final papers. We do not recommend that you use it for your dissertation.
Spiral binding
Spiral binding is ideal for binding smaller projects. You can use it for various papers such as term papers and research projects. However, for papers with several pages, spiral binding may not be the ideal option to pick.

Where can I get thesis printing and binding services?

We have researched so that you find it easy when going about printing and binding your thesis. We would also like you to know where to get the best quality service. You can consider going to an online printing provider. This allows you to make an order from home, which saves you some time. Even when you are making online orders, it is important that you research on the providers that can offer quality service. In our research, we found one online printer that stood out from many others.

Bachelor Print logo

BachelorPrint is your choice thesis printing and binding provider. This authoritative online printing provider offers you several high-quality binding selections. They also have a free express shipping service that ensures that you have your paper soon after it has been printed.

Here are some of the benefits offered

  • There is free express shipping to all customers
  • There is a 3D preview function where you look at the inside and outside of your thesis in the selected binding using this function on their website.
  • They offer high-quality papers at reasonable prices

Ensure everything goes right in your thesis printing and binding

Writing a good thesis takes much time and effort. We guarantee that these tips shared above on Master’s thesis, term paper or dissertation printing and binding, your paper should get ready without any hiccups.

You are the one to determine where your papers will be printed. There is a choice of going to a copy shop or making an order online. However, if you would like to simplify the process of printing and binding your thesis and go for a high-quality paper and a smooth printing and binding process for your final paper, go for BachelorPrint. They have set up a user-friendly online print shop that not only allows you to put together your final thesis but also see how it looks like before it is completed. These are a few reasons why we recommend their services.

We wish you all the best as you complete your thesis!

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