Because of the secure hold created with thermal binding, any books or booklets assembled with this binding method can be opened and laid flat. This is especially helpful with workbooks or other types of study material. Readers can lay the book completely flat if necessary, making it possible to use the hands for other purposes such as taking notes or highlighting passages. At the same time, there are no worries of damaging the book in some manner, such as accidentally breaking the spine.
Several different types of covers can be utilized with a thermal binding project. When preparing a formal proposal, using a stiff linen back cover with a clear plastic front cover may be an ideal combination. For formal reports such as quarterly financial reports to shareholders, stiff front and back covers embossed with the company name and logo are often preferred. The covers can be composed of different weights and textures of paper or plastic, since the amount of heat required to bind the tape to the pages and covers is sufficient to create the seal, but not enough to cause the materials to ignite.
Along with creating covers from textured paper, it is also possible to purchase commercial hard back bindings in several sizes. When utilizing hard covers, it is necessary to use a thermal binding machine with adjustable heating controls in order to create the proper seal to the binding. However, simpler machines with a single heat setting will work fine for binding soft covers to collections of pages.