Collection: Book Binding Screws

12 products

Book Binding Screws

Things to know about Book Binding Screws

Binding screws (also known as Chicago screws or interscrews) are a popular choice to bind paper, cardboard, thin wood and plastic or even leather and fabrics and many other materials. Equally popular in fabric and leather leather crafts, book screws are often also known as screw rivets or belt screws.

What is screw-post binding?

Screw post binding is a method used to hold together pages or sheets of paper. It involves inserting a long metal post through holes punched in the pages and then securing it with a screw. This keeps the pages in place and allows them to be easily opened and closed like a book.

Screw-post binding is often used for binding restaurant menus, reports, albums, or other documents that need to be organised and kept together.

Binding Screws are easily removable

Book screws are very easy to remove and to re-attach and therefore a very economical option for any book binding project. You don’t even need special tools: a simple flat screwdriver is enough to fit most binding screws.

If you want to swap or remove any sheets, you can simply unscrew the binding and replace the contents. This makes book screws ideal for restaurant menus, colour or fabric swatches, photo books or loose-leaf collections.

The flexibility of screw binding also has advantages in leather processing. For example, our binding screws have been used for handbag handles as well as pet accessories, such as dog leashes. 

Book Screws are available in many sizes and finishes

Metal book screws are available in different heights (usually from 2 mm) and different finishing and colour variations:

Plastic Binding Screws - a cheaper alternative

In addition to book screws made of metal, there are also book screws made of plastic. Our plastic binding screws are reusable and are the perfect choice for wet environments, where metal screws are likely to tarnish or lose their shine. They're available in the following finishes:

  • Black (all-black plastic screws) 
  • Transparent (see-through binding screws, translucent)

What are the parts of a binding screw?

Book screws consist of two parts - the screw itself and the matching post, which can easily be screwed together with a screwdriver or carefully by hand.

The dimensions of book screws can be broken down into the following features:

The height indicates the space available between the two heads and therefore the maximum capacity the screw binding will be able to accommodate. If necessary, the height can be adjusted using binding screw washers or post extensions.

The diameter indicates the diameter of the hole or perforation that is necessary for the screw and post to fit into the binding. In the UK and Europe, the most popular post diameter is 5mm, because the screw can be inserted into a hole made with a standard hole punch, which is 6±0.5 mm in diameter according to ISO 838.

The head diameter of the screw and post influences the stability of the binding. For sensitive materials and heavily loaded bindings, we usually recommend using washers to increase the stability of the binding.