phd thesis printing uk

Online Thesis Printing & Binding Services

by Mark at Pilot | Thesis printing & binding services

If you are a university student, chances are you’ll need your thesis/dissertation printed and bound at some point. That’s where we can help. We print and bind theses and dissertations for most UK universities and many abroad, appearing on the preferred supplier lists on many university websites, particularly throughout the UK. Whatever type of degree you’re studying as a student, we can print and bind your thesis or dissertation beautifully and know the specifications required by virtually all UK universities.

So what are the options?

Printing options

You can supply your own printouts for the internal pages, or we would be happy to print them for you. If supplying your own printed sheets, we recommend 90gsm – 120gsm paper weight.
We can print in colour or black and white (40p and 8p per page respectively, correct at time of writing).
We can print single-sided, or double-sided.
For soft-bound and hard-bound covers we can add silver or gold foiled lettering, if required, to the spine and front cover. Other colours are also available.

Binding options

Soft binding (glue-bound option with semi-rigid covers, generally used for the first submission of your thesis). Covered usually with a library buckram book cloth, lots of colours are available. The cover is trimmed flush with the internal pages.
Hard binding (with a rigid cover like a hard-back book), again usually covered in a library buckram book cloth, which is available in a wide range of colours. With hard binding, the rigid cover extends further than the internal pages, just like a hard-back book.
Wiro binding (clear plastic front cover, card back cover, wire spine). Also known as wire binding and spiral binding and usually available while-you-wait. Wiro binding has a modern look and, as such, has replaced the rather outdated and ugly plastic ‘comb’ binding mechanism that used to be popular a few decades ago.
Velo binding (clear plastic front cover, card back cover with a secure plastic strip mechanism that traps the punched pages at the spine). Usually available while-you-wait.
Perfect binding . This is the same binding style as a paperback book i.e. thermal glue is used to bind the internal pages (or sewn ‘sections’ of multiple pages) into a card cover ‘wrap’ which is trimmed flush with the internal pages.
Thermal binding is similar to perfect binding but has a clear plastic front cover and a card back cover as standard. It is also available ‘on demand’ (while you wait). Thermal binding is also known as Glue binding , Fastback binding or Thermo binding .

Optional Extras

When ordering you can also specify optional extras such as:

a plastic pocket to hold your supplied CD or DVD;
production (‘burning’) of a CD , which also comes with a pocket;
a plastic corner pocket to hold internal loose inserts;
a cloth pocket to hold internal loose inserts;
an integral register ribbon (coloured ribbon which act like a bookmark).

Turnaround options

We offer a range of turnaround times for your printing and binding:

4 hour service (processed between 9am and 4pm, subject to availability and workload)
Same day service (in by 10.30am, ready for collection or dispatch by 3.30pm, subject to availability and workload)
2 working day service on week days (you must supply before 10.30am for us to have it ready the following working day by 3.30pm).
3 working day service on week days (similar to the above but takes one additional working day).

Ordering options

Order online , including upload of your thesis as an Acrobat PDF file. Order here: www.document-centre.co.uk/quote/
Order in person at the London shop . We are The Document Centre and are based at 92 Southwark Bridge Road, Southwark, London SE1 0EX. A map is available here .

Opening Hours

Our opening hours are Monday to Friday 8.30am to 5.30pm. Call for occasional weekend opening hours/times ( 020 7928 9738 ). Of course, you can order online 24/7, every day of the year.

Payment options

PayPal (allowing you to pay with your choice of a PayPal account , a credit card or debit card – most are accepted)
Pay on collection from the shop.

Delivery options

We offer a whole range of supply/delivery options including:

Collection at our London shop* in SE1;
Free delivery to some London institutions (check the ‘Delivery’ section of the online order form for applicable colleges and universities);
1-3 working day delivery via UPS;
Next day UK delivery via UPS (12.30pm and 5.30pm options);
International delivery options;
Multiple delivery address option when ordering multiple copies.

Click here to order thesis printing & binding online

You can also get an online quotation using the above link.

Alternatively contact us here or call 020 7928 9738 and we’d be delighted to discuss the options with you.

* The Document Centre are at 92 Southwark Bridge Road, Southwark, London SE1 0EX.

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Dissertation
Dissertation binding and printing

Dissertation Binding and Printing Options | Comparison and Tips

Published on 3 April 2019 by Raimo Streefkerk . Revised on 10 July 2019.

Your dissertation is finally finished, you got it proofread and checked for plagiarism . The final step is printing your dissertation, which means choosing between:

Types of binding
Colour vs. black & white

Single vs. double sided

Paper type and thickness

You also need to decide which printing and binding service to use. This independent article explains all options and helps you make the right decisions.

Overview of printing services

Types of dissertation binding, dissertation printing options, production and delivery times, last checks before printing, overview of printing and binding services.

Aside from keeping the pages of your dissertation together, the binding is also responsible for your supervisor’s first impression of your dissertation. There are various types of binding, ranging from the cheaper spiral binding to the more expensive hardcover book binding .

The type of binding should depend on:

Guidelines from your university or professor
Your dissertation’s version (draft vs. final)
Type of dissertation (PhD vs. undergraduate dissertation)

Spiral binding (± £7)

Professional appearance
Browsing through the pages is easy (can be opened flat)
Fairly cheap

Comb binding (± £5)

Enables easy browsing of the pages
Binding can be opened and closed (not easily)
Has a cheap appearance

Fastback binding (± £8)

Professional book-like appearance
Available in different colours
Risk of pages falling out after a while

Paperback binding (£10-20)

Durable and professional
Book-like appearance
Opening and browsing is less smooth than with spiral or comb binding

Hardback binding (£20-40)

Customizable cover
Quality comes at a price

Colour vs. Black & White

Unless specifically stated in your university guidelines, it is up to you to decide whether to print your dissertation in colour or black & white. Printing in colour is on average two to four times more expensive.

In general, a colour-printed dissertation looks more professional, but it is not required. Does your dissertation contain graphs or figures that rely on colour? Be sure to print at least these pages in colour.

Printing double sided is often cheaper than printing single sided due to the paper savings – it makes your dissertation half as thick. However, some universities require you to print your dissertation single sided. Be sure to check the guidelines.

When printing your dissertation double sided, pay attention to the following points:

New chapters should start on the right side. You will need to take this into account and insert “blank pages” when preparing your dissertation.
Add a blank page after the title page so that the acknowledgements or abstract are not printed on the back of your title page.
The page numbering is often placed bottom right on the right side of the page and bottom left on the left side. You can easily set this in Word by choosing “outside alignment”.

Paper weight

The thickness of the paper (measured in gsm or grams) is something most students don’t think about, but it does have a significant impact on the look and feel of your dissertation.

Standard printing paper has a weight of 75-90 gsm. For a bachelor’s or master’s dissertation this is fine. If you want the paper to look and feel more professional and durable, a paper weight of 100-130 gsm is better. This is often used for PhD dissertations.

Number of copies

It is common to print three to five copies of your dissertation. Depending on your university’s guidelines you might need to submit one to three copies to your supervisor. In addition, you might want to have a copy for yourself or your family.

The production (printing and binding) takes on average two days, and delivery takes another day. For an additional charge (ranging from +20 to +80%), the production and delivery time can be shortened.

Have a looming deadline? Your local printing shop is probably able to print and bind your dissertation faster, and it eliminates delivery time. However, keep in mind that this is often a little more expensive.

Before sending your dissertation to a printing shop, there are three things you should do:

1. Save your dissertation as a PDF By saving your file as a PDF, the formatting will be consistent on every computer. This way you prevent any unpleasant surprises such as offsets when receiving your printed dissertation.

2. Check for language mistakes There’s nothing worse than finding a language mistake in your printed version. Make sure to proofread your dissertation or make use of a professional dissertation proofreading service .

3. Update the contents page Before saving your dissertation as a PDF, update the (automatic) table of contents. Don’t forget to cross-check the page numbers listed in the table of contents with the actual page number.

The table below provides an overview of the most popular dissertation printing and binding shops, both online and offline. The shops are ordered by price, with information on delivery costs and review score.

*Prices are based on a spiral bound dissertation of 40 pages , printed single-sided , in black , on 80-90gsm paper, including a clear outer front and back cover .

**Prices are based on a hardback bound dissertation of 200 pages , printed single-sided , in black , on 90-100gsm paper.

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Streefkerk, R. (2019, July 10). Dissertation Binding and Printing Options | Comparison and Tips. Scribbr. Retrieved 11 November 2024, from https://www.scribbr.co.uk/thesis-dissertation/binding-printing/

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