Bindery & Finishing Services in Philadelphia

Trade bindery and finishing since 1991

If you run a commercial print shop in Philadelphia, you already know the finishing work is where jobs get delayed. The printing is the easy part — it's the padding, drilling, gluing, and cutting afterward that eats up floor space, labor hours, and equipment budget. Complete Hand Assembly and Finishing has handled that finishing work for the commercial printing trade for more than three decades.

What counts as bindery & finishing

Cutting — precision trimming on our 52″ Lawson Pacemaker cutter.
Padding — large or short-run padding for notepads, forms, and order books.
Drilling — multi-hole drilling on our 3-head Lawson drill for binders and manuals.
Glue tipping — attaching inserts, samples, or reply cards to a printed page.
Collating & inserting — assembling multi-page sets and filling folders, binders, and envelopes.
Wafer sealing, eyeletting & grommeting — perfed or non-perfed wafers plus metal finishing.
Mail preparation — inserted, sealed, and prepped so your mailing hits its drop date.

Most print shops handle one or two of these well. Almost none handle all of them — which is exactly why bindery finishing gets outsourced.

Why Philadelphia print shops outsource finishing

You keep your presses running. Every hour your equipment spends on finishing is an hour it's not running the next print job.

You skip the equipment investment. A 52″ cutter, a multi-head drill, glue-tipping equipment — buying and maintaining that hardware only makes sense if you're running finishing every day.

You hit tighter deadlines. A dedicated finishing partner with the right equipment on hand can usually turn a job faster than a shop juggling finishing between press runs.

Glue tipping vs. Kleenstik: choosing the method

Method	Best for	Why
Glue tipping	Reply cards, samples, single inserts	Strong, permanent bond; works on most stocks
Kleenstik transfer tape	Removable samples, repositionable inserts	Clean removal, no wet-glue drying time

What to expect when you outsource

Send the specs — stock, quantity, and finishing requirements.
Get a turnaround estimate — quotes are free and answered within 24 hours.
Drop off or ship the printed pieces.
We handle padding, drilling, gluing, cutting, or collating.
Pickup or delivery back to you, ready to ship to your client.

Need assembly and packing too? We also handle contract packaging and kitting and fulfillment under one roof.

Common Questions

Frequently asked

How fast can bindery and finishing work turn around in Philadelphia?

Most standard finishing work — padding, drilling, collating — turns around within a few business days. Rush jobs are often possible; call 215-634-7490 with your specs.

Do you work directly with print shops, or only end clients?

Primarily print shops, agencies, and publishers who need finishing work outsourced. We're a behind-the-scenes finishing partner, not a retail print shop.

What's the minimum order size for bindery services?

We handle both large and short runs — padding in particular is quoted either way. Send your quantity and we'll tell you what makes sense.

Can you match existing finishing specs from a previous vendor?

Yes. Send the specs or a sample of the finished piece and we'll match cutting, padding, or drilling dimensions.

Do you offer pickup and delivery in the Philadelphia area?

Yes, for local Philadelphia-area clients. Call 215-634-7490 to confirm.

Bindery & Finishing Services