There’s no denying the connection between sports and business — and in few places is that link more visible than Super Bowl mania and the March Madness basketball tournament. Even on the scholastic level, teams and programs are treated like mini-franchises, rich with tradition and history — and they all have a story to tell.

At Finish Line Binderies, we’ve teamed for years with printers and collegiate and professional sports clubs to produce championship-quality athletic information guides. These handsome pieces are used for a variety of purposes, from attracting recruits and media attention to serving as a yearbook of the team.

The Advantage of Split Runs

No, a split run isn’t a precise touchdown play — but it can be an ideal planning solution that allows your guides to serve multiple needs.

A split run refers to a single book produced in both mechanical and perfect binding styles. This allows for distribution of information guides that match the needs of many different users. For example, mechanically-bound information guides are perfect for members of the media, who will take advantage of this style’s layflat capabilities. Perfect-bound pieces make great collectables and game-day sales items for the public.

This media guide was split-run and produced as a media-friendly Wire-O piece as well as a perfect bound book that makes a lovely keepsake for fans.

Design Tip: Don’t Cross-Up Your Stats

To ensure statistical lines and other content lines up properly across pages, consider Wire-O binding. Unlike other mechanical binding styles, Wire-O does not ‘step up’, or cause the right side of the book to sit slightly higher when laying flat. A step up can skew images and lines of statistics, making it difficult for the reader.