Finalizing your choice of a restaurant menu cover can be a tough decision. When you open a restaurant, you have many different issues pulling at your attention. Décor choices, staffing needs, and even food permits each vie for your consideration. In light of these important concerns, selecting a menu cover may even seem trivial. You could easily opt to purchase the first inexpensive cover your find and move on to other problems.
Before you default to a generic menu cover format, you should, however, take a moment to consider one important facet of your restaurant menu covers: their binding. The binding method you select for your menu covers can be the different between having serviceable menu covers that will last for several years and having unsuitable covers that will ultimately have to be replaced. Each method can be advantageous, but only in the appropriate circumstances.
Case bound menu covers are by far the most durable type of restaurant menu cover binding available. In these covers, the pages around bound together by bookcloth material. This binding style is similar to the style used by book manufacturers in hardback books. Case bound menu covers can be padded or unpadded. They also come in many different styles and colors, so your design options are almost limitless.
Another durable alternative for menu cover binding is the use of a three-ring binder. These covers are typically finished in leather, vinyl, or fabric. The interior of the cover reveals a simple set of rings designed to hold the individual pages of the menu. The pages are typically protected within clear plastic sleeves and placed into the cover. Binder-styled menu covers enjoy much of the durability of case bound covers while also employing the adaptability of other cover styles. Outdated or damaged pages can simply be removed and replaced.
Spiral bound restaurant menu covers can also allow for changes in menu designs. Like the binder-styled covers, spiral bindings are usually placed inside a covered exterior. However, in spiral bound covers, individual pages usually cannot be replaced. Instead, the menu itself is spiral bound and held in place by sleeves set into the inside of the menu cover. Once a menu is updated or revamped, the spiral bound selection is removed and replaced by the new menu.
Finally some restaurant menu covers feature clear plastic or vinyl pages that are bound together by fabric or leatherette. In these cases, the edges of the pages are stitched together using the binding material of choice. Some menus include only two page views while others offer as many as twelve. These bindings are generally less expensive than case bindings, but they are also less durable.
Once you’ve determined which binding will best serve your restaurant’s needs, you’ve come very close to making a decision about your restaurant menu covers. By evaluating each binding material’s cost, functionality, and durability, you will be able to make an educated choice in menu covers. Now, you’re ready to get back to all of those other important issues that were waiting for you.
