Books
Much to my surprise, I discovered that books can't usually be recycled (along with other paper recycling), because of the glue that's used to bind them.
However there are some local authorities (apparently) where books can be collected and some paper mills process these by removing the spine first (before throwing this away) and then using the paper and card. So this didn't really seem like a viable green option.
Wire-o bind
As chief eco-worrier, I also wanted to design a product that could be re-used, meaning wire-o bound books weren't really an option either.
Rings
I was mindful these can add bulk and weight to the end product. Having rings placed on the spine, can also result in covers not lying flat properly, so making a decision on this wasn't easy.
And unlike some other companies, I didn't want you to have the added expense of purchasing a specialist hole punch.
To be honest, 6 'O' rings seemed like a bit of an overkill on a small A6 cover, especially when standard ring binders contain multiple A4 pages without a problem.
I also liked the 'D' ring used in ring binders, rather than an 'O' ring, meaning you could have less rings and the pages would line up and stay in place properly.
So we've finally gone with a hard cover binder and reusable 2 'D' 15mm ring metal mechanism instead and it's compatible with a standard hole punch, so you can add / remove stuff when you want.
Just be mindful our pages have slightly smaller holes than a standard hole punch and are positioned closer to the end of the page.