This binding method utilises hot melt adhesive to hold pages together. Examples are paperback books and most popular magazines found in book shops and newsagents. The hot melt adhesive is applied to the spine of the text pages or sections. A soft paper or paperboard cover is attached over the adhesive, nipped tight and square on the spine of the text; a hinge is attached to the front and back text pages to strengthen the book and allow easy opening of the cover.

There are three types of binding using this method: Burst, Lock and Perfect binding.

Burst and Lock binding is delivered to the adhesive as a number of collated folded sections. The difference between burst and lock binding is in the method used to perforate the paper during the folding process. A Burst folded section has a line of perforated slots punched down the spine to allow adhesive to enter the centre of the section. A Lock folded section has a line of flaps punched into the paper down the spine, not removing any paper. Both methods are bound in the same way.

Perfect binding is a slightly different process. The paper can be delivered in folded sections or as a book block, but normally the spine edge of the collated book is milled to open up the paper and/or the sections, so adhesive is applied to the edge of all leaves.