What is a bound copy?

Bound like a book. Traditional books, however, are glued. I'm relatively certain most copy centers, like Kinkos, offer binding methods. Spiral isn't the only method of book binding, albeit it's relatively common in my company, for it's documents. Depending on your personal preference, it's up to your discretion to decide which method to use. The second link you provided is a method called "comb." Spiral is basically a plastic coil that runs through the document.

Office supply stores also sell make-shift book binding machines, which you could do yourself.

 

It is. Book binding takes three steps:

Printing
Punching
Binding


Coil bound documents look like this: http://www.coilbindings.net/wp-content/uploads/2010/10/plastic-coil-binder.jpg

I don't advise you actually invest in home binding machines, because they can be costly. Fortunately for me, my company offers a document production center, where they produce documents and bind them. Your average run-of-the-mill local copy shop should offer cost efficient methods. If you want to emphasize professional looking documents, an acetate cover and card stock back, generally does the trick.

I deal with these people every day, to the point where I'm some sort of bizarre book binding annex.

 

Most want it bound like a regular book. Not spiral bound, but it could be different where you are.

Oh also they will often pay for it after the fact (for one copy).

 

A friend of mine at liverpool university was told the same thing
he asked "what if I dont get it bound"
"you do want to pass dont you" was the answer he got, he left it at that
you should ask your tutor where to get the thesis bound and what type of binding (iirc my m8 got it properly leather bound, glued not spirals and passed with top marks btw)

 

So over the years you've been working on your thesis, you wait till 1.5 days before it's due to find out what "bound" means?

 

it means professors don't want badly stapled sheets in landscape orientation, printed on one side, with 3rd generation copies for figures (or worse, it's printed on both sides and every other page has the wrong orientation)

i.e. they don't want to be given what they hand out to their students

 

Where I am it refers to "perfect binding", for the first-pass submitted copy at least.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bookbinding#Thermally_activated_binding

 

Kinko's, now Fed Ex Office, has three binding options. One is spiral, the other is comb, and the third is one with teeth. It sounds like your professor would prefer to having binding with teeth. It's a rather simple matter and should take all of 5 minutes for a place like Kinkos to do. The paper gets whole punched, two plastic strips (one with teeth, the other while wholes for the teeth to go through) are fastened together and the excess strips of plastic are then heated/melted off. Classy

 

My office offers the same method. It's called Velo binding. Personally, I think it looks the most professional.

http://www.hiwtc.com/photo/products/29/06/05/60540.jpg