Although I sometimes feel like one, the term folding dummy doesn’t refer to me. Nor is it a description of your least productive folding machine operator. For our purposes, we’ll define folding dummy as “a sample page layout sheet which has been folded into its designed format to indicate page sequence or other binding and finishing information.” We could also add that it’s best if done at actual size, but as you’ll see, it’s not always necessary.
To paraphrase Confucius, the way a double gatefold plate works is really simple but our explanations make it sound complicated. Words just don’t cut it. Many processes in print finishing are easier to understand with a decent photo, video, diagram, or analogy. The action behind a double gate fold (also called a closed gatefold) running automatically on a buckle folding machine is one of those things.
In the latest Bindery Success Blog video here we review a frustrating folding machine problem—nicking or tearing at the lead edge of the sheet. This primarily happens when you’re creasing or scoring a single sheet, but it can also happen when you’re perforating. The good news is if the crease looks good except for that nick you’re very close to where you need to be.
You might call this A Tale of Two Pepys, both of whom were involved with printing. The famous Samuel Pepys lived in the 1600’s. The other lived around the early 1900’s. The latter may or may not be real. He could well be an editor or writer for The Printing Trade News using the pseudonym, and writing in the style of Samuel Pepys.
Want to instantly look like a hero, make life easier at your print finishing job, and boost productivity all at the same time? Then take a minute to review these simple and very effective hands-on tips for bindery equipment operators. Included are suggestions for folding machines, guillotine cutters, scoring machines, and perforating machines. They cover the type of bindery equipment you find in both large and small shops.
With a snowstorm approaching I’m reminded of the thankless job of forecasting and estimating. One local forecaster cheekily said a couple days ago that we could expect between 19 and zero inches of snow. If you think about the extent to which our printing industry is based on estimating, I’d say we do a better job than the weather guessers. But do we?
Most of us in the printing industry probably remember our first day on the job. I recall wandering through skids of paper, assaulted by the hectic buzz of large, high-speed multi-color presses. Escorted to my new home at the back of the shop, several pieces of old, ugly bindery equipment lay in monstrous wait for me. I had no clue where paper went in or where it came out.
Every New Year we hear about resolutions made and not kept. A study from the University of Scranton’s Journal of Clinical Psychology, quoted on statisticbrain.com reports that 45% of Americans make annual resolutions but only 8% achieve them. I’d wager that those who don’t make resolutions have probably given up because they don’t succeed. So what’s the secret to making your resolutions happen? Should you even bother to make resolutions?
If you’ve ever closely watched a complex piece of bindery equipment, it probably left you wondering how anyone conceived of such an idea with so many moving parts working in perfect harmony. On the other hand, were they not working so well, it might have left you wondering who to blame for your suffering!
The gripper band we are talking about is incorporated into nearly all Technifold and CreaseStream Mini tools. It’s one of those design elements that may rarely be needed. Yet when the need arises you’ll want to understand how to change or replace it.