There are several factors which affect the quality and performance of a crease. These include the rule width (male component), the depth of crease, the width of the female channel, and the 'critical distance' (the distance from the side of the male rule to the edge of the female channel.)
If the critical distance is not equal on both sides, the crease quality suffers. In other words if the crease is slightly off-center, you won't get the best possible crease, resulting in possible fiber cracking or tearing of the folded paper.
Here is a simple, classic technique to ensure that your rotary creasing device is perfectly centered. The video demo illustrates this bindery tip using our EZ-Fit Tri-Creaser, but the concept works with any of our other rotary scoring tools.
One important requirement: your tools must move freely on the shafts, responding to a light finger pressure. So be sure the shafts are clean and free of burrs. This is a good practice whether you are running folding machines, scoring machines, or cover feeders on saddle stitchers or perfect binders.
Many versions of the Tri-Creaser automatically center themselves, so if you have a female component without an allen screw, you don't have to worry about this step.
Click the Video to Play