--- title: Scoring and Folding Short-Run Digital Printing Jobs description: Having problems mixing short-run bindery work with longer runs? Here are some simple low-cost tactics. image: https://www.technifoldusa.com/hs-fs/file-15500833-jpg/images/monkey-175.jpg --- [![Technifold USA Logo](https://www.technifoldusa.com/hs-fs/file-2546772754-png/logos/logo-technifold-usa-600px.png?width=291&height=111&name=logo-technifold-usa-600px.png "Technifold USA Logo")](https://www.technifoldusa.com) [BINDERY SUCCESS BLOG](https://www.technifoldusa.com/bindery-success-blog) [![CONTACT US](https://no-cache.hubspot.com/cta/default/75733/a69577ff-e2af-4bda-a591-b059f069ae92.png)](https://cta-redirect.hubspot.com/cta/redirect/75733/a69577ff-e2af-4bda-a591-b059f069ae92) # Welcome to our **Award Winning Bindery Success Blog**! ## [Scoring and Folding Short-Run Digital Printing Jobs](https://www.technifoldusa.com/bindery-success-blog/bid/81697/Scoring-and-Folding-Short-Run-Digital-Printing-Jobs) [fa icon="calendar"] Fri, Aug 24, 2012 / by [Andre Palko](https://www.technifoldusa.com/bindery-success-blog/author/andre-palko) - [Tweet](https://twitter.com/share) They laugh when we start cranking the handle on the new CreaseStream Mini scoring machine. It happens every time. ***“Hey, does that thing come with a monkey?!”*** is a favorite quip, usually heard in the first two minutes and then like clockwork throughout the show. At one recent in-plant ![monkey](https://www.technifoldusa.com/hs-fs/file-15500833-jpg/images/monkey-175.jpg)printing conference an exhibitor could be seen jumping around like an organ grinder’s chimpanzee in mock imitation of us working the [Mini creaser](https://www.technifoldusa.com/bindery-equipment/scoring-machine-desktop/), his buddies laughing like hyenas. **Ahhh…but there is great comfort in the laughter.** Experience tells me it usually means we’re on to something good. So why, in this high-tech, automated, programmed, in-line world of modern printing, would customers insist on an old-school piece of equipment like the [Mini scoring machine](https://www.technifoldusa.com/bindery-equipment/scoring-machine-desktop/) to help make their bindery operations more efficient? It’s no secret that segregating short-run bindery work from the flow of longer run work is a key to productivity. As average run lengths decrease, the typical commercial print shop might be faced with a wide range of run lengths to produce on equipment originally designed for longer runs. Face it; everyone can’t afford to re-equip their shop at a pace to match the change in technology. It just doesn’t pay, for instance, to set up a right-angle folding machine for a short-run scoring and folding job of 50 brochures. When you consider the make-ready times and waste involved with longer run equipment, adding short-run  digital printing work to the regular workflow is simply counter-productive. **Once you decide to segregate your jobs, you might find you already have equipment and personnel resources available to handle the new work flow.** The worst case is you need to get one or two low-cost pieces of scoring or folding equipment to pick up the slack. Here are some popular ways to handle those short-run scoring, folding and perforating jobs that won’t tie up your regular production equipment or cost much to implement. **Use a scoring machine and then hand fold the brochures.** It’s as old school as you can get, but with a little practice hand-folding can be extremely fast. (Check out the [hand folding video](https://www.technifoldusa.com/bindery-success-blog/bid/44010/how-to-fold-digital-printing-jobs-fast-without-a-folding-machine) to see a brief demo.) If you already have a scoring machine (or creasing machine) in the shop, dedicate it to scoring the short-run work. Then finish those jobs with hand folding. Of course this type of scenario works best with cover stocks but you can also hand-fold text weight stocks by using a folding bone. It’s a little slower but it gets the job done if you don’t want to tie up the big machine. (Look for a video soon!) **Use a scoring machine then fold the brochures with a simple tabletop folder.** There are dozens of el-cheapo folding machines out there which could handle your workload. Better yet, put a Baum 714 to work for you. It’s simple, fast, sturdy, readily available and will last forever with proper care. [![creasestream mini](https://www.technifoldusa.com/hs-fs/file-15473505-jpg/images/cs_mini_shafts_shadow300.jpg?width=251&height=170&name=cs_mini_shafts_shadow300.jpg)](https://www.technifoldusa.com/bindery-equipment/scoring-machine-desktop/)If you ***don’t*** have any type of scoring or creasing machine, and you’re doing up to 1,000 pieces or so per shift, then consider the Tri-Creaser equipped, [Mini](https://www.technifoldusa.com/bindery-equipment/scoring-machine-desktop/) scoring machine. It’s intentionally low-tech design is very fast to set up yet heavy duty enough to handle the toughest cover stocks. It produces at 3 to 5 times the speed of a lever-type hand creasing machine, delivering as many scores and perforations as needed in one pass of the sheet. The multiple creasing ribs and female channels that make up the [Tri-Creaser](https://www.technifoldusa.com/bindery-equipment/) allow you to select from several creasing options, unlike the lever-type units which give you one fixed-width option. For larger volumes of a few thousand pieces or more per day, consider the Technifold [Speedcreaser](https://www.technifoldusa.com/bindery-equipment/scoring-machine/) or pick up a scoring machine on the used market. There are plenty of low-cost second hand machines on the market from Rollem, Rosback, Count, Pierce and more. Simply add a Tri-Creaser to any of them to boost your performance with short-run digital printing. One of the benefits to segregating the work and including a bit of hand work is that the operator is engaged and actually looking at the job during that phase of production. (Well, we hope so, anyway.)  **If you’ve ever walked away from a set-it-and-forget-it machine only to return and find a short-run job ruined, then you know the benefit of having eyes on the job.** Having said all this, make no mistake, I’m all for optimizing work-flows and getting better yield from your bindery equipment through automation and fewer touches. It would be nice if everyone could look at their work load and buy a machine that would do it all from beginning to end. The reality is usually a lot messier, especially for us in the bindery. I suspect that even if you did get the perfect machine, tomorrow there would be a job that wouldn’t quite fit the parameters and  you’d be back there hand folding. I promise I wouldn’t laugh. But if you want to laugh with us, come find us at Graph Expo. Look for one of us in an organ grinder’s hat with a tin cup right next to the [Mini Scoring Machine](https://www.technifoldusa.com/bindery-equipment/scoring-machine-desktop/specifications-mini/). By the way, we sold out our inventory of Mini creasing machines twice since that conference. I don’t think Chimpanzee man has that problem. Topics: [Bindery How-To Tips](https://www.technifoldusa.com/bindery-success-blog/topic/bindery-how-to-tips), [Hand Work Tips](https://www.technifoldusa.com/bindery-success-blog/topic/hand-work-tips), [Scoring Machines](https://www.technifoldusa.com/bindery-success-blog/topic/scoring-machines) #### Written by [Andre Palko](https://www.technifoldusa.com/bindery-success-blog/author/andre-palko) **Take a minute and connect with the Technifold USA Staff on:   ** [[fa icon="linkedin-square"]](http://www.linkedin.com/in/andrepalko) [[fa icon="twitter-square"]](https://twitter.com/andrepalko) ### Get Bindery Success Tips from Our Blog via Email - Recent - Popular - Categories ### Lists by Topic - [Bindery How-To Tips (125)](https://www.technifoldusa.com/bindery-success-blog/topic/bindery-how-to-tips) - [Folding Machines (80)](https://www.technifoldusa.com/bindery-success-blog/topic/folding-machines) - [Bindery Business Tips (66)](https://www.technifoldusa.com/bindery-success-blog/topic/bindery-business-tips) - [Printing Business (39)](https://www.technifoldusa.com/bindery-success-blog/topic/printing-business) - [Scoring Machines (17)](https://www.technifoldusa.com/bindery-success-blog/topic/scoring-machines) - [Personal Development (12)](https://www.technifoldusa.com/bindery-success-blog/topic/personal-development) - [Saddle Stitchers (12)](https://www.technifoldusa.com/bindery-success-blog/topic/saddle-stitchers) - [Employee Education (9)](https://www.technifoldusa.com/bindery-success-blog/topic/employee-education) - [Staff Training (8)](https://www.technifoldusa.com/bindery-success-blog/topic/staff-training) - [Video Tips (7)](https://www.technifoldusa.com/bindery-success-blog/topic/video-tips) - [Bindery Equipment Troubleshooting (6)](https://www.technifoldusa.com/bindery-success-blog/topic/bindery-equipment-troubleshooting) - [Guillotine Cutter (6)](https://www.technifoldusa.com/bindery-success-blog/topic/guillotine-cutter) - [Perfect Binding (6)](https://www.technifoldusa.com/bindery-success-blog/topic/perfect-binding) - [Lean Manufacturing (5)](https://www.technifoldusa.com/bindery-success-blog/topic/lean-manufacturing) - [print finishing (5)](https://www.technifoldusa.com/bindery-success-blog/topic/print-finishing) - [Micro Perforating (4)](https://www.technifoldusa.com/bindery-success-blog/topic/micro-perforating) - [Paper problems (4)](https://www.technifoldusa.com/bindery-success-blog/topic/paper-problems) - [Printing Employee Training (4)](https://www.technifoldusa.com/bindery-success-blog/topic/printing-employee-training) - [Hand Work Tips (3)](https://www.technifoldusa.com/bindery-success-blog/topic/hand-work-tips) - [perforating (3)](https://www.technifoldusa.com/bindery-success-blog/topic/perforating) - [Equipment Maintenance (2)](https://www.technifoldusa.com/bindery-success-blog/topic/equipment-maintenance) - [Folding Machine Videos (2)](https://www.technifoldusa.com/bindery-success-blog/topic/folding-machine-videos) - [Muller (2)](https://www.technifoldusa.com/bindery-success-blog/topic/muller) - [Organization (2)](https://www.technifoldusa.com/bindery-success-blog/topic/organization) - [Shipping and Packing (2)](https://www.technifoldusa.com/bindery-success-blog/topic/shipping-and-packing) - [bindery resources (2)](https://www.technifoldusa.com/bindery-success-blog/topic/bindery-resources) - [gatefolding (2)](https://www.technifoldusa.com/bindery-success-blog/topic/gatefolding) - [rotary trimming (2)](https://www.technifoldusa.com/bindery-success-blog/topic/rotary-trimming) - ['Against the Grain' (1)](https://www.technifoldusa.com/bindery-success-blog/topic/against-the-grain) - ['Against the Grain' Book (1)](https://www.technifoldusa.com/bindery-success-blog/topic/against-the-grain-book) - [Aqueous Coating (1)](https://www.technifoldusa.com/bindery-success-blog/topic/aqueous-coating) - [Creasing Videos (1)](https://www.technifoldusa.com/bindery-success-blog/topic/creasing-videos) - [Cut Score (1)](https://www.technifoldusa.com/bindery-success-blog/topic/cut-score) - [Graham Harris (1)](https://www.technifoldusa.com/bindery-success-blog/topic/graham-harris) - [New Book (1)](https://www.technifoldusa.com/bindery-success-blog/topic/new-book) - [Tech-ni-Fold LTD. 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