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It can be a headache, but there are times when it’s necessary to run a scoring or perforating job twice through a piece of bindery equipment. Maybe you have one creasing tool available but this job calls for two or three. Perhaps it’s an equipment scheduling problem and the small folder with one scoring tool is the only one available that day. The headache usually starts with the second pass through the machine, when the operator discovers the entire first pass didn’t register, or is in the wrong position, or is crooked. Worse yet, a customer discovers the problem!

Chances are good that customer requests have gotten you involved in micro perforating, whether through in-house perf operations or through outsourcing. It’s common today for end users to run pre-perfed, pre-printed forms (supplied by their local printer) through their own laser printers, copiers or digital presses. Invoices and statements are good examples of this.

For something with just two sides to it, it’s amazing the hundreds of questions that can arise. We are of course, referring to paper. There’s a good chance that some of what you’ve found to be true about printing and finishing paper is counter-intuitive. For instance, the simple question, ‘Which side of the paper should I score on my folding machine?’ falls into that camp.

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“I can’t get my folding machine score (or perforation) to run straight." It’s a question we hear from operators of folding machines and scoring machines on a regular basis. We’ve seen the problem stump the experienced bindery pro as well as the novice.

It happens every year around this time with our customers in wintry climates, so we will review a handy tip that came to us in 2011:

A printer recently sent us four-color samples on 70# C2S litho text which were cracking horribly when folded. They couldn’t get rid of the problem with their own scoring devices and wondered if the EZ-Fit or Fast Fit Tri-Creaser would take care of the problem.

Rotary scoring and perforating machines with direct feed systems are easy to use and widely available. This type of machine has no register table but instead moves the sheet directly from the feeder into the shafts. You’ll find manual-fed, friction-fed and air-fed designs from such manufacturers as Rosback, Rollem, Graphic Whizard, Count, Pierce as well our CreaseStream series (right) and its predecessor, the Speedcreaser.

Maybe you’re thinking “Who cares about the shaft diameter on bindery equipment, just look it up in the manual if you need the info!” We can say that as a supplier of bindery products to fit hundreds of machines with all kinds of shafts, there is often a noticeable lack of information available. At the very least there is often some measure of confusion about actual dimensions, especially if no caliper is available to take a precise measurement.