Score & Folding after Laminating problems

[sidneykidney]

Soon, I will be Digitally Printing a 4pp Business Card on a 350gsm Matt. It will then be Matt Laminated both sides, scored on my Morgana Digifold and folded. Are there any solutions to keeping the Business Card folded AND flat, because I'm sure that the board will keep popping open. I was also supplied a sample that somebody else printed and finished (not sure who) which was also Matt Laminated but stays flat. when I looked at the scoring, it looked and felt as though it had a male score of both sides. How did they do that???????

[Coolio]

For projects like this I would score and leave flat. Let the end user fold and crush them until they stay folded.

As for the two male scores, sounds like they printed and scored two sheets, then mounted them together. Not sure of the benefits of this unless 350gsm exceeded the max of that particular device.

Just my $.02 - HTH

[JasonFF]

In order for something like that to stay folded, most likely the fibers holding the two halves would need to be all but crushed. Laminate can be creased and folded, but when there is 350gsm paper between the laminate it may be all but impossible. One solution might be to deeply perforate the card where it should fold, and then crease it once before laminating. The laminate would hold the two halves together, but the perforation would make it easier to stay folded. If you then score it after laminating, that should squish the connecting fibers further, and hopefully that would be enough to have it stay closed. Even with this though it might not work perfectly so I'd do a test before taking my suggestion..

I don't recommend scoring before lamination because that makes the laminate near the score look pretty ugly. It -might- help with the folding, but the laminate would probably be too ugly to ship, and when it's a small surface area it's easier to notice.

As I run the problem through my head it also occured to me that a very very deep score after laminating might achieve the same thing. Scoring it twice, once on either side would also help. I'm not sure how they achived two ridges out, but two female scores couldn't really be that much different in effect.

[Alith7]

When I have needed a good score on laminated jobs in the past, our bigger jobs go out to a laminating house and they use a "heat" score to soften the laminate and help it to fold better. I'm not at all familiar with this process, but I know it works well. Otherwise, I would think the idea to score twice once on each side might work.

[JasonFF]

When I have needed a good score on laminated jobs in the past, our bigger jobs go out to a laminating house and they use a "heat" score to soften the laminate and help it to fold better. I'm not at all familiar with this process, but I know it works well. Otherwise, I would think the idea to score twice once on each side might work.

This must be the method that was used, sidneykidney. It had never occured to me before, but it does make sense. I wonder if anyone reading this thread has used a machine that is capable of heat scoring? I'd be interested to know more about it.

[acacia print]

I wonder if a Heated score is possible using a heated foiling bed some how? I have never heard of this being done but it sounds possible.... interesting dilemma..

[ondemandbindery]

Soon, I will be Digitally Printing a 4pp Business Card on a 350gsm Matt. It will then be Matt Laminated both sides, scored on my Morgana Digifold and folded. Are there any solutions to keeping the Business Card folded AND flat, because I'm sure that the board will keep popping open. I was also supplied a sample that somebody else printed and finished (not sure who) which was also Matt Laminated but stays flat. when I looked at the scoring, it looked and felt as though it had a male score of both sides. How did they do that???????

2 sheets glued together and then run through a laminator compress it flat as a pancake. That is one way to do it.

[kerstenp]

The male score look you see is from the laminated piece being scored, folded and then unfolded. This usually happens when scored on a letterpress and matrix is used.
Heat score? anyone with a Kluge can do that, provided it is equipped with a heated bed. Use a copper or brass scoring rule and mount to a honey comb plate. The advantage of running on a Kluge Vs. Gietz, is that a Kluge needs no gripper, where as Gietz needs upto 1/2 inch.
NOTE: a hand fed press with bed heater will work too, like a Thompson.