Scoring/Perfing

[Prepper]

I've always heard score opposite way you're folding but what about perfing does it make any difference there?

We have a card insert in our magazines that we have problems at times with them staying in thru the collator. It is folded and stapled on a perf. I'm pretty sure we narrowed the problem down to thinner paper and finer perfs being the problem but just wondered about the perf and folding direction, whether that matters or not?

Thanks

[Alith7]

Generally, for perfs I don't think it does.

However, if you're binding something in like that, you don't want to perf on the fold for the exact reason you're having problem. Run the perf a 1/4" to 1/2" off center and that will almost totally eliminate your problem.

The reasoning is that just the act of folding for stitching "breaks" the perf and weakens it. if you put the perf off center so it's off the fold, the perf won't break until the end consumer wants it to.

Hope that helps!

[Prepper]

Yes, that's what we wanted to do to start with but the customer didn't want anything left hanging on the staple in the magazine. What caused the failure last time I'm pretty sure was we started doing these with 7pt card stock and then somewhere down the line we did a special full size one that was just 100# gloss text like the rest of the magazine pages and then somehow a lot thinner stock got used that was about 5.5pt. and about the same time changed the perf from 16 teeth per inch to 33 teeth per inch. So I think that combo of thinner stock and finer perf did us in, they ended up having to hand stuff all the inserts.

Thanks for the reply, it pretty much verified what I thought, but you never know what you may learn by asking.

[Alith7]

NO problem!


There is still the option of the coarser tooth, 16 tooth wouldn't be too bad, though it can make it hard to tear out. The thinner stock should actually be stronger to hold because it flexes more than the card stock and isn't as quick to break. But if you used a finer tooth on the perf that would make it break easier and cause your problem.

the 80# gloss text would be fine if you run it again, just make sure you use a really coarse toothed perf. even one with a wider gap between the teeth would be better, leaving more paper connected.

Good luck! It's always hard when the customer wants something "impossible".
but, as my boss always says, the customer is always right...it's not their problem to figure out how to make it work, that's our problem.

[ondemandbindery]

Basically no this will not make a difference. The only thing I have seen help this problem is change the image orientation in reference to the grain of the paper. Even then I have only seen a minimal change. It comes down to perforating the substrate enough to make it tear when folded but not falling apart in the binding process.

Good luck,

John Weaver