Reprinted from New England Printer & Publisher
Issue: June 1992

We hope the few minutes it'll take to read these production tips will insure a trouble free experience with your next die cut and glued project. The focus is on pocket folders, but most of the tips apply equally to all glued cover stock products.

First, let's consider the stock weight. Beware of any stocks thinner than 8 points. These thin stocks are too light to provide either a good, durable finished product or a crisp score. Glues tend to "pucker" thin stocks, particularly if coated 2 sides. We recommend using a sheet between .008" and .014" for the best combination of runability, durability and feel.

Second, consider using a standard die. We have lots of standard dies, and for short run jobs your savings can be significant if we can use one of them. For example, dies for the basic 1 and 2 pocket folders with and without glue flaps are available in 3 page sizes and 2 pocket sizes with and without slits for a business card. While we aren't at liberty to let you use a die owned by one of our customers, we're happy to let you use any folder die that we own. Give us a call.

Third, consider a custom die. If a standard die just won't do the job, we can produce a die for any configuration. We make our steel rule dies in-house, so the turnaround is quick, and the quality is tops. A die made specifically for you is your property, and will not be used for anyone else. You can leave the die with us for safe storage or you can have it returned to you with the job. The choice is yours.

Fourth, consider where to put the image on the sheet. We need trim, so try to allow at least 3/4" on all 4 sides. With 2-up forms, whether work and turn, tumble or sheetwise, please center each image in its own half of the sheet. With work and tumble or work and turn sheets, we always have to cut to 1 -on so that the scores will be into the correct side of the sheet, and centering each image in its own half of the sheet will help insure gripper bite and trim.

Fifth, please don't trim the sheets. We want all the trim we can get. If you've run the job 2-up, send us the sheets as they are delivered from your press. If the run is long and the form is sheetwise it might be more efficient for us to run the job 2-up, and we would like to preserve that option.

Sixth, to drop out or not to drop out. Please, keep varnish off the glue flaps and the areas where the flaps glue -- but everyone knows that. We're often asked if a printer should drop out ink as well from the glue areas. In general our feeling is "why not?" Our glues stick very nicely to most inks, but some inks contain gobs of varnish and can cause a problem. So why take the chance?

Seventh, bleed. Of course you always remember to add bleed wherever coverage reaches the edge of the piece, but don't forget to bleed into the "no glue" areas. Also, it you're working with glue flaps on the pocket, be sure to add bleed to the outside edge of the page 2 or 3 glue dropout (area to which flap adheres). When printers forget this area, the result is that a white strip shows beside the glue flap score.

Eighth, give some thought to where your glue flaps should be. As you can see from these illustrations, there are two places to put the glue flaps on a standard pocket folder. Which is best?

Both can be die cut and glued equally well. Some designers prefer the glue flaps on the pockets to give a cleaner page edge, but in most cases you'll be safer with the glue flaps coming off the side of the page and adhering to the inside of the pocket. This configuration allows slightly easier insertion of literature, and it prevents the adhesive from bleeding through or puckering the front and back pages at the glue areas. Some stocks (coated 2 sides) and some inks (metallic, reflex, and dark colors with varnish) are particularly prone to puckering, and whatever configuration keeps glue from these sensitive areas is best.

Ninth, Let's talk about box pockets. There are two things you and your customer should know about box pocket folders. They are time consuming to produce, and they are very expensive. Designers who specify them often don't know that box pockets cannot be glued automatically, or that the finishing costs will be at least triple the cost of producing flat pocket folders. Sometimes the customer may have no idea how much extra they are paying by asking for 1/8" box scores, so let's be sure to tell them. It might be helpful to remind your customer how much material they can routinely put into an envelope with single scores.

Tenth, please send us a rule up. There are countless variations on the pocket folder theme, so don't assume that what you are looking for is "standard". Show us your page and pocket sizes, show any bindery trims, and be sure to show both style and location of any business card slits. Specifications change constantly, so even if you told us something during the estimating phase, tell us again when it comes time for production. We can't assume every job will run as discussed at the estimating stage, because most of them don't.

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