CUTTING AND CREASING (Continued)

WE HAVE now described the machinery and material which are essential for a modern cutting and creasing plant, and with these matters disposed of we will next take up the subjects of making the steel dies, press-work, etc.

MAKING A CUTTING AND CREASING DIE

No matter what shape or size of a folding box or carton which may be wanted, it will require both creasing and cutting, and this means of course that both steel scoring rules and steel cutting rules will be needed in making the die.

Hard steel cutting rule is to be used for all straight cutting lines in the die.

Soft steel cutting rule is to be used for all round corners or odd-shaped sections of the die.

For the average folding box or carton 2-point cutting and creasing rules will be thick enough for their functions, but in the case of a large die for exceedingly heavy-weight box-board, 3-point, 4-point, or 6-point cutting and creasing rules will be found better for the press-work than the 2-point rules.

The regular 2-point cutting rule, turned upside down, or inverted, will serve as scoring rule, although the special scoring rule, made for this purpose by the manufacturers, will always produce the best results on account of it having a rounded face instead of a blunt face.

On common-grade folding-box work, when the stock is heavy and tough, some die-makers use inverted cutting rules for scoring rules—usually old cutting rules which have lost their sharp edges by long service in other dies. By placing two 2-point inverted cutting rules together a 4-point crease is obtained. By placing three 2-point cutting rules together (inverted), a 6-point crease is obtained. Wide creases of this kind are needed only in heavy work, such as for example, suit boxes, flower boxes and hat boxes in large sizes.

A 2-point crease, or rather a fine crease obtained from standard 2-point scoring rule having a rounded face, will do well for the great majority of folding boxes.

BUILDING THE DIE

Now for the building of the die, say a die for cutting and creasing a carton for holding a medicine bottle: Take the “dummy,” or an old carton of the required size and form, and with the aid of a foot-ruler find out the lengths and number of pieces of rule which will be required for the die. Jot down the figures upon a tablet. For example, you will need four long pieces of 2-point scoring rule, all of the same length; four short pieces of 2-point scoring rule, all of the same length; then you will need four “L’s” for cutting flaps, these “L” pieces to have slightly rounded corners and to be made from soft steel cutting rule. Also will be needed two pieces of soft cutting rule which are to be bent in the form of a large “U,” these to be used for cutting the folding top and folding bottom of the carton. Other pieces of both scoring and cutting rule will be needed to make the die complete, and with careful application of the ruler, the correct lengths may be ascertained.

After all of the various measurements of the rules have been taken and marked down on the tablet, the next step is to cut the rules on the steel rule cutter to the essential sizes, following the measurements which have been written down. The steel rule cutter is equipped with a movable gage and this gage is accurately set to provide for the cutting of each rule. A number of the rules are cut to the same sizes. Your figures on the tablet should tell how many pieces of each size are wanted. It is really a simple matter to cut the rules, but too much care cannot be taken in doing the cutting accurately.

The pieces of soft steel cutting rule which are to have rounded corners or odd shapes are now bent to the proper forms on a rule bending press, or with the aid of a vise. Extreme care should be taken in bending the rules in such a way that none of the bended lines are on an angle. In other words, each “bend” should be truly vertical so that when the odd-shaped rule lies in the die its cutting surface will be perfectly level. One of the great advantages of the steel rule bending press and its molds is that all rule bending on this machine is done perpendicularly true. An experienced die-maker can do wonders in rule bending with an ordinary vise and a pair of pliers, but the beginner will not find this work easy.

With all of the required number of pieces of cutting and creasing rule cut to sizes and bent to the proper shapes, the next step is to “set up” the die with lead, steel, or iron furniture. In the case of a large-size die, the main blanking-out is done with black walnut or cherry furniture, but with a small-size die, practically all of the blanking-out may be done with labor-saving metal furniture.

WORKING CONDITIONS

The die-maker should work upon the surface of an imposing table. First, he places on the table the chase in which the die is to be locked up. Second, he fills in the chase with regular printer’s wood furniture, leaving space in the center for the die, and placing locking quoins near the top of the chase and on the right-hand side of the chase. Third, the cutting and creasing rules are set in the open space in the center of the chase, filling in with metal or wood furniture. Fourth, after the die has been carefully set and blanked out, the entire job is locked up with the aid of a quoin-key and the quoins.

Note these points: Printers’ wood furniture is not as high as black walnut or cherry wood used inside the die, and the printers’ wood furniture is only used as locking-up material on the outer sides of the die.

There are several varieties of printers’ quoins, but the best quoins for the die-maker’s purpose are called “Hemple Improved Quoins.” They are of iron, wedge-shaped, and contain ridges which make them hold tightly. By inserting a quoin-key between the “teeth” of a pair of quoins, and turning the key one way or the other way, the quoins are locked or unlocked.

The quoins should not be placed directly against the sides of the chase, or against the sides of the wood furniture. Small strips of reglet, 6-points wide, placed on either side of each pair of quoins protects the wood furniture from damage by the quoins, and prevents loosening of the quoins at the sides of the chase.

An assortment of printers’ leads and brasses—2-point leads and 1-point brasses, in the smaller sizes, will be of great utility to the die-maker in blanking out. A lead or brass, inserted here and there between the furniture in the die, will often solve intricate construction.

ACCURACY REQUIRED

The die should be blanked out so accurately that when the quoins are tightened all material in the die will “lift” without any of the furniture falling out. After the form has been locked up, the die-maker rests one end of the chase on a block of furniture. He then strikes the ends of the fingers over all material in the die to see if any parts of the die are loose. If all holds firmly, the form is ready for press. If any parts are found loose, the form is unlocked, and the loose places are fixed up by inserting small strips of manila paper between the loose pieces of furniture.

With the aid of a straight-edge, an L-square, or a T-square, the die-maker tests all lines of the die to ascertain if any rules are binding or out of register. All defects of this nature must be corrected before the die goes to press.

Intricate rule bending is made more easy by heating the soft steel rule in a gas flame before bending. When working with heated rule the die-maker wears canvas gloves to protect his hands. To harden soft rule, after bending, heat again and dip the heated rule in fish oil.

MAKING STEEL DIES FOR “CUT-OUTS”

Some box-makers, in addition to manufacturing set-up and folding boxes, also make advertising “cut-outs,” cardboard fans, wall-pockets, fancy calendars, photograph mounts, and “set-in” forms for holiday boxes for holding neckties, suspenders, garters, collar buttons, etc. Work of this variety is also cut on cutting and creasing presses, but the dies and make-ready are different than the dies and make-ready for folding boxes.

Steel dies for all kinds of “cut-outs” are made of 2-point cutting rules. For add shapes like hearts, fans, fancy calendars, etc., “soft” cutting rule is used. For straight-line work such as squares, oblongs, diamonds, keystone and triangle, “hard” cutting rule is used.

The steel cutting rules for dies of this class are inserted in laminated board, of three, four or more plies, for the reason that laminated board will not warp or be affected by atmospheric conditions.

The design, or several different designs, which are to be cut out, are marked with pencil on the surface of the piece of laminated board, which must be of a size to accommodate the dies. These pencil lines are then followed with a jig-saw, and in the grooves made by the saw the steel cutting rules are inserted. The die is then ready for press.

It should be mentioned, however, that it is possible to build a plain “cut-out” die, like a square or oblong, merely by cutting the rules to the proper sizes and then blanking out the inside space with metal or ordinary wood furniture. But, an odd-shaped “cut-out” die should always be inserted in laminated board.

As many as half-a-dozen “cut-out” dies for cardboard fans, advertising novelties, etc., may be placed in rows in the one section of laminated board, and the entire six articles may be cut simultaneously on the press.

Half-a-dozen dies for folding boxes, or more than this number, can also be run together in the same form, according to the size of the cutting and creasing press.

CUTTING AND CREASING ON PLATEN PRESSES

Cutting and creasing for folding boxes can be done successfully on platen printing presses of the John Thompson and Hartford type, provided that a printing press of this type be fitted with a steel platen plate, and provided also that the inking rollers of the press be removed. The steel platen plate is removable, and is held to the platen of the press by means of counter-sunk screws. When printing is to be done on the press the platen plate is taken off.

The National Machine Company, of Hartford, Conn., and John Thompson Press Company, of New York City, both manufacture standard cutting and creasing presses which are built especially for this work. These presses, which are not designed for printing purposes, are fitted with removable, steel platen plates, and by having a number of these platen plates, the folding box maker can save the makeready, or “female dies” on the plates, and may keep them stored away for future orders on the same kind of work. In saving such “female dies” on the platen plates, however, it would also be essential to save the forms containing the steel cutting and creasing dies so that all would perfectly register when the dies and plates are again put on the presses.

MAKING READY A STEEL CUTTING AND CREASING DIE

This applies to making ready the die on a regular Hartford or John Thomson cutter and creaser, and as mentioned before, the form may have more than one duplicate of the same die, if desired. For example, the form may contain say eight complete cutting and creasing dies, arranged together for cutting eight small cartons from a single sheet of stock.

First, put on the steel platen plate, and see that it is free from all old makeready material. Second, take a sheet of chip-board, news-board or straw-board, and cut it nearly the full size of the platen plate. Then with LePage glue carefully spread all over one side of the sheet of box-board, apply the sheet of box-board to the surface of the platen plate.

Third, place the chase containing the die, or series of dies, on the press. Fourth, with a small printer’s hand inking roller and printers’ black ink, apply the ink to all creasing rules in the form. Fifth, take a sheet of the stock which is to be cut and creased, and by slowly turning the fly-wheels of the press, take an impression of the form on this sheet of stock. If all of the cutting rules cut through the stock clearly, the impression is right. If the cutting rules do not cut sharply, more impression will be required, and this is obtained by moving the slides holding the throw-off bar up one or two notches. Do not move the slides up more than one notch at one time, and keep moving them, after taking additional impressions on blank sheets of stock until finally the impression is rightly adjusted.

The first inking of the form was for the purpose of showing the positions of the creasing rules. Never mind additional inking while the impression is being adjusted. After the impression has been made right, ink all of the creasing rules in the form again and then take an impression of the form on the sheet of box-board which has been glued to the platen plate. Now comes the most tedious part of the makeready:

All of the inked creasing lines which appear on the platen must be carefully cut out with a sharp makeready knife. That is, the thin lines made on the sheet of box-board on the platen by the inked creasing rules must be cut away with the knife in long, narrow strips so as to form the female part of the die. If the creasing rules are 2-point size, cut away about 3-points; if 4-point creasing rule, cut away about 5-points; if 6-point creasing rule, cut away about 7-points. In making these grooves slightly wider than the size of the creasing rules, the stock will press into the grooves easily and will form the proper creasing or scoring.

Do not cut away any other parts of the sheet of box-board which has been glued to the platen plate. The steel cutting rules should cut into this sheet of box-board.

Ordinarily, the counter-die, after having been made in the manner described, would be completed, but in the case of a long run of work, the following additional makeready is done:

THE KIND OF MAKEREADY THAT IS WORTH WHILE

After the grooves have been cleanly cut, and after all strips of the box-board have been removed from the grooves, lay a sheet of plain white paper over the entire counter-die and pull an impression of the form on this sheet. Then turn over the sheet of paper; study the detail of the impression and see if any of the cutting and creasing rules are weak in certain places. With a blue pencil mark rings around any of the weak places which may appear. Then with a sharp knife, flour paste and French folio paper, “spot up” all circles made by the blue pencil with pieces of the French folio. Some places, extra weak, may call for two or three circles of the French folio. After the sheet has been “spotted up”, loosen the counter-sunk screws in the platen plate; lift off the plate, and with a small quantity of flour paste attach the “spot-up” sheet to the under-side of the platen plate in true position so that it will register with the counter-die, or makeready on the other side of the plate. Paste the “spot-up” sheet, face up, to the under side of the plate. Then replace the platen plate with the “spot-up” sheet under it. This process of makeready is worth while on all forms which are to have long runs, and it will cause all of the weak cutting and creasing rules to have an even impression. Strange as it may seem to the beginner, the little pieces of French folio, when properly placed under the platen plate, will do wonders in making a die even. In the case of rules which have been in service for some time, several “spot-up” sheets may be needed under the platen plate, and in the case of worn rules, the “spotting up” should be done with pieces of book paper, or even with heavy Manila paper. An exceedingly weak place will require a heavy piece of paper under the platen plate.

PUTTING ON THE FEEDING GUIDES

The feeding guides may be of brass, wood or lead. Pieces of 12-point printer’s brass rule, about two inches long, make the best guides for heavy sheets of box board. 12-point slugs, about two inches long, or pieces of 12-point reglet, will serve well as feeding guides for the general run of work. Rub brass or lead slugs on a sheet of fine emery paper before applying the glue, as the rubbing helps in making the guides hold firmly. Use only LePage glue in attaching the guides.

After the guides have been put on in the proper position, fenders are then applied at the inner sides of the two bottom guides, and one fender at the lower end of the side guide. There are three guides, two at the bottom and one on the left-hand side. The fenders are formed of heavy-weight folding cardboard, or of 1-point brass rule, about one-and-one-half inches long. The fenders are used to prevent the sheets of box-board from extending over the guides in the feeding.

CORKING THE STEEL-DIE FORM

After the make-ready for a cutting and creasing form has been completed, the form must be corked so as to prevent the sheets of box-board from adhering to the cutting rules as each impression is taken. One good method of corking is gluing rows of small-size corks to the wood furniture in the form, the rows of corks placed on either side of all cutting rules in the form. In the case of metal furniture, the corks are glued to flat, solid places in the metal furniture, or are inserted in the small, open places in labor-saving lead furniture, as the case may be. The corks when properly glued or inserted, should stand up about one-quarter-of-an-inch above the steel cutting rules, so that when an impression is taken on a sheet of box-board, the corks will have force enough to “push” the sheet off the cutting rules.

Another method of corking is that done with long strips of cork, high enough for the purpose. These strips of cork are glued on the metal or wood furniture in the same way as individual corks are applied. The Armstrong Cork Company, of Pittsburgh, Pa., can supply cork in strips made expressly for use on cutting and creasing presses. Use LePage glue in applying the corks, and put on plenty of strip cork, or individual corks, so that the sheets will leave the form without breaking.

FEEDING THE SHEETS OF BOX-BOARD

The operator of a cutting and creasing press cannot be too careful when feeding sheets into the press. It is dangerous work, and the feeder must be constantly watchful over his hands. Never reach the hand in the press after a sheet which may stick to the form, or after sections of a sheet which may have broken apart in the cutting. Your hands are too precious to “take any chances.” Keep corking the form until all sheets leave the cutting rules without any difficulty. Bend the sheets of box-board, in small lots, so that the shape of the sheets makes easy feeding. Always be careful when feeding, and keep your eyes on your work.

STRIPPING

After the sheets of box-board have been cut and creased, they are taken to the finishing room where girls and boys do the stripping, which means removing all waste material from the sheets. About fifty sheets at a time are stripped. Intricate cut-outs, box-corners, fancy shapes, etc., are “hammered out” with the aid of a mallet. A small pile of the stock is laid over the edge of a large wooden box, and with a blow of the mallet the waste material falls out into the box.

GLUING FOLDING BOXES

There are several well-known gluing machines on the market which are designed particularly for gluing together folding boxes or cartons. The ordinary gluing machine is fitted with a feeding table, a series of steel rollers, a glue fountain and a gluing wheel. As the operator feeds the sheets, hot glue is applied to the flaps. The operator then folds each sheet so that the glued flap is in the right position. The series of steel rollers then press the glued flaps firmly together, completing the operation.

One of the best gluing machines on the market is the “Staude Automatic,” made by the E. G. Staude Manufacturing Company, of St. Paul, Minn. This machine is fitted with a vertical stacker and other improved devices which make it possible for the folding box-maker to handle a wide range of work at high speed.

Another excellent gluing machine is known as the “International,” made by the International Paper Box Machine Company, of Nashua, N. H. This machine is equipped with an electric counting device and other improved features which make it a great labor-saver.

CUTTING AND CREASING ON CYLINDER PRESSES

Spacious forms containing a large number of steel cutting and creasing dies are being handled on cylinder presses, and the dies and make-ready are practically the same as for cutting and creasing on platen presses. The Walter Scott & Company, of Plainfield, N. J., manufacture special cylinder presses for use on cutting and creasing forms, and on order, these presses will be furnished with one- or two-color printing attachments.

Cutting and creasing can be done on any style of cylinder press, provided that the cylinder of the press is fitted with a flexible steel sheet on the order of a steel platen plate. The cylinder must be timed and adjusted to provide for the steel surface sheet. These changes should be made by an expert machinist.

Make-ready for cutting and creasing on a cylinder press is practically the same as on a platen press.

MAKING READY A STEEL CUTTING DIE FOR ADVERTISING
NOVELTIES, ETC.

This refers to a steel cutting die to be used only for cut-outs, such as fans, inserts for set-up boxes, fancy calendars, wall pockets, photo mounts, leather goods, etc. All of this kind of work can be cut out on a standard cutting and creasing press, or on a cylinder press, from dies made of steel cutting rule. As mentioned before, a die of this character does not contain any creasing rules, and is set in grooves sawed in laminated board.

The make-ready for a cutting die is altogether different than the make-ready on a cutting and creasing form. The make-ready is very simple. No counter-die, or “female die,” is required. The cutting rules merely strike the bare surface of the platen plate.

If desired, a sheet of chip-board, news-board or straw-board may be glued to the surface of the platen plate, but this is not necessary. The main thing is to have the impression even, and of just the right strength to make a clean, sharp cut of the stock.

The form is corked in the same manner as a form for cutting and creasing.

Guides and fenders are glued to pieces of heavy Manila paper which first have been glued to the surface of the platen plate. The Manila paper is used merely for holding the guides and fenders firmly.

In the case of the stock falling apart on the form, after the impression has been made, file a few small slots at various points on the edges of the steel cutting rules. Use a three-edge file for this purpose. The slots break certain places of the cutting rules, and thereby prevent the stock from falling apart until it reaches the stripping department. The small slots do not mar the finished work.

Rough edges of cut-outs, such as fans, odd shapes, advertising novelties, etc., are easily smoothed by taking small piles of the cut-outs and rubbing the edges with emery paper or sand paper.