DIE CUTTING COMMUNICATION
Like any other post press service, good communication is important when outsourcing die cutting. Before shipping your job to your finisher, make sure you clearly mark your gripper and side guides on an uncut press sheet. Try to provide 3/8” gripper margin. Less is possible, but get advice first. Save time and money by laying out your die cutting jobs with common scoring and trim lines. This will lower your die costs and number of required cuts on a flatbed cutter, reducing your price even further.

GATE FOLDS
Designers use gate folds as great looking ways to get more information onto single sheets of paper. Here are a few tips to make your gate folded projects go smoothly: Since most gate folds require loosened folder rollers, design gate folded projects for one-up production.

Loosened folder rollers can prevent slitter shafts from getting a proper grip as multiple pieces are slit apart. Since paper is three-dimensional, gate folds at right angles to initial folds may wrinkle. Call us before specifying projects like the third example above which folds same-size panels into themselves.

Buckle folders can handle most gate folded pieces. However, if your project is on thick stock, die scoring is critically important.

TWO-UP PERFECT BINDING LAYOUTS
Let E & M Bindery help save you pre-press time and money on your next small format perfect binding job. Two-up “COMING & GOING” layouts for books up to 6” x 9” will cut your prepress plate requirements in half. Just imagine the tremendous cost savings on a four-color job! Call Ed Pordy at E & M Bindery for layout advice on projects of this type.