The Lutterworth post-press innovator spotted an opportunity to improve upon standard scoring tools supplied by OEM folder manufacturers, which it described as having “the same destructive elements ever since the first folding machines came into production in 1850”.
The firm cited issues with standard tooling such as tearing on the front edge of sheets due to abrasive scoring blades, and weak V-shaped scoring.
Tech-ni-Fold also said setup times were typically lengthy and a high level of skill was required to achieve good results, which is increasingly an issue for the industry overall as older workers retire.
The firm started testing its new Section Score device with customers and resellers in the second half of last year and is now ready for a full roll-out.
Head of technical sales Lee White said: “We’ve always specialised in stopping fibre cracking, and over the last couple of years the company has expanded the range of applications.
“OEM scoring tools are temperamental to set up, or you have to slow the folder down if it struggles at high speeds. With our system you just change the coloured band.”
The device uses four colour-coded scoring rings for different widths and scoring heights that fit onto the male hub, married with eight female channels for different pre-determined scoring widths, also colour coded, which Tech-ni-Fold said “eliminates guesswork”.
The firm claimed that scoring is three times deeper as a result, for “perfect fold consistency”, while the full range of material thicknesses that run through the folder can be accommodated.
White said feedback from the first tranche of users had been overwhelmingly positive.
He added: “And because lots of operators are not as skilled as they had to be in the past, ease-of-use is important. With the Section Score you set the pressure, choose the right band, and away you go.”
Holbrooks Printers in Portsmouth was one of the early adopters of the Section Score and tested the first iteration last year.
Production manager Rory Whitman told Printweek: “I come from an engineering background which has helped with taking a different view on some things.
“Tech-ni-Fold are a very approachable company and that’s important to me. Having engineering in-house is a massive integral part of their company and what they're able to offer.”
Whitman said that Tech-ni-Fold took on board his feedback and produced an improved version in two months thanks to its engineering and CNC capabilities.
Holbrooks is running the Section Score on two MBO K800 automated B1 folders. The firm specialises in high quality magazines, brochures, leaflets and catalogues.
“It’s been fantastic and has made a huge difference. It has eliminated bad sheets and gives a stronger, more defined score. It also helps with more consistency throughout a job and with how these machines operate,” Whitman explained.
Ian Trengrouse, business driver for post-press at Heidelberg UK, said that he had tested the Section Score on Stahl folders with good results.
The Section Score costs £750 per unit and is fully available now.
Earlier this year Tech-ni-Fold also expanded into web creasing, with its new Technicrease inline rotary creaser.
The firm has more than 72,500 customers worldwide, across 83 countries. It holds 81 patents.
The family firm was established in 1999 by former print finisher Graham Harris.
