The patent pending Double Score Attachment replaces the existing female part of Lutterworth, Leicestershire-based Tech-ni-Fold’s Tri-Creaser Easy Fit and Fast Fit devices in cases where recycled and poorly manufactured stocks are used and works by making two scores inside the fold.
Tech-ni-Fold managing director Graham Harris said: “I think this is a problem that is known to creasing machine manufacturers and we all have naturally put it down to the poor make up of certain materials, which is quite true, and the problem is compounded by dark inks that are applied to both sides of the sheet.
“It isn't a major problem now but I am concerned it could be over the next few years, this is why we spent the last three years trying to address it, we got two years of failures before it just happened one afternoon, it was quite a discovery.
“It is like most of our inventions, simple once you see how we did it. It’s a quite innovative system that we think is the future. We’re the only company that than really stop digital cracking.”
Harris said that digital and offset printers talk about white lines appearing next to the beading on the inside that explode when the product is folded.
“These look ugly, yet they sometimes have to accept it. I've been all over the world and seen this problem pop up before coming up with our solution.
“Our Double Score Attachment gives a 20-25% more enhanced crease result because it helps apply three scores in area to the problem stocks, and the explosions of particles are either highly reduced or eliminated altogether.
"We have tested the new attachment on our CreaseStream range of machines and have won sales over competitors because of it. We are very excited by its potential.”
He added that the company has no plans to replace its existing Tri-Creaser device. The new attachment is an added option to the female grooving channels in the instances where such materials can crop up.
The company recently lost a patent infringement claim against US manufacturer Rosback Company in the US courts. Rosback will now start selling TrueScore-Pro, a rival product to Tech-ni-Fold Tri-Creaser technology.
However Harris told PrintWeek he was not concerned about the competition. “We’ll stop at nothing to maintain our position as the leader in this field and business has never been better for us,” he said.
