How Paper Boxes Are Made / A practical and instructive book telling how the beginner may manufacture all kinds of paper boxes, with special chapters on the printing department for paper box plants, embossing, gold-leafing, label work, etc.

by Robert F. Salade

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.

John Thomson Cutter and Creaser.

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: