UNIT III FOLDING

Principles of folding, types of folding for sheet and web,

methods of feeding and delivery; folding production line,
folding terminology, folding diagram, folding scheme; problems
involving folding; mechanism, operation and adjustment of
folding machines; additional features – fold gluing, perforators,
creasers and slitters.

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PRINCIPLES OF FOLDING
It is the process of converting large size sheets into a smaller size folder or
section without disturbing the sequence of pages and to ensure that the
margins are correct
A folded sheet of paper is therefore known as a ‘Section’ and its folded
unopened edges are called ‘Bolts’.
The folded sheets give the regular terms folio, quarto, octavo, sixteenmoo, etc.
A, B, C series of paper
Ao when given folds , A1, A2, A3 and so on
Definition
The flat sheet is folded once or more times to secure a handy size products
This can be achieved either manually with folding bone or mechanically
where the flat sheets is inserted into the pair of rotating rollers in double or in
multi-layer form and pressed rigidly to ensure a fold
The folding operation can either be executed in a rotary printing machine or
in a sheet folding machine
The paper web - printed and folded in one run in a rotary press
The printed sheets are folded in a folding machine

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•FOLDING:
•Hand folding
•Machine folding
•HAND FOLDING
•Three are three methods of hand folding commonly employed in the binderies
• 1. Folding to Paper
• 2. Folding to Print
• 3. Lump folding
• Folding to Paper:
• The sheets are folded exactly in half each time, edge to edge with no special
care to ensure that the printed pages or folios coincide each other.
• Also known as ‘Edge to Edge Folding’
• Used for cheap work and for folding of sheets which can be trimmed and
printed with top most care
• Fast method of folding
Folding to Print
The printed pages are folded in exact register and the margins are also
correct
This is achieved by moving the outer edge of the sheet to and fro to
coincide the printed matter and folios of the facing pages and then
pressing the folds even when the edges of the paper are not aligning
It is a slower method of folding
It is done for costly books
It is also called ‘Folio to Folio Folding’, ‘Typographical Folding’ and ‘Folding
in Register’
If the margins are carefully checked while imposing and the sheets are
correctly trimmed, then folding to paper and folding to print give the same
results
LUMP FOLDING
•Folding collectively
•Covers, end papers and four page forms are collectively (5 to 15 sheets)
folded, pulled and finally pressed at the folded edges to form creases
•Folding is not perfect because neither the facing pages superimpose upon
each other nor the edges are perfectly aligned.
•Folding to folio:
•Only one fold is to be given to a sheet of paper – 4 pages
•Folding to Quarto:
•Two folds are to be given to a sheet of paper to form a section – 8 pages
•The sheet with one fold is turned at an angle of 900 clockwise and the
second fold is made on the folded edge
•Folding to Octavo:
•Three folds are to be given to a sheet of paper to form a section –
16 pages
Folding to Sixteenmo:
Four folds are to be given to a sheet of paper to form a section – 32
pages
Folding in the rotary machines

 There are three basic principles for folding and cutting the length of the web
in a rotary machines

1. Former fold
2. Jaw fold
3. Chopper fold

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 Former fold

web
former

fold

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 Former fold

The web is drawn over a triangular shaped former

The fold made in the sheet parallel to the running direction of the web
In many presses, the former fold is the first in converting the web to a folded signature
Mostly the half of the width of the web is folded over the former and cut at the length
of the circumference of the printing cylinder
Web width – 965 mm: circumference of the cylinder – 600 mm: folded size 482.5 x 600
mm

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 web

Mated
cylinder

Cut-off
cylinder
Pins
Or clamps
Folded
Jaw fold sheet
Rotating
cylinder

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 Jaw fold

The cut-off edge of a web is held by pins or clamps against a rotating cylinder which
contains a tacking blade device which pushes the paper into female jaws of a mated
cylinder so as to accomplish folds parallel to the cut-off edges

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Chopper
fold

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 Chopper fold

The signature which have been either formed or jawed are presented to a table
where a knife forces them between compressing rollers to make the next fold

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 Folding in the folding machines

There are three main groups of folding machines:

1. Buckle folding machines

2. Knife folding machines

3. Combination folding or combined folding machines

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 Buckle folding machines

Front lay bar

Infeed rollers

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Buckle folding machines

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 Buckle folding machines

Constructed with buckle plates

The buckle plates are set one over another (six pair of plates), both upper and lower
level of the feeding table
The folding plate has a steel infeed blade which allows the paper to enter into it
The paper is fed into the plate by means of continuously running infeed roller
The paper edge travels upto the front lay bar which is present

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The buckle form develops between the two rollers and pushed further with the closed
end of the sheet towards the folding rollers
The rollers are set to the thickness of the layers of the sheet
The sheet is pressed between these rollers
The first parallel fold is made
With the closed edge, the folded sheet enters into the next buckle plate and the process
is repeated
When the folding is not required the particular buckle plate is removed and substituted
by sheet deflector

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 Advantages of buckle folders

1. Diversity in application
2. High productivity due to the continuous running
3. Production of double stream feeding enables the book binder to process the
sheets without dividing it into parts before folding

Disadvantages of buckle folders

1. Needs more floor space

2. Thin papers cannot be folded precisely

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Knife folding machines

Front lay bar

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 Knife folding machines

The steel blade in form of a blunt knife make up and down motion
The sheet is fed into this station up to the preset front lay bar and remains for a
moment
The knife which makes vertical movements pushes the sheet into the pair of folding
rollers which are set exactly to the thickness of the layers of the sheet
The sheet is pressed rigidly making a fold

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No parallel folds can be made in these machines
The next knife is placed below either right or left side of the previous one
The vertical fall of the knife has to be timed in such a way that the knife comes to its
hitting position only when the sheet or folded section has reached the front lay bar and
stay for a moment
This is set mechanically
The latest machines are equipped with photo-cells which operates the knife when the
sheet reached its set position

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 Advantages of knife folders

1. High quality of folding

2. Thin papers can be folded accurately
3. Easy setting
4. Requires less floor space

Disadvantages of knife folders

1. Due to the cyclical action, less productivity

2. No parallel folds can be made
3. Limited applications

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 Combination folding machines

The combination of the two different folders namely buckle folders and knife folders in
one unit resulting Combination folders
The first folding section comprises generally of four buckle plates and the second folding
section being the knife folder
The third one either be buckle plate or knife

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 Advantages of the combination folders

1. High output
2. Quick setting
3. Less floor space is required
4. Numerous style of folds can be made

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 The feeders

 They feed sheets to the folding stations

 The sheets are fed one after another to secure constant accuracy and output

 Three kinds of feeders are available for the folding machines:

1. Vertical pile feeder

2. Flat pile feeder
3. Round pile feeder or continuous feeder

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Vertical pile feeder

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 Vertical pile feeder

The well dried sheets are stacked on the pilling table

The sheets are aired and separated properly to avoid interruptions
The back edge of the top sheet of the pile is separated by means of air blowers
Four to six sheets are blown and kept ready for lifting by means of suckers

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The sucker lift the sheet and bring it to the sucker wheel
The sucker wheel is set according to the length of the sheet and rotates
continuously, thus forwarding the sheet to the feeding table
The sucker wheel is regulated by means of a potentiometer and has to be set as per
the length of the sheet
The table is made of collapsible light metal hollow bars

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An endless rubber belt covered with a ball holding plate run continuously when the
machine is in motion
The plate can be filled with steel and plastic balls according to the surface and
thickness of the paper
The paper edge towards the operator’s side travel through the balls and belt
assuring an exact side lay
The sheet is brought to the infeed roller of first folding unit and enters the first
buckle plate

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The feeder are equipped with double sheet detectors and can be set the thickness of
the sheet
The height of the pile is kept at a constant height by means of an electronic eye on the
front edge and two feelers on the back edge of the pile
This helps to eliminate the differences of height between the front and back edge of
the printed sheet

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 Flat pile feeder

Principle is same as the vertical pile feeder except that the pre stacked pile on a

pallet can be brought to the feeder platform

This is time saving as the sheets can be stacked in advance

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Advantages of vertical pile feeder and
flat pile feeder

1. Needs less floor space

2. ideal for short runs
3. Easy setting
4. Flat pile feeder – the printed sheets from the delivery end of the printing
machine can be brought to the folding machine

Disadvantages of vertical pile feeder and flat pile feeder

1. Not advisable for long runs due to the interruptions caused through the changing
of piles
2. Not applicable for the fast running buckle folders

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Round pile feeder or the continuous feeder

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 Round pile feeder or the continuous feeder

It consists of two tables of upper and lower level

The sheets are laid on to the upper table in a scaly form ie the sheets are not laid
exactly one over another
The sheets are moved forward by means of the transporting tapes which run on a
turning drum
The drum and tapes make it possible that the sheets reach the lower table in such a
way that the bottom sheet on the upper table turns up and travel on the lower table

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The top sheet with its front edge reach the sucker wheel which is set as per the length
and thickness of the paper
The sucker wheel transports the sheet to the feeding table and bring it to the infeed
roller

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 Advantages of the round pile feeder

 1. Very ideal for long runs. The sheets can be laid on the upper table ensuring
continuous run
 2. Big sized sheets can be laid in small numbers during the run
 Higher output is ensured for the buckle folders which are not influenced by timing
cycles
 Ideal for the heavily inked jobs; the sheets can be laid on the upper table in small
quantity avoiding scratches on the prints

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 Disadvantages of the round pile feeder

1. Not recommended for short runs

2. Needs more floor space
3. Thin sheets cannot be laid easily

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 Delivery systems

 When the sheets have been folded in a folding machine into sections /
signatures, they have to be received in delivery tables

Three systems are in use:

1. Stream delivery
2. Vertical stacker delivery
3. Box delivery

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Stream delivery

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 Stream delivery

•Can be attached to the height of the delivery outlet of the folding units either right, left
or front side of the folding machines
•The continuous running tapes receive the folded signatures and forward it up to the end
of the table where it can be adjusted by means of controlling the speed of the delivery
tapes

•Advantages:
•It can be kept wherever it is required and adjusted to the required height

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Vertical stacker delivery

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 Vertical stacker delivery

•The signature are received in scaly form and brought to turning drum by means of
delivery tapes
•The signature travel over the drum and reach the upper table and stay at its spine
•A movable front lay boards works as guard and gather the signatures
•They can be pressed well by means of pair of pressing rollers which remove the air
between the signatures

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•These signature can then be bundled between two strong cardboards with the help of
tape, twine etc.
•The vertical stacker can be utilized where many ups have to be collected in the delivery
end
•They can stack many number of signatures in one bundle thus saving manual labor
•Advantages :
•1. The signature are pressed firmly
•2. Easy handling in transporting and storing
•3. Less interruptions during further operations

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Box delivery

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 Box delivery

•The box delivery is used after the third or fourth folding station
•The folded sheets are collected in a box and removed
•The working level is very low, thus laborious to remove

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Bundling and pressing aids

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 Bundling and pressing aids

•Removal of air from the signatures help the book binder in the following operations viz.
gathering, sewing, wire stitching and binding
•This unit can be attached to the vertical delivery systems
•The folded signature which are transported by means of running tapes bring the
signatures between two or four pressing rollers
•These rollers press them such that the air is completely removed
•They are then sent through the turning drum and stacked

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Wire stitching line attached to a folder
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 Wire stitching line attached to a folder

•The wire stitched products having 16, 24, 32 and 48 pages can be folded and stitched in
one operation in the folding machines
•Instead of the last folding, the folded sheet is transported by means of conveyor table
directly to the stitching unit
•They are stitched normally with two staples, head and tail trimmed
•The stitched section is then folded in the middle by means of knife
•The final cutting is done on the front edge
•The product is delivered at the delivery end

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 FOLDING TERMINOLOGY

• Due to the diversity in building up a folding unit, numerous varieties of folds can be
executed
• While planning care should be taken to work out proper imposition so that after
folding the individual pages within the folded sheet form a correct sequence
• Right – angled fold:
The folds are always at right angles to each other
Types : Symmetrical right–angled fold, Asymmetrical right –
angled fold

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Symmetrical right–angled fold:

The sheets are divided into half in each operation Asymmetrical right –
angled fold:

The sheets are folded at 1/3 or 2/3 of its length at the first folding at the first folding
section and folded in the middle

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 PARALLEL FOLDS

The folds must be parallel to each other

There are four types of parallel folds
1. Parallel center fold
2. Concertina fold
3. Letter fold
4. Gate fold

Parallel centre fold:

The sheet is folded to half of its length. The sheet is halved progressively with parallel
folds running in one direction

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Concertina fold:
The sheet is folded in concertina form with two or more parallel folds in alternative
directions at the same or different spacing

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Letter fold:
•The sheet is folded in the same direction with 2 or more folds wrapping around the inner
leaf
•The letter fold can also be combined with the concertina fold

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Gate fold:
Two gate folds are known.
2 directional : made by setting ¼ length on both sides leaving 1.5 mm in the middle for
the next folding
It has 6 pages
3 directional: a third fold in the middle of the sheet length on the already folded 2
directional folding

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Combination or mixed folding
•The parallel and right angled folds are combined in one operation
•This is used to achieve 3 and 4 directional folding to produce 12, 16, 24 and 32 page
folded signature

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Gripper – edge fold:
The term is used to designate the slightly protruding rear edge if a folded sheet which is
used for the easy opening of the sheet when they have to be processed into a machine
where the automatic opening of the section is required

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Quire folding
•When many sheets have to be folded in one operation, depending on the thickness of
the stock, a special type of knife folder is used to achieve the single fold
•This folding unit is seen in wire-stitching units where the final fold is made before
stitching

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Diagram's and symbols for folding machines

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FOLDING DIAGRAMS

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FOLDING DIAGRAMS

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FOLDING DIAGRAMS

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