Polylith Synthetic Paper Finishing tips
Polylith synthetic papers perform well with guillotining, slitting, die cutting, drilling, perforating, hole punching, grommeting, embossing, foil stamp or folding. Be sure to check out our printing tips as well.
Guillotining
Polylith can be guillotined without difficulty to the same tolerances as paper. Blades should be kept sharp, and because of the compressibility of the material, light-clamping pressures should be used.
Die Cutting
Cutting dies with flame-hardened steel cutting edges up to 55 on the Rockwell “C” scale rather than the standard 45– 48 used with papers are recommended. Use of base steel rule material supplied by material suppliers such as: Bohler (#75) and Sandvik (#XD-700) is best. The standard 60 degree included angle can be used when die cutting thin gauge film materials; 52 degree angle for gauges from 8 to 14 mil; long center bevel or 42 degree bevel is suggested for thicknesses over 14 mil.
Perforating
Polylith has an excellent perforation results range from 13 TPI to 70 TPI (ties per inch). Cuts must extend to the edge of the material to initiate tear.
Drilling, Punching, and Cornering
Polylith can be drilled, punched and cornered. Cutting tools should be kept sharp as irregular cuts caused by blunt tools may greatly reduce initial tear strength. During drilling and cornering, it is important that a short dwell time be used in order to eliminate heat generation, which may cause fusion of the edge of the sheets. Drill bits must be kept sharp and do not exceed one-inch stack height when drilling.
Folding
Polylith can be folded like paper of equivalent bulk on normal sheet folding machines. For bookmaking, signatures of up to sixteen pages can be formed. However, if more pages are required, experimental trials should be undertaken.
