What is scoring in printing?
Scoring presses a straight crease line into paper or card before it is folded, so the fold is clean and the surface and ink don’t crack along it.
What it means for your file
Cover stock and heavier text weights need it, especially with dark colors or a coating across the fold. Printers score folded cards, folders, table tents and heavy brochures on a scoring machine, or with creasing rules in a die. In the file, score lines go on a separate non-printing layer, like a dieline.
Why some folds crack more than others: see grain direction.
An example
A 5 × 7 in folded greeting card on heavy cover stock is printed flat at 10 × 7 in, then scored down the middle and folded. Without the score, the fibers on the outside of the fold split, and a dark background shows a white, cracked line along the spine of the card.
A common mistake
Running a solid dark color or a heavy coating across a fold on coated card and assuming the score will hide everything. Scoring reduces cracking but doesn’t always stop it, and a fold across the paper grain makes it worse. Ask the printer to fold with the grain where they can, and ask for a printed sample if the fold is in a dark area.
Related terms
All print terms in the glossary, or run your file through the free print-ready checker.
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