All the laminates we supply are suitable for creasing using normal equipment and make ready techniques. Usually no allowance needs to be made for the thickness of the film. The laminates offer additional protection to the ink and board surface at the crease and will prevent unsightly flaking of the paper coating when the crease is broken. The films that we use for lamination have varying degrees of resistance to cracking at creases. We have found that our standard Matt and Gloss Opp films are sufficiently robust to withstand many thousand flexes of a crease while a Cellogreen film may show signs of cracking/ splitting after a few hundred flexes.

In contrast U.V. varnishes do not offer any benefits in preventing cracking and damage in creased areas. In the case of spot U.V. we would suggest that creases or folds should not run through coated areas of the sheet because the varnish coating is too thick to be creased without splitting.

Recommendations

Avoid the potential problem of varnish cracking in spot varnished areas by placing a narrow varnish free channel where the crease will fall. This need be only 1-2 mm wide and will not be readily visible on the finished product.

Otherwise no special precautions need be taken when creasing laminates or rollercoat U.V. varnishes.