What is a crease (score)?
A crease, also called a score, is a shallow groove pressed into board along a fold line. The board is not cut, only compressed, so it bends cleanly and predictably, with less cracking and waviness at the fold. On a dieline it is drawn as a fold line, separate from the cut line.
Board is a fibrous material. If you try to bend it along a plain line, the fibers break unevenly, the fold comes out crooked and the surface can crack. A crease weakens that line in advance and teaches the board where to fold. In the die, a thin rule with a blunt edge presses the groove next to the cutting blades.
Do not confuse it with a cut: a cut separates the board, a crease keeps it in one piece. A dieline draws them in different line styles, so they belong on separate layers in the file. If a fold line is misplaced or read as a cut, the box tears when it is opened.
Crease quality depends on the material. Thick board, coated surfaces and folds against the grain all raise the risk of cracking. Surface treatments such as lamination, soft touch or foil can also show at the fold. Because the groove depth and its setup depend on the board and the printer's machine, your printer specifies the values.
A practical design rule follows from this: do not place the logo, the product name or other critical elements across a fold line. Text that runs over a fold looks distorted once the box is folded.
How you do this in Grapxo
In Grapxo, cut and fold lines come on separate layers inside the dieline. The depth and setup of a crease depend on the board and the machine, so your printer specifies them; put your notes in the brief.
For more, see Dieline, bleed and safe zone.
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