[Oa] How to avoid edging?

[KSelena at aol.com]

Are you referring to the tiny (curled?) lip that forms along the cut edge?  
Basically, I don't think there's any way to avoid this when using a cutting  
blade.  The previous responder gave some good tips. 
 
You could also try different paper weights & finishes. And I think the  cut 
edge is less noticeable on the side you cut on -- so if you're printing the  
pattern on the back & cutting from the back, try a different method so you  can 
cut from the front of the model.  There's Chatani's pin tracing method  or 
taping a copy of the pattern on top of the card and cutting through both  sheets 
(you'd have to carefully mark the fold lines with pinpoints first). I  have my 
own method using a lightbox which could be modified: the pattern could  be 
printed on the back of the card, but cut from the front (being careful how  you 
deal with the mountain & valley folds so they fold properly).  I  protect the 
lightbox with a custom-size glass pane & cut on that, but I've  heard this is 
not good for the blade, so you could try using a see-through  cutting mat.
 
BTW, if anyone's printing the pattern on the back & has a color  printer, 
have you considered printing in a light grey or cream color, so the  lines won't 
show as much? I think it takes away some of the magic to have the  pattern 
showing even though it's on the back & mostly can't be seen --  it's like a magic 
trick where you can see exactly how the magician does  it.  This is why I use 
a tracing method that doesn't require printing on  the card itself.  If the 
paper is too dark to see through, I'd print the  pattern on the card using ink 
that contrasts just enough & use dots to mark  the corners wherever possible 
instead of printing the full line. And, I  haven't tried it yet, but I have a 
pen with ink that disappears after a little  while which can be used to trace 
the pattern on the card -- but I wonder if  the ink would reappear as the paper 
ages.  Pencil's also an option,  but it's a pain having to carefully erase 
the lines so you don't crease or rip  the cut card.  Plus, I don't like having 
to trace the pattern twice -- 1st  with a pencil, then with a blade.
 

Finally, it's probably photo resolution, but the mountain folds look  
slightly "bulky" (not as crisp as they could be). Do you indent-score on the  valley 
side and half-cut through the paper on the peak side of the folds?   Each fold 
line has to be prepped on both the front & back to ensure a really  crisp 
fold line. I'm guessing that you probably know & do this, so please  forgive me 
for bringing it up. I just thought I'd mention it just in case you  hadn't 
heard of this technique for the folds, I'm assuming that anyone who cares  about 
the cut edges, would like to hear about it.
 
I'm curious, would you tell me where the pattern comes from, is it your own  
design?
 
K. Selena Kim
New Jersey, USA
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