Work-and-tumble is a method of feeding paper into a printing press whereby it alternates being provided face up and face down, such as when publishing books. This approach allows both sides of the paper to be printed simultaneously.
The work-and-tumble method is faster and more efficient than feeding paper into a press face up and flipping it over before printing on the other side. Furthermore, this approach ensures accuracy by eliminating the need to line up paper on subsequent passes.
Two primary approaches for setting up a work-and-tumble configuration are inline and offline. An inline arrangement involves feeding paper face up through a press, flipping it, and feeding through again face down; with an offline setup, paper enters face-up but is then sent through likewise without flipping over before being rereleased face down through another press pass.
Work-and-tumble printing offers many advantages over other methods for both sides of a paper. The process is faster, more cost-effective, and more accurate since there’s no need to align paper again after every pass.
The main downside to the work-and-tumble method is that it may be more challenging to set up and troubleshoot than other approaches and more difficult to register paper on subsequent passes.
Work-and-tumble printing can be efficient for printing on both sides of a sheet of paper. However, other approaches may be better suited to specific applications, such as printing one side at a time or using transfer sheets.
Work-and-tumble is integral to printing as it ensures more consistent final products. Leveling and flattening paper surfaces helps produce cleaner prints with fewer imperfections and helps prevent jams or other issues that might occur during printing. Overall, work-and-tumble plays an integral part in printing, ensuring higher-quality final products.