If you enjoy paper crafts such as card making, collage and scrapbooking, scoring tools for paper are a good investment. It is possible to get by without a proper scoring tool — but once you get one, you’ll wonder why you ever tried to do without it. Let’s take a look at a couple of popular scoring tools you might want to try.
Scor-Pal Scoring Tool
Scor-Pal tool for scoring paper
The Scor-Pal is a low-tech tool that you use for scoring and folding paper. It works on a variety of different paper weights including cardstock-weight paper and heavier weight papers like Strathmore Bristol board.
The Scor-Pal is my favorite time-saving tool for card making. I made plenty of cards before I ever got a Scor-Pal, but once I got the Scor-Pal, my card making speed and accuracy improved dramatically. Yours probably will too.
If you’re serious about making cards, perhaps for resale on Etsy or Ebay or another site like that, the Scor-Pal is likely to pay for itself pretty quickly, because you’ll waste a lot less paper once you have a precise scoring tool that also helps you measure precisely where you want to put your folds. If you’re a casual card maker, and you just make a few cards for friends here and there, the Scor-Pal might not be a total necessity — but if you’re doing any sort of production card making, I think it’s definitely worth the investment.
This is especially true if you want to make gatefold cards that have folds at two ends. Those are a snap to do once you have a Scor-Pal, and a pain in the neck to do otherwise.
The Scor-Pal tool is superior to just a plain bone folder, because it has a convenient spot for you to put your paper, and it also has measured grooves that allow you to easily align your paper for totally precise scoring.
I have an older version of the Scor-Pal, but the company has improved the design of the tool several times over the years. The latest version has more options than the older version did. The old version was worth the money, and it looks to me like the latest version is even better.
Click here to shop for a Scor-Pal scoring tool at Amazon.
Bone Folder
Bone Folder Scoring Tool for Paper
A bone folder is also a viable tool for making crisp fold lines. It isn’t as elegant a solution as the Scor-Pal tool is, but it gets the job done.
The biggest downside to a bone folder is figuring out how to situate your paper so that you can make a precise fold. The Scor-Pal solves this problem for you.
Before I got my Scor-Pal, I used to use a T-square to set up my paper for folding. I’d score it along the side of the T-square.
There is probably a better method than this for scoring paper using a bone folder. When I did it this way, I wasted bunches of paper because of mistakes and imprecise folds. But honestly, this isn’t a deal breaker if you’re only making a card or two once in awhile.
Click here to shop for bone folder tools at Scrapbook.com.
So there you have it: The best scoring tools for paper that I’m aware of.
Happy crafting!
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By Amy Solovay
About the Author: Amy Solovay is a freelance writer with a background in textile design. She holds a bachelor’s degree with a studio art minor; and she has also obtained another degree in textile design.
This page was last updated on 11-7-2023.