I have had several of my customers ask about these scoring boards. I own the Scor-Pal but not the Scor-it. I have only used the Scor-it once. I found this review on Sharon Johnson's blog (no time to stamp!). I thought it contained some really important information! I hope you find this information valuable!
As written by Sharon Johnson--
Four months ago I didn’t even know a score board existed. Today I
own two of them — the Scor-Pal and the Scor-It, and I’ll tell you, I’ll
never again be without one. As far as I am concerned a score board is
every bit as essential to the card maker and paper crafter as is a
paper cutter. I have had about 3 months experience with the Scor-Pal
and about a month with the Scor-It. Both boards do essentially the
same thing — score and straight line emboss paper — but they just
function in different ways to accomplish this.
The Scor-Pal is a board with
numerous grooves right in the board. You lay your paper on the board,
select the groove you want, and run the scoring tool along the groove.
It presses a groove, or embossed or scored line, in your paper, the
embossed side being on the underside and the debossed, or dented side,
being on top as you are pressing into the groove.
The Scor-it is a board that has one center rail on
which you score, or emboss. It is a metal rail that is raised up a bit
higher than the board. When you lay your paper on the board you then
run your scoring tool along this raised rail. The tool has a groove in
it, so as it passes along the rail the paper on top of the rail is left
raised, or embossed, leaving the scored line, or embossed line on the
top of the paper, with the debossed, or dented in side, on the
underside.
Size/Weight/Construction
Scor-Pal: Measures 12 7/8 x 14 1/4″, weights
exactly 1 #, is completely plastic, has 4 rubbery feet, has a plastic
scoring tool that snaps into the frame of the board for safe keeping
when not in use.
Scor-it: Measures 12 3/8 x 13 3/8″, weighs 3# 7
oz., is mostly plastic but the bed/table is much thicker than the
Scor-Pal, accounting for the extra weight, has 6 rubbery feet, has a
wooden scoring tool that is attached to the board with a chain. The
rail that you actually emboss on is metal. There is also a metal stop
guide that you can easily attach which you would use if you were mass
producing an item and doing repeated scores on the same mark.
Ruler Markings/Bed/Function
Scor-Pal: The table where you lay your paper is
plastic and has a raised fence on the top where the ruler is and the
sides, and the idea is that you push your paper up into the corner,
hold it with one hand (it can’t move because of the raised fence), and
score with the other. The grooves basically go in 1/2″ increments,
with some additional grooves for common scores required by card makers
(4 1/4, 2 1/8 , etc., as well as markings for the 1/3 points on an 11″
sheet). There are additional ruler markings, without grooves, for the
1st inch and the last 1/2 inch of the ruler. As long as you are doing
scores using standard and common measurements, you push your paper into
the corner and score on your desired mark. And as long as you want to
score on the standard measurements that have grooves, you can score
multiple scores on one sheet without moving the sheet. If you want to
score on an increment not accounted for on the board, you do some quick
math in your head, and move the paper out from the left edge, pulling
it away from the fence. If you want to score at 5 3/4, you would pull
your paper away from the left edge and line it up with the 1/4″ mark,
then you would score on the 6″ groove (6 minus 1/4 = 5 3/4).
Scor-it: The table where you lay your paper is
rubbery, so once you position your paper where you want it, it won’t
move one bit. There is only one place on this board to score, and that
is on the metal rail right in the center. The ruler, which has all
standard ruler markings, measures out in both directions from center,
centering being 0. It is very easy to find center on any size piece
with the ruler running in both directions from center. To score 2″
from an edge, you merely place your edge on 2″ and score. If you want
your next score at 4″, move your paper to the 4″ marking and score
again, etc. Your paper must be moved for each score. The non-slip
surface makes this very easy. There is a fence on the top along the
ruler edge to butt your paper up against. There are no fences along
the sides, allowing you to use any size paper and have your paper
extend over the edges as you place it where needed. You can score at
any increment desired, just place your paper edge at that ruler
marking. Also, on the rail where you run the scoring tool, it is
notched up into the ruler, allowing you to get your tool up above the
paper so you never miss that very top portion as you begin your score.
Performance
Information taken from the product packaging:
Scor-Pal: “When possible, always score with
the grain of the paper to avoid cracking. This is very important when
using textured or heavy weight card stock.”
Scor-it: “Score with or against the paper
grain. It can handle up to 24 pt board. It will also score thin
metals, plastics, synthetic and hand-made papers, metallic coated
papers and much more!”
The following are results from tests I did with papers I had at home:
Standard Cardstock: Both scored equally as well.
Mirrored Metallic Cardstock: Both scored equally as well.
Backing Board from SU 12 x 12 DP package: The Scor-Pal score was light, but suitable. The Scor-it score was noticeably deeper.
Thin Chipboard Coaster: I had problems with the
Scor-Pal. The scoring tool would not follow the groove well, it wanted
to run off track. It seemed to follow better in one direction than the
other. The score was effortless and perfect with the Scor-it.
I wish I had metal to try, but I didn’t.
That pretty much wraps up the facts — hope I didn’t forget
anything. If I did, just ask and I’ll see if I know. If anyone
reading this has comments or any experience they care to share, those
comments are welcome. The sole purpose of this post is to answer
questions that readers have had about both these score boards. Which
board anyone might choose will depend on their needs and preferences.
Here is the link to Scor-Pal and here is the link to Scor-it.
Both sites will give you far better photos than I can offer as well as
more info and project tutorials. You can order the Scor-Pal directly
from their site. I don’t believe you can order the Scor-it from their
site, but you can read all about it. To find a retailer for the
Scor-it, just do a Google search and a lot of retailers will pop up.
(See below, I just listed one retailer)
Scor-Pal has a carrying bag for their board.
Scor-it has many other score boards availabe in both larger and smaller sizes, and some with maple construction.
Hope those of you considering a score board will find this helpful!!! As always, thanks for stopping!!!
Editing to Add: The question I have been
repeatedly asked these last few weeks is if I could only keep one,
which would it be. I see that has come up again in the comments, so
just let me say, it’s a decision I don’t have to make, and I’m glad for
that. Both of these score boards live happily, side by side, in my
stamp room. I use them both every day. I have the best of both
worlds. There are 2 major differences I see here, and each of you must
decide for yourselves what is important to YOU and the way YOU work.
The ruler — do you want to have the convenience of
scoring within the grooves on the standard measurements; or do you
prefer the flexibility of moving your paper to the exact position you
need on a well marked ruler. The answer to this, in large part, will
depend on the type of work you do most often.
The item being scored — do you strictly use
standard cardstock, or do you venture off into other projects requiring
some more non-standard or heavier materials?
I can not and will not endorse one product over the other — like
I’ve said before, it’s like being asked which child is your favorite —
you don’t have a favorite child — you love them each for what they
are!!! I love both my score boards and I know you’ll be happy with
which ever one you choose!!!
EDITING AGAIN: I will answer each question right in the comments under their question.
ANOTHER EDIT: Tim Hammonds, who is the man behind the Scor-it,
just sent me an email attaching a very interesting brochure that
explains a lot about the making of paper, paper grain, testing for
paper grain, hinge scores, letterpress scores, and why proper scoring
is so important to achieve a professional looking result. I found the
brochure very interesting and helpful and I learned a lot. I am trying
to attach it here – but I’m not so sure
the attachment will work — please bear with me as I’m trying to figure
this out. – OK, my attachment is not working — trying to fix it —
sorry — OK — I am obviously not able to get this attachment to work —
if anyone wants this info, just say so and I’ll email it to you — no
problem. Thanks!
Still another edit: It was just pointed out to me by a reader that the Scor-it is available through Ellen Hutson. I love shopping with Ellen — she has a ton of great things and ships immediately — can’t get any better!!!
