The Investigation: sublimation over combustion
When I first stepped into the lab, I expected to see fire and smoke. Instead, Q showed me the quiet, invisible power of sublimation.
"We aren't burning the design out, Hermione" Q explained, showing me a clean-cut orange tree foliage. "If we were just brute forcing our way through, the laser would char the paper edges, they would lose their natural colour, and the heat would leave burn marks everywhere". By dynamically heating up the paper fibers to unweave them in a slow but incisive manner, we maintain the pristine integrity of the colour and the mechanical strength of the sheet. To achieve these high standards of performance, it takes 22 minutes to manufacture one Sunrise Dreams: Classic Set. That's about ten times the ratio of products in the same category.
The humility behind the ±0.1mm tolerance
I asked Q why we bother to spend so much R&D into such a tiny margin of error for something made of paper. His answer was a lesson in respect for the customer's time.
The reality is, paper is an organic material that reacts to the world around it; it isn't as stable as plastic or metal. To get a clean cut, we have to find the perfect balance in the laser-cutting parameters: "the higher the power, the faster it gets" is actually a recipe for ruined edges and burn marks.
We maintain this ±0.1mm tolerance not because we are obsessed with machines, but because it's the only way to ensure that unmatched smoothness when you slide a FOLDORI paper belt into its slits. If we're off by just a fraction, the 40-minute "flow state" turns into an evening of frustration.
The eight-month journey to a paper belt
The most enlightening part of my interview was learning about the Paper Belts. I asked Q why we didn't just use glue—it would have saved us months of R&D.
"Glue is non-forgiving", Q said simply. "Our set assemblers aren't DIY aficionados; they're creative people looking for a mindful escape. When glue is potentially a chemical-added hurdle, paper strapping is an interactive, fun, forgiving, eco-friendly solution".
It took eight months and a prototype graveyard of experimentation to replace a few drops of adhesive with a mechanical strap. The secret isn't the belt itself, but the precise spacing and length of the pre-scored lines that allow 250gsm cardstock to curve without snapping.
That satisfying moment when you fold & thread the belt through the die-cut slits is the result of dozens of failed prototypes tested through multiple geometries and material properties that were either too tight to move or too loose to hold.
Doubling down on quality control
Finally, Q showed me how we ensure these features actually work for the set assembler at home.
The CO2 laser paired with an expert operator to set its parameters right is incredibly precise, but machines have limits too, and the physical punching of the belt slits is a more traditional process with higher margins of error.
To control deviations and other types of potential damages, we developed a "Class A-to-D" grading system based on inspection of every single unit. It specifies, for each element in your set, acceptable flaws and thresholds across an entire production batch. For instance, if one unit has a major defect, it is rejected and a new one is made. If more units have a major defect, the entire batch is redone. We don't just want one perfect set; we want every set to offer that same feeling of high-end craft.
What Q taught me today is that the technology breakthroughs in FOLDORI is always in the service of the craft. We design with expertise, produce with high precision lasers, and control with refined industry-leading standards. Not to be 'high-tech', but reliable. We took a millenia-old material and applied eight months of testing to a single corner, just so you wouldn't have to reach for a glue bottle.
