A combination of a nip compression apparatus and a plybond tester, which measures the difference in plybond before and after passing through the nip compression apparatus, is used to measure the plybond strength of paperboard, especially when tapping only the leading edge of the sample.The method is rapid, much faster than the U-block or plybond Mullen methods, allows larger areas to be tested, is sensitive to small changes, and correlates well with actual plybond experience on converting equipment.