Method of making a prefolded prefastened diaper with latent elastics

A method for making a prefolded diaper, comprising:

• a) running a web of diaper material in a machine direction;
• b) applying latent elastic material to the web of diaper material;
• c) cutting the web in a cross machine direction to define individual diapers;
• d) folding said individual diapers to a folded position at an intermediate section of the diapers along a medial line of a longitudinal axis of the diaper;
• e) folding side margins of the front and rear waist sections of each lateral side of the folded diaper together and fastening the front and rear waist sections together thereby creating a prefastened diaper;
• and
• f) microwaving the prefastened diaper to activate the latent elastic.

A method for making a prefolded diaper, comprising:

• a) running a web of diaper material in a machine direction;
• b) applying latent elastic material to the web of diaper material;
• c) cutting the web in a cross machine direction to define individual diapers;
• d) folding said individual diapers to a folded position at an intermediate section of the diapers along a medial line of a longitudinal axis of the diaper;
• e) folding refastenable fastening means of the front and rear waist sections of each lateral side of the folded diaper together in lapping relationship and fastening the front and rear waist sections together thereby creating a prefastened diaper;
• f) treating the diaper material with a microwave sensitive material to induce heat transfer to the latent elastic;
• and
• g) microwaving the prefastened diaper to activate the latent elastic in a single microwave resonant chamber at a transit speed of about 366 meters/minute at an energy in the range of greater than 1 kilowatt to about 30 kilowatts.