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If you’re shopping around for a paper cutter, you may be thinking, “which of these models should I choose?” There are hundreds of different paper cutters out there from literally dozens of different brands. So which paper cutter should you go with? I will explain some of the most common paper cutting projects, the best paper cutters to use and the pros and cons of each style of cutter.

To begin with, there are 3 main types of paper cutters. There are divisions within those categories, but most people categorize paper cutters as:

• Rotary Paper Cutters
• Stack Paper Cutters
• Guillotine Paper Cutters

I’ll go into more detail in this article what each of these paper cutter types are and what they are used for.

The term paper cutter and paper trimmer are often used interchangeably. Most industry experts, however, consider trimmers to be light-volume machines and paper cutters to be medium to higher-volume machines.

What do most people cut? Having spoken to thousands of customers, most people want to cut paper, photographs, card stock, business cards and laminated materials. Here is the paper cutter you may want for each of these projects:

• Photos / Photographs – If you are cutting photos, I generally like to steer people towards rotary paper trimmers like those made by Rotatrim, Dahle or Carl. They are precise, excellent for alignment and are affordable for photographers and scrapbookers alike. If you are looking for a multi-purpose cutter that can also handle photos, you may want to consider using a guilllotine paper cutter.
• Card Stock – If you are cutting down dozens to hundreds of sheets of card stock, I recommend using a stack paper cutter. These amazing cutters are capable of cutting entire reams of paper, with some even capable of cutting up to 3″ of card stock at a time. If you are only cutting a few at a time, I recommend to first consider a guillotine paper cutter and then a rotary paper trimmer.
• Business Cards - I first and foremost recommend using a business card cutter. These cutters are designed to cut standard 3.5″ x 2″ cards. Simply print your cards and run them through one of these handy machines. If you are cutting non-standard size business cads, or need to cut hundreds to thousands of them, I recommend using a stack paper cutter. In a few passes, a stack paper cutter can create thousands of cards.
• Laminated Paper – If you are cutting out menus, signs, ID badges or other laminated paper, I recommend using a rotary paper cutter like those made by Dahle or Rotatrim. These trimmers are designed for precision, and thanks to self-sharpening blades, the lamination film does not easily dull them. If you also need to cut card stock, chipboard and other material, a guillotine paper trimmer also does a great job.

Now that we have covered some of the most common uses of paper cutters, let me go over the pros and cons of each style of paper cutter.

• Rotary Paper Cutters – These cutters are extremely precise, which is why they are so popular for cutting photographs, art prints and artwork in general. They are also great for cutting paper, cover stock, laminated material and much more. The only downside to rotary paper cutters (aka rolling paper trimmers) is that they don’t usually have the cutting capacity of guillotine or stack cutters.
• Guillotine Paper Cutters – Guillotine paper trimmers are one of the most common style of trimmers used in schools and copy centers. Many of the older guillotine trimmers cut crooked and were a little dangerous. Modern guillotine trimmers have excellent paper clamps, razor sharp blades and are chuck full of safety features. Simply put, guillotine paper cutters are the best rounded machines out there.
• Stack Paper Cutters – Stack paper cutters are available in manual, electric and hydraulic designs. The are designed for high-capacity and heavy-volume cutting. You will often see these cutters in print shops, copy centers and other locations where hundreds of sheets of paper need to be cut at a time. These workhorses are great for cutting a lot of paper, but are not the best machines for cutting a single sheet or a few sheets of paper.

Hopefully this helps you determine which cutter is best for you. We have over 30 years of experience with paper cutters and trimmers, so feel free to call us at 1-800-543-5454 for advice on the right paper cutter for you. You can find Office Zone’s entire selection of paper cutters here.

School teachers, professors, print shop workers, or scrapbookers have to cut a lot of paper for art projects, assignments, books, marketing material and other print media. Most use some sort of table top guillotine style paper cutter that can make precise cuts, like the MBM Kutrimmer 1046 guillotine paper cutter. This paper cutter can cut sheets into precise strips or angles so the projects won’t look like it was cut by a knight with his helmet on backwards.

The Kutrimmer 1046 paper cutter is a good choice for any school, church, print-shop, in-house design department, publishing company or any other business that trims and cuts large amounts of paper. The MBM Kutrimmer 1046 has several features that make it perform better and make it safer to use than old style table top paper cutters. The design of the Kutrimmer 1046 Paper Cutter makes the paper cutting action very easy and requires little force or effort.

Using the Kutrimmer 1046 Guillotine Cutter is pretty straight forward. The user begins by placing the single sheet or stack of paper to be sliced on the cutting board. This paper cutter is designed to cut sheets of all sizes and can handle thin novelty paper or heavier bond paper. The Kutrimmer 1046 is a medium-duty paper cutter than can accommodate cutting a stack of 30 sheets of paper. The user then adjusts the paper on the board to match the desired measurement that will be cut.

The precision, automatic clamp holds the paper firmly in place will cutting, to prevent it from moving and ruining the paper while cutting. For convenience, the scale bar used for measuring the length of the cut shows both inches and centimeters. Once the paper is positioned and secured, the user pulls down on the cutting arm of the Kutrimmer 1046 Paper Cutter and slices through the paper, making strips or smaller sheets.

The safety features on the Kutrimmer 1046 Paper Cutter eliminate most of the risk of injury that your old grade school teacher used to warn you about. The blade is shielded by a plastic safety guard. This keeps it out of the way of fingers while cutting. The safety shield also doubles as a cutting line indicator, ensure the cut will be in the right spot.

The Kutrimmer 1046 Paper Cutter is a product of the MBM Corporation. According to their website, MBM has been producing state-of-the-art finishing equipment for the graphics and printing industries for over 75 years. MBM is the leading manufacturer of small format paper cutters in the world and have one of the best warranty packages in the business.

There is a lot to like about the Kutrimmer 1046 Paper Cutter that makes it a good purchase option. The safety features can’t be beat, and the ability it has to cut such narrow, precise strips of paper make it ideal for craft shops, schools, and print shops. Its all-metal construction, and cutting blade that can be re-sharpened make it a durable choice that will provide years of use.

You can purchase the MBM Kutrimmer 1046 guillotine paper cutter at Office Zone. You can find Office Zone’s entire selection of guillotine paper cutters here.

Precision paper cutting is of extreme importance to print shops, in-house design departments and publishing companies.  No one wants the edges of their books, magazines, flyers, or print marketing pieces to look like they were sliced by a drunken samurai with a dull sword. That’s why the Dahle 858 stack paper cutter is a good choice for any business that involves slicing think volumes of paper.

The Dahle 858 Stack Paper Cutter is a guillotine style paper cutter.  The off-with-their-heads style action of the Dahle 858 paper cutter makes it more practical and efficient for slicing thick reams of paper. Arm or rolling style paper cutters tend to make more jagged cuts on thicker stacks. The design of the Dahle 858 Stack Paper Cutter makes the guillotine paper cutting action very easy and requires little force or effort. It also has user convenience features that ensure that cuts will be as precise and clean as the original factory edge.

To operate the Dahle 858 Stack Paper Cutter, the user begins by placing the stack of paper to be sliced on the cutting board. This paper cutter is designed for heavy-duty use and can accommodate a stack of paper 700 sheets thick. The user then adjusts the paper on the board to match the desired measurement that will be cut. For convenience, the scale bar used for measuring the length of the cut shows both inches and centimeters. The Dahle 858 Stack Paper Cutter has an automatic cutting system that will securely hold the stack of paper to prevent shifting during the cutting process. The user will then pull down on the ergonomically correct handle to bring down the blade and make the cut.

The Dahle 858 Stack Paper Cutter has several features that make it a cut above other heavy duty paper cutting machines. Prior to user pulling the cutting lever, a laser targeting light is projected on the paper to show the exact spot the blade will touch the paper. This effectively prevents any crooked cuts and ensures precision edges.  The ergonomic handle is designed to reduce fatigue and minimize the exertion needed to cut through thicker stacks of paper.  There is also a built in safety cover that prevents potential injuries.

The 858 Paper Cutter is a product of Dahle North America, Inc. a fully integrated manufacturer and distributor of business machines and office products. According to their website, Dahle has been developing and manufacturing quality and durable office equipment using cutting edge technology since 1930, and is one of the top office equipment manufacturers in the world. And based there their track record they seem to know what they’re doing.

There is a lot to like about the Dahle 858 Stack Paper Cutter that makes it a good purchase option. The fact that it can cut through bricks of paper repetitively without breaking the user’s back or wearing out the user’s arms is a big plus. The built in electronic console that verifies each step of the cutting process is also a convenient touch the maker added. And after you’ve used the laser cutting guide you’ll never know how you went without it.  It’s recommended that purchasers also get the optional floor stand for better performance and stability.

You can purchase the Dahle 858 Stack Paper Cutter at Office Zone. You can find Office Zone’s entire selection of stack paper cutters here.

A rotary style paper cutter comes highly recommended for low-volume paper cutting. Rotary cutters deliver the best option for precision and accuracy when trimming a few sheets of paper at a time.

There are several stack paper cutter models available for high-volume paper cutting. These cutters use a laser light that helps you line up your stack of paper and determine exactly where the blade will slice. This makes it possible to cut 500 or more sheets of paper at a time within an amazing 1/64 of an inch!

Manufacturers of arm style paper cutters have improved the accuracy of their machines over the years. Kutrimmer and Dahle brand paper cutters are known in the industry for their precision and quality cutting capabilities. Be sure to ask one of our customer service representatives for the paper cutter model that will best fit for your specific needs.

Question

I’m interested in the Model 124 cutter (cuts 24″) for my school to replace a broken cutter. Is this model suitable to cut bristol board, construction paper and other papers of similar material?

Thanks,

Laura

Answer

You can quickly and easily trim bristol board, construction paper, photographs and other papers with the Dahle 124 Paper Trimmer. The Dahle 124 offers a convenient gray-coated particleboard with a grid printed in 1/2-inch increments for precision cutting. Due to the cutter’s unique blade design, no safety latch is required. The blade will not unexpectedly fly up or drop down on unsuspecting fingers on its own. This type of paper cutter is typically found in copy shops, schools, churches and small businesses.

Question

Greetings!

I am researching paper cutters/trimmers. I am hoping you can give me some advice on product selection? I have two different tasks, maybe one cutter/trimmer can do both? We have a medium-volume color laser printer that can do saddle-stitched booklets. We would like a machine that could trim the 1/4″ margins off three sides after they were printed and bound. Also, we sometimes would like to trim flyers, etc. into 1/2 page (8-1/2′ x 5-1/2″), 1/3 page, 1/4 page etc in small quantities up to about 3,000 sheets or so. We don’t need 3,000 sheets in one cut, just want to do them faster & easier than our manual, guillotine-style cutter.

Thanks,

John F.

Answer

We highly recommend the Intelli-Cut 550MS Electric Stack Paper Cutter. This cutter was specifically designed to tackle large cutting jobs such as yours. The model 550MS handles thick stacks of paper with ease, yet will execute accurate trimming strokes as well. It can cut through sizeable quantities of standard paper, card stock and chipboard. This paper cutter is made from durable metal components and includes a long-lasting cutting blade that stays sharp for a long time.

Question

Hello,

I have a small letterpress invitation company and am looking for a higher sheet capacity, but still very precise paper cutter.  The Model 1038 Kutrimmer seems as though it might suit my needs.  I am currently cutting paper individually with a tabletop Carl rotary cutter.  The Carl is nice in that it is precise, but cutting paper one by one is really labor intensive.

The 1038 seems suitable as I liked that it mentioned that it has the ability to trim off very narrow edges.  What sort of customer feedback have you received on the 1038 or have you used it yourself?  Does it have the ability to clamp and precisely cut small items, like business cards without fanning?

Also, what is the longevity of the cutting blades?  Most of my letterpress work is printed on very thick 100% cotton paper, which dulls standard Carl rotary blades REALLY quickly.  The sheet capacity called out is 50 sheets.  I assume this is for typical text weight paper.  Any idea what the sheet capacity would be for 100lb Crane Lettra cover stock or 140lb French Paper Muscletone card stock?

Any further information and guidance you can provide on the 1038 would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you and Kind Regards,

Sarah S.

Answer

We have used several arm paper cutters of the years, and the MBM Kutrimmer 1038 Arm Paper Cutter ranks near the top. Our customers also give the Kutrimmer 1038 high marks. Its independent hand clamp prevents annoying paper slippage or bunching when cutting. The 1038 has a German-engineered Solingen steel blade that stays sharp longer than most competing models. This highly durable blade may also be re-sharpened, thus giving you several years of use. Several competing paper cutters and trimmers available today merely offer disposable blades. A front guide on the machine lets you cut paper strips as thin as one millimeter.

You can easily cut through 50 sheets of copy paper at once with the Kutrimmer 1038. When cutting heavier paper stock with the 1038, the cutting capacity may be reduced by up to 50%. The 1038 features an easy-to-use handle that almost effortlessly brings the cutting arm down on the stack of paper. It also comes standard with a safety guard that prevents injury.

Question

Hello,

What is the availability and the price of the 5550-EP Programmable Hydraulic Cutter. We would like to be able to cut paper of a professional grade. We need to able to cut at least heavy stock 11”x 17” and regular paper is this possible on this particular machine?

Thank you,

Alexis J.

Answer

The MBM Triumph 5550-EP programmable automatic paper cutter is in stock and ready to ship. The cost is just under $13,000. The 5550-EP is a professional-grade cutter. It can perform up to 26 cuts per minute, and easily slice through stacks of paper up to 3-5/8″ in thickness. It will handle your 11″ x 17″ heavy stock paper and more.

The 5550-EP programmable cutter features a wide variety of adjustments for exact positioning of papers that need to be cut. Its hydraulic clamping pressure mechanism is adjustable to ensure consistent pressure along the edge of the paper stack to be cut. This machine features a foot pedal for pre-pressing and a handy cutting line indicator.

Scrapbooking is one of the fastest growing hobbies in the United States. Scrapbooking involves a wide assortment of materials, supplies and equipment. This involves various types of paper, scissors, paper cutters and laminators. If you have recently tried looking for scrapbooking equipment online, you have probably noticed that there is no shortage of choices.

The difficult thing, when starting up this hobby, is finding the right equipment that will last for hundreds, if not thousands, of scrapbook pages to come. It may seem overwhelming, but do not be discouraged. This article will give you a few tips on choosing the right paper cutter for your future scrapbooking projects.

Although there are now many scrapbooking software programs available today, many scrappers still prefer old-fashioned cutting and piecing things together. They enjoy the texture, the socializing with friends and the overall finished product. Many feel printing a scrapbook page out on a printer simply takes away from the true spirit of scrapbooking.

As mentioned earlier, there are a lot of pieces that go into creating the ideal scrapbook page. One of the most important pieces is the paper cutter. This is because a paper cutter is required to cut pictures down to size and make other modifications to the paper and decorations.

There are many paper cutters to choose from. The two most popular scrapbooking paper cutters are arm paper cutters and rotary paper cutters and trimmers. Both types of paper trimmers are compact and easy to use.

Arm paper cutters use a pivoting arm with a blade on it. This arm is brought up and then back down to create the cut. Arm paper cutters have been around for some time, and although many safety modifications have been added, the overall design has not changed for years. These paper cutters aren’t as popular with scrappers. This is because many inexpensive models tend to make crooked cuts. This isn’t to say that all arm paper cutters are like this. Some paper cutters, from brands such as Kutrimmer, are very solid and durable.

Rotary paper cutters are now the cutter of choice for scrapbookers. Rotary cutters use a round wheel to slice through paper. This wheel is similar in appearance to a pizza cutter. The wheel sits in a housing that slides along a rail. These types of paper cutters are especially popular with scrappers due to their precision and ability to cut photographs. Many rotary cutters have interchangeable blades for creating a variety of cutting patterns. Carl rotary cutters, specifically the RT-200, is popular for this reason. Rotatrim is another popular brand due to is solid construction.

Last, but not least, are the corner rounders. Corner rounders are popular for rounding the corners on pictures and paper. Most agree that rounding the corners, also a minor change, affects the overall appearance of the photograph. Corner rounders are often available with a variety of different cutting diameter dies. This usually varies anywhere from a 1/8-inch corner to a ½-inch corner.

Paper cutters continue to grow in popularity with scrappers and this popular hobby doesn’t appear to be running out of steam anytime soon. Contact Office Zone for more information on paper cutters.