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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.