Paper Cutter Suggestions?

satsumalynn
on 19 Feb 07 (00:22)

I’m wondering if anyone out there can give me some suggestions for a good all-around paper cutter? I need something that will cut 20” so I can cut down the bigger sizes of Crane Lettra Paper so it’s cost effective. (Alternatively, does anyone know if Lettra is available in a size between 8.5x11 and 20x26?)

I don’t mind spending some money on a good cutter, but really want to get one that will be good for stacks of paper and also for cutting business cards. I’m fed up with my cheaper guillotine cutter that leaves ragged edges and doesn’t clamp stacks of paper down!!

Any thoughts on a guillotine v. a rotary cutter? I’ve been looking specifically @ Dahle — does anyone have an opinion on this brand?

Any help is appreciated. Thanks.

dicharry
on 22 Feb 07 (02:43)

we have a kutrimmer 1071 that we really like. it is built well and has never given us any problem. depending on the volume of work you will be doing you may consider contacting local print shops and see if they can cut your paper down to size for you. i haven’t seen lettra in small sizes and to cut down 250 sheets of 22x30” to A2 size can get pretty ridiculous regardless of your paper cutter. that said, if you are only cutting 20-50 sheets per week then I would highly recommend the kutrimmers.

edmond
on 23 Jun 07 (22:55)

Any other recommended paper cutters? How about a Challenge paper cutter? Is it worth buying an electric cutter instead a manual guillotine such as from PaperCutterStore.com???

cheersfortrout
on 23 Jun 07 (23:39)

If you have the space for a Challenge paper cutter, I would say get one. Before we got ours, we had (still have it sitting around) one like this: http://www.papercutterstore.com/Power_Paper_Cutter_80_14669.html
and it wasn’t very good.
Not having the right paper cutter held up our print schedule for a few long months.

natron
on 24 Jun 07 (03:39)

An electric or power cutter is a lifesaver when you really get into more production.
We used to run a medium size electric cutter branded Martin Yale (which i have been told is very similar to the small challenge cutter).
It cut well, but we had some electrical issues.
We upgraded to a used (circa 1983) Polar-Mohr, which is owned by Heidelberg. It is a 28” power cutter, with Micro cut system added. It can cut fast and strong, and is super accurate to the thousandths of an inch.
It ran us about $7,000 which may be out of the price range for a small shop, but it does everything we need it to do.
Check your local equipment dealer for what they have in stock.

JHPapers
on 27 Jun 07 (13:18)

I was looking at one like this http://www.papercutterstore.com/200Sheet_Table_Top_Paper_Cutter_172_1082...
I found the same model on ebay for 300.00 and I wanted to know if anyone has used this before. I am a small one person shop with limited space and funds so although I would love to have some of the others mentioned the wallet will not allow it

Effing Press
on 27 Jun 07 (15:16)

I have a M&Y cutter like that and it works pretty good. I use it for trimming books. They are pretty easy to fix if they break (and they will break). There is a bearing / washer in the blade slide mechanism that blows out about once a year for me but you’ll know when it starts to go and it is fairly simple to swap it out and reset the blade. And I’d suggest getting two blades if you can… It’s definitely no Challenge but it works for small cutting jobs. I don’t think they have a model like this with a 20” blade though.

edmond
on 27 Jun 07 (15:27)

Thank you all for your comments. How about purchasing a Triumph paper cutter? Are they decent for a manual type?

ysnkaren
on 16 Jul 07 (11:08)

I’m so glad to have found this site and this discussion! I am a one-person shop printed bookplates, which are 3x4 inches. I have a Dahle stack cutter. It works great, but I’m looking for something that would require less physical effort. I’ve seen a lot of Triumph electric cutters on ebay. Are they any good? Is it better to get a Challenge? What about electric vs. manual? Are there manual cutters that don’t require a lot of effort? I’m cutting up to 150 60 lb. sheets.

Ed Letendre
on 27 Mar 08 (13:31)

I have a Challenge 26 1/2 ” Paper Cutter that is in very good condition ,,, if you are interested let me know and I can send you pics of it ,,,, ed

madmaudepress
on 31 Mar 08 (20:17)

JH: We’ve got one like that here at the shop—the eBay version, that is. It cuts well, but its kind of hard to square up. The advantage I’ve found is that it trims to 1.25”, which is perfect for skinny business cards. Thus far I haven’t had the guts to use it on any. One day!