Guillotin-knife or rotating-blade paper cutter for darkroom use?

Marco Gilardetti · Apr 23, 2010

Good morning, and thank you very much for your insight.

I understand that, although many people use the guillotin-knife with success, there is somewhat more consensus towards the rotary-blade.

However, as long as I can buy five excellent and locally made guillotin-knife units for the price of the model most people suggested, I will give the guillotin a try first, and eventually switch to the rotary blade in the future in case it will turn out to be not what I need.

Steve Smith · Apr 23, 2010

BradS said:
Funny thing is, I never felt it. Didn't even realize there was anything wrong until I noticed the blood all over the paper and the floor.

That's the sign of a very sharp blade.

Steve.

darinwc · Apr 23, 2010

One thing I would like to add.. if you have a large amount of paper to cut, you can take it to Kinkos and have it cut.
(of course this is no good for sensitied paper)
They have hydraulic cutters there.

Check out your local warehouse store, I just bought a rotary cutter for my wife and it was inexpensive.

macrorie · May 14, 2010

Like rotary trimmers, there are good guillotine cutters and cheap garbage cutters. My observation is that the larger and heavier models to work better, but they take up a lot of space. You can probably get more precise cutting for less money and better spatial organization with a rotary trimmer. If you are going for a guillotine trimmer, get a heavy-duty model.

MattKing · May 14, 2010

I recently found an 18" Rotatrim Mastercut on Craigslist for $40.00.

I went to see it, and took along some scrap pieces of photographic paper.

It was easy to trim off 1/2 millimetre slices of those scraps - straight and clean cuts each time.

It is now sitting happily in a largish clear area below my enlarger .

2F/2F · May 14, 2010

I use the "arm" type one for cutting things that don't need to be all that accurate or have that perfect of an edge. They are quick, and good enough for test strips and trimming paper down before printing. I use a rotary trimmer only to slice prints for dry mounting, once the dry mount tissue has been tacked onto the back. This saves the blade of the rotary trimmer for important stuff. So, I would get one of each, especially since the arm type are so cheap. It is easy to sharpen the arm type blade yourself as well, using a standard kitchen knife sharpener.

If I was not dry mounting, the arm type would be perfectly sufficient for me.

Jeff Kubach · May 14, 2010

I use a circular saw!

Jeff

keithwms · May 14, 2010

I had a vision the other day. The vision was of a modified bulk film loader, equipped with a blade. So you just crank the film past the blade.

Wade D · May 14, 2010

I have 2 guillotine cutters which I've used for 40 years. Occasional sharpening keeps them accurate and like new. I once had to print about 500 5x7 glossies for a gent who was illustrating a book. He supplied 8x10 paper and the guillotine cutters made quick work of making 5x7's plus a lot of test strips.

clayne · May 15, 2010

One thing I do with my Rotatrim is to slightly loosen the hold down screws for the clamp down strap. Just enough so they give it more slack but still clear the block of the blade assembly. The reason being that I'm able to slip paper under it easier.

A typically sized RT will max out around 3-4 sheets of DW fiber before it starts getting iffy in the accuracy department. Also, don't try to push it as I've notice one's propensity for "dirty" cuts rises - i.e. you'll get emulsion cracking on edges if the cut isn't clean.

ozphoto · May 15, 2010

Posted wirelessly..

I too vote for a Rotatrim - had mine for 20 years and still going strong. Only needed to replace the blade - on my 4th now.

John Kasaian · May 16, 2010

I've got two rotarys, an old Rotatrim and a Dahle. They work swell.
I wouldn't pass up an old Ingento wih a maple base if it were in good condition though.
IMHO paper cutters are way over-rated, either they work (and Rotatrims work very well) or they don't. If you're buying new and spending serious money invest in good one.I'd rather save a few bucks and buy used (but only if the trimmer is in excellent condition!)

Nicholas Lindan · May 16, 2010

Poisson Du Jour said:
The sharpest of sharps is unbeatable: #23 scalpel blade

I have had better luck with Xacto blades: They aren't as sharp (though they are awfully sharp) when new but the grind isn't as acute so the edge is less given to rolling and they stay sharp throughout the cut.

Peter Spangenberg related a story at this weekend's NE Ohio APUG gathering: It seems that rotary cutters throw up a very fine spray of steel particles - they constantly sharpen themselves as they are used - and these particles were causing black spots on his Pt/Pd prints. Giving a good brush to the paper before coating seems to get rid of the spots.

A guillotine cutter will also shed metal, as the examination of a used cutter blade will show. They just shed macroscopic slivers rather than microscopic dust.

The inexpensive Fiskars style rotary cutters are possibly the only ones that won't shed metal: they use a steel cutting disk and a strip of rubber to back up the paper, the blade cuts through the paper and into the rubber.

naugastyle · May 16, 2010

My darkroom came with a heavy-duty (albeit very old) guillotine trimmer. It's fine for cutting unprocessed paper into smaller sizes and of course fine for test strips...I use it all the time. But I can't get good cuts on fiber prints at all--although it doesn't help that mine are only "flat-ish". Much better luck with a retractable razor knife ($9), a cutting mat ($15), and clear ruler ($5 but I already owned it for other purposes). I can't say I can get as precise as the rotary but definitely much more precise than the guillotine, and shaving off 1/8" is not difficult.

Guillotin-knife or rotating-blade paper cutter for darkroom use?

Marco Gilardetti

Steve Smith

darinwc

macrorie

MattKing

Moderator

2F/2F

Jeff Kubach

keithwms

Wade D

clayne

ozphoto

John Kasaian

Nicholas Lindan

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naugastyle

Guillotin-knife or rotating-blade paper cutter for darkroom use?

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