Premier-Martin Yale Rotary Trimmers

[dancqu]

I like green but need a light duty trimmer that can really cut it. The 18in.
runs $80 from an internet source. eBay has the 30in., brand new for,
$80. Now and then I see print paper which is only available in larger sheet
sizes. A light duty trimmer that works well would expand the selection of
print papers. Dan

 

[glbeas]

I've had a few guillotine cutters and a roller style but the slickest one I have is my Logan 650 mat cutter. It has a lockable straight cut on one side that cuts paper clean and square, has a stop on the guide bar to set the length of the cut, which is handy when I cut up roll paper which I hung on a clamped together frame on the edge of the desk. I tried it because I needed a place for the mat cutter in my darkroom so moved the monster guillotine cutter to an out of the way corner to gather dust, I cut more mats than print paper anyway. If you are taking proper care of the mat cutter you'll have a nice sharp blade in it all the time and the cut is fine and effortless. Now that I've tried it I like it better than the old guillotine and can get a straighter cut. If you have one of the mat cutters with the cutting block on rails like this it's worth trying it sometime if it lives in the darkroom like mine.

 

[FeS2]

There's Rotatrim and then there's everything else...
Case Closed.

 

[MattKing]

20 year old dormant thread.

 

[pentaxuser]

There can't be many 20 year old thread with only 4 posts. The originator left us 11 years ago I can never work out how such threads ever start up again.

pentaxuser

 

[MattKing]

There can't be many 20 year old thread with only 4 posts. The originator left us 11 years ago I can never work out how such threads ever start up again.

pentaxuser

Something like someone searches "trimmer" here on Photrio, and this thread pops up.

 

[glbeas]

And here I am to see it again. Still got the cutters too.

 

[AgX]

Now that I've tried it I like [the rotary one] better than the old guillotine and can get a straighter cut.

How can a rotary cutter basically cut more straight than a guillotine one?

At both cases in first instance the straightness of the cut depends on the straightness of the static knive.


One may argue though on stronger abrasion of the static knife at the guillotine, ending maybe in a curvature .
One may also argue on the moving knife in both models evading the static one.

Thus I am puzzled.

 

[pentaxuser]

Something like someone searches "trimmer" here on Photrio, and this thread pops up.

Thanks Matt, so the search engine doesn't get confused and include any of the pics of some of the models we see in the gallery who also fit a definition of "trimmer" ?

pentaxuser

 

[glbeas]

How can a rotary cutter basically cut more straight than a guillotine one?

At both cases in first instance the straightness of the cut depends on the straightness of the static knive.


One may argue though on stronger abrasion of the static knife at the guillotine, ending maybe in a curvature .
One may also argue on the moving knife in both models evading the static one.

Thus I am puzzled.

I was actually talking about using the mat cutter. Put a fresh blade on it and a straight cut is hard to mess up.

 

[DREW WILEY]

Nothing has changed in the past 20 years. For rotary, think dual-rail Rotatrim. For guillotine, it's pro-grade Dahle. Neither are cheap. You get what you pay for. Matcutters are made for something else entirely, and are poor print trimmers.

But if you need to use a trimmer in the dark to trim paper or film to size, there is obviously a huge safety advantage to a Rototrim.

 

[tomatojoe]

There's Rotatrim and then there's everything else...
Case Closed.
View attachment 317028

I agree. I got mine from a seller on eBay from Mexico cost me very little and I have been using it 20 years

 

[DREW WILEY]

Cheap office store guillotine paper cutters tend to tug the paper out of square, especially since they dull rather easily. Dahle even makes guillotines suitable for routine precise cutting of metal shim stock, or entire stacks of paper. No, you don't either need or want one of those in a photo lab; but their intermediate series is excellent for application with the lights on - that way you can easily count your fingers both before and after.

Mat cutters do poorly on thin material. And their squaring arms don't support thin paper well. But if ya just gotta go that route, use a thinner blade than mats themselves call for, and make sure it's still very sharp. Hint : domestic s.e. razor blades hold up ten times better than the cheap import hardware and paint store variety.

And other than the fact that cheapo varieties of rotary trimmers also exist, I can't improve upon what's already been stated : There's Rotatrim, and then there's everything else. I have both a 24 inch one, and a 48 inch one mounted to a big laminated table replete with squaring edge, roll paper holder, and adjustable inset length stops. Neither has ever needed to be resharpened yet.

 

[MattKing]

I have a single rail Rotatrim which I bought used for a very favourable price - if budget is a main concern, it is a worthwhile alternative.