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Which Cutter is Best?
Whether in the classroom, the office or the studio, every workspace needs a paper cutter. Scissors just can’t compete with the clean, perfectly straight cut of a quality paper cutter. These tools come in two flavors, and it’s important to know the advantages of each before making a purchase.
Marie Antoinette Was NOT a Fan
You don’t have to be a French Revolutionary to enjoy a good guillotine cut. The guillotine cutter has one long blade arm that is pulled down to make a cut through stacks of paper. These are great if you’re cutting stacks of newsletters, invitations, postcards, placecards, pamphlets, reply devices, or handouts. Because these use heavy-duty blades, they are also typically a heavier unit for stability. They’re often equipped with a tabletop measurement guide clearly marked, and typical cuts are outlined on the surface. One of our models will cut up to 360 sheets of 20# paper in a single stroke.
Make a Precision Slice
If you need to make a precise cut, but you’re not worried about cutting stacks of paper, then a rotary cutter is your best bet. Artists and model builders use these, as well as scrapbookers, photographers, and teachers. The rolling wheel blade is sharp, safe and glides easily over your project on a sliding rail. What you don’t want is the cheaper knock-off version of a rotary cutter. These use a razor-like blade that dulls quickly and works poorly on anything but standard stock paper. Forget cutting photos, artist quality paper, or cardstock.
Most rotary cutter models come with a measurement guide on the surface and the side, plus an adjustable depth guide to help you align your project with precision. You’ll set the transparent clamping bar to hold your trimming material in place and allow you to monitor the trimming process. Then, twin sliding poles will guide your blade with comfort and accuracy. It’s pretty quick and always precise.
Check out Lloyd’s selection of paper cutters and see which one is for you.
OffiTrim Tabletop Paper Cutter
This looks like your average everyday tabletop paper cutter, but the OffiTrim Tabletop Paper Cutter is a cut above the rest with its heavy duty construction and extra features not found in other cutters in its class.
How is it Used?
The OffiTrim Tabletop Paper Cutter is simple. Starting with the measuring surface, which features a refined antirust treatment, you’ll line up your project on the clearly marked horizontal and vertical ruler-point system. Once in place a pressing bar will firmly hold your paper and the stainless hardened steel knife will efficiently cut your paper while a magnetic paper stopper keep you from making mistakes. When you’re done an automatic return safety control will keep your co-workers from doing something silly.
The OffiTrim Tabletop Paper Cutter also comes in two sizes. It all depends on how wide you expect your projects to get. The OffiTrim-1512 will accomodate up to a 15″ cut, while the OffiTrim-1518 will slice a 18″ sheet.
And How Much Does it Cost?
The OffiTrim Tabletop Paper Cutter models are available at Lloyd’s at a great price. The OffiTrim-1512 is $57.80 and the OffiTrim-1518 is $77.90. Plus, we’ll throw in free shipping and a gift with your purchase.
Plastic Coil Crimping Tool (ACP)
If you’re using a coil binding machine to bind your documents, then you’ll most likely need a coil crimping tool. Many of our units include a crimper, but not all of them do.
How is it Used?
Once a document has been threaded on to the binding coil, the ends of the coil are usually loose and sticking out. The coil itself may also be too long for the document.
So, a coil crimping tool can both cut a coil down to length and crimp it so that the document doesn’t thread itself off the coil over time. This particularly crimping tool does both in one, clean motion. An improperly crimped booklet can quickly become an unbound booklet, so this is a tool you need to have.
And How Much Does it Cost?
The Plastic Coil Crimping Tool costs $29 at Lloyd’s and comes with a 1-year warranty from the manufacturer. You can opt to purchase an extended warranty from Lloyd’s of Indiana for 15% of the purchase price for a 2-year warranty or 20% of the purchase price for 3 years.
Tamerica 123PB Comb Binding Machine
Space efficient and simple to operate, the Tamerica 123PB Comb Binding Machine is ideal for the small office or home workspace.
How is it Used?
The Tamerica is a lightweight unit (11 pounds) designed to punch and bind documents up to 11″ or letter size and 7/8″ thick. It’s not going to slam through a 500-page manuscript, but it’s enough to make small booklets and presentation documents.
To use the 123PB Comb Binder, simply insert the sheets you wish to bind, punch them and then use the coil insertion tool to thread the document on to the coil. It’s simple to use, fast and affordable.
And How Much Does it Cost?
The Tamerica 123PB Comb binding machine costs $139 at Lloyd’s and comes with a 1-year warranty from the manufacturer. You can opt to purchase an extended warranty from Lloyd’s of Indiana for 15% of the purchase price for a 2-year warranty or 20% of the purchase price for 3 years.
Green Printing with Soy Toner
Some of the hottest new trends in green printing are soy inks. But the latest cool soy printing product is soy laser toner. With most soy inks being targeted towards commercial printers, some companies have come out with soy toners for the individual and small-business consumer market.
The benefits are obvious; soy-printed paper is easier to recycle, it’s green, it’s typically cheaper, and soy is a renewable resource (unlike oil). This is exactly why hundreds of book and magazine publishers use soy-based inks, along with cost-savvy commercial printers.
So, who’s making them for the everyday consumer?
PRC Technologies (Print Recovery Concepts). Based in Standish, Maine, this small company is all about making its soy-based SoyPrint ink cartridges as low-cost as possible. You’ll find them online at www.prctec.com or by phone at (888) 640-0062.
If you want to order PRC’s laser soy ink products online, consider buying through LaserMonksGreen, a website run by an abbey of monks in Sparta, Wis. They use the proceeds to run the money and donate the rest. For every cartridge sold, a tree is planted in Brazil and $1 is donated to end world hunger. And the best part? They cost less than the original HP laser cartridges you can buy at the big box office supply stores.
Of course, PRC won’t be the biggest supplier of soy ink forever. Some major players like Lexmark International are already investigating corn- and soy-based inks for use in their printers, meaning a passing trend could become an industry green printing standard.