Go into a print shop, you should always see multiple paper cutters on tables. There are so many different ones available. Depending on the project, you could see yourself using a simple tabletop cutter, or you could need a large cutter for big jobs.
So, let’s take a look at the top 5 paper cutters every print shop should have
1. Hydraulic or Electric Paper Cutter
A hydraulic or electric paper cutter is a big cutter that allows you to do big projects. You can cut stacks at a time using one of these cutters. They usually allow for a maximum with up to 25” and a height of 3” of cutting. Some are programmable with up to 99 presets for frequently used measurements. Every print ship should have one of these.
Two of the most popular manufacturers are MBM Triumph series and Formax Cut-True series. These big guillotine cutters run anywhere from $7,995 – $23,000.
2. Rotary Trimmer
These tabletop paper cutters are great for cutting straight edges for finishing products. You can only really do one piece at a time, but for small projects, it gets the job done and quickly. What’s most important is a precision cut with a straight line. Every print shop needs one.
The primary manufacturers are Akiles with their Roll@Blade cutters and MBM Kutrimmer wide format cutters. They start at $255-$1,305.
3. Table Top Guillotine Paper Cutter
Sometimes, a quick job is all you need. The good old fashion tabletop guillotine paper cutter does the trick. If you need to cut something quick, it is available.
Other Paper Cutters to consider:
All in One Cutter, Slitter, Creaser
These machines are the cream of the crop for a small print shop. The all in one cutter, slitter and creaser can be preprogrammed with multiple presets for business card cutting, mailings, flyers, brochures. Pretty much any job where you can stick a stack of into the automatic feeder and it spits out a finished product with little or now supervision. They are expensive, but they pretty much can handle any project you take for small runs. MBM offers the G2 which starts at $48,000.
Business Card Cutters
There are manual and automatic business card cutters on the market. If you are doing a lot of business cards, a business card cutter is what you need. They are programmable so you can run presets to finish large quantities, or you can have an inexpensive manual business card slitter for smaller runs. These are affordable and good to have in your shop, so you are not sending the projects out.
It’s an obvious statement, but paper cutters are a must have in a print shop.
