Are you in need of a guillotine paper trimmer that is not only affordable, but accurate? One model that I would recommend looking at is the Dahle 565 premium guillotine paper trimmer. This trimmer is growing in popularity and may be a good option for you. I have used this trimmer and this is my review.

Dahle’s premium line of guillotine paper trimmers come in a variety of sizes, ranging from 14 to 27-inches long. These trimmers are German engineered and German made. The Dahle 565 is a 15 ½-inch trimmer.

One of the most unique features of the Dahle 565 is the safety system that has been put in place. Unlike Kutrimmer guillotines that use a plexiglass safety shield, the Dahle 565 uses a corkscrew shaped guard that keeps the blade covered in all the right places during the cutting process. It is very interesting to see in action. To me it seems extremely innovative and effective.

The German Solingen steel blade is razor sharp. Not only does it come from the factory sharp, a self-sharpening system helps keep the blade sharpened during each cut. The lade is remarkably easy to pull and cutting through paper is effortless. The Dahle 565 can cut up to 35 sheets of paper in a single pass. A clamping mechanism keeps paper firmly in place.

The base of the cutter is made from metal. This gives the Dahle 565 a heavy-duty feel. The base has a grid printed on it for common cuts and a measuring ruler can be found along the edges of the cutter. An adjustable guide makes it easy to line up paper, photos and other material for continuous cutting.

The Dahle 565 measures in at 18 3/4″ x 14″ and weighs in at 23 pounds shipped. This means the Dahle 565 is extremely easy to pick up and move around. You can use it on just about any desk, table or workstation. This is pretty nice.

The cutter itself has a really nice build quality. Most of the cutter is made from metal. It should easily last for years. While the blade should easily last for a long time, replacement blades are available.

In wasn’t too impressed with old Dahle guillotine trimmers of the past, but this new design seems to really incorporate everything you need in a guillotine trimmer. I would even consider it to be right up there with Kutrimmer guillotines.

You can find the Dahle 565 premium guillotine paper trimmer here. You can find our entire selection of Dahle paper cutters here. You can find our entire selection of guillotine paper trimmers here.

Are you looking for a high-end stack cutter that can slice through reams of paper in just seconds? You may need what’s known as a hydraulic paper cutter. These cutters are designed for the toughest jobs and can get done in seconds what takes other paper cutters minutes to hours. This post includes a list of our most notable hydraulic paper cutters.

Hydraulic stack cutters are used for continuous, daily cutting operations. They are commonly used in the printing business for cutting down jobs. They can also be used for custom cutting card stock, laminated documents and more.

Best Hydraulic Paper Cutters

1. Triumph 5222 Hydraulic Paper Cutter
2. Duplo 660P Hydraulic Stack Paper Cutter
3. Triumph 5550-EP Hydraulic Paper Cutter
4. Triumph 721-LT Hydraulic Paper Cutter
5. Duplo 490/490P Hydraulic Stack Paper Cutter
6. Triumph 5551-EP Hydraulic Paper Cutter

As you can see, Triumph and Duplo make some of the most popular and most highly recommended stack paper cutters. You can find our entire selection of stack paper cutters here. Do you have questions about installation, setup and training or perhaps questions about an individual hydraulic paper cutter? Call one of our experts at 1-800-658-8788.

Do you cut large volumes of paper or need a precision paper cutter that will create professional cuts? I have compiled a list of paper cutters we offer that can be considered “commercial paper cutters.” Here is what our customers use for their commercial cutting jobs.

1. Stack Paper Cutters – These cutters are the workhorses of the paper cutting industry. If any paper cutter can be considered a commercial paper cutter, these machines fit the bill. This includes stack cutters from Triumph, Dahle and others. This style of paper cutter is designed to cut card stock, reams of paper and much more. These cutters are available in manual, semi-auto and fully-automatic versions. Powered stack cutters are available in electric-powered and hydraulic-powered designs.
2. Kutrimmer Guillotine Paper Trimmers – While not all guillotine paper trimmers can be categorized as commercial paper cutters, Kutrimmer guillotine trimmers deserve the title. These “arm style” trimmers can cut large volumes of paper, are safe to use and offer great precision.
3. Rotatrim Technical & Neolt Rotary Paper Cutters - While these cutters don’t cut large volumes of cutters, they cut large sheets of paper. These cutters are used by architects, drafters, sign makers and more. These cutters are available in manual and electric versions. Some can even be wall mounted.

You can find our entire selection of paper cutters here. Feel free to call 1-800-658-8788 to speak with one of our paper cutter specialists.

Stack paper cutters play an invaluable roll in the printing and copying business. They are used to cut down reams of paper (often called ream cutters) and are the workhorses of the paper cutting industry. The question is often asked, “Which is the best stack paper cutter?” I answer quickly answer with a resounding “Triumph stack paper cutters.” Here’s why.

To begin with, Triumph (by IDEAL Krug & Priester) has been around for years. Distributed by MBM in the United States, the Triumph line includes a variety of manual, semi-automatic, digital and hydraulic stack cutters. These cutters use a guillotine style blade to cut paper. These cutters are German engineered and German made.

Customers often tell me that they would prefer to go with the “cheaper” model due to budget restraints. I tell them that if they only plan on using the cutter occasionally and don’t plan on having it around for years, that may be the way to go.

If you plan on using your stack cutter every day, all day, and need to have it around for years, you need to go with a Triumph paper cutter. It will easily make up its cost versus other cutters over the long haul.

Triumph Stack Cutter Benefits:

1. German Engineering
2. German Build Quality
3. All-Metal Construction
4. Extreme Safety
5. Solingen Steel Blade
6. Resharpenable Blade
7. Little Manual Effort

One small detail many people don’t think of when purchasing a stack cutter is whether or not the blade can be sharpened. You may be surprised to know that many stack cutter manufacturers build their machines with disposable blades. This is not the case with Triumph. Triumph blades can be resharpened and reused, saving money over time.

I have used several Triumph stack cutters during my time here at ABC Office. Simply put, Triumph paper cutters are in a league of their own.

You can find our entire selection of Triumph stack paper cutters here. You can find our entire selection of paper cutters here.

Are you a copy center, a print shop or a picture framer that is in need of a quality guillotine paper trimmer? One model you may want to consider is the Dahle 561 premium guillotine paper trimmer. We have one of these trimmers on our showroom floor and I have had the chance to use it on several occasions. This is my review.

Dahle has re-designed and improved a wide variety of their guillotine paper trimmers. The result includes their new line of premium guillotine paper trimmers. This includes the model 561, 564, 565, 567 and 569. These cutters are designed for high-end cutting and are designed to be used all day long. These cutters are German engineered and German made.

The first thing that really impressed me when I used the Dahle 561 was the cutting guard. It stands out. It is a corkscrew looking plastic shield that covers the blade as it cuts. The design works great and is very creative. A lot of effort has been made by the people at Dahle to make this cutter safe.

Another thing that I noticed right off the bat was the build quality. It is made out of metal. The base is metal, the cutting arm is metal and the blade is made from high-quality Solingen Steel metal. The blade is razor sharp, which became abundantly clear as I used it to cut paper. It required little effort on my part to cut paper.

The cutter itself is designed to cut paper up to 14 ½-inch long and can cut up to 35 sheets of standard 20# paper at a time. It can also be used to cut card stock, photographs, laminated documents and more. A convenient clamp keeps paper in place and keeps cuts straight.

I noticed upon handling the Dahle 561 that the cutter is remarkably easy to move around. It only weighs about 20 pounds shipped. This means you can use it on most desks, tables and other surfaces.

You may be wondering, “How do these cutters hold up compared to a Kutrimmer?” Kutrimmer paper trimmers have an excellent track record and are favorites among our customers. While I can’t make a comparison based on long-term use, I have to say that the Dahle Premium cutters are right up there with the Kutrimmer line of guillotine paper trimmers.

I thoroughly enjoyed using the Dahle 561 and have to say that I am remarkably impressed. I’m not aware of any customer issues to date and believe this line of trimmers will be considered a favorite later down the road.

You can find the Dahle 561 premium guillotine paper trimmer here. You can find our entire line of guillotine paper trimmers here.

Stack paper cutting is an invaluable part of the print business. Once prints are made, they typically need to be cut down to size. If you are in the market for a stack cutter, you may want to consider the Dahle 846 stack paper cutter. I have had a chance to use model and this is my review.

Dahle manufacturers are wide variety of stack paper cutting machines. Their professional series of stack cutters includes the models 842, 846 and 848. All three of these stack cutters have been around for years. Dahle stack cutters are German engineered and German made.

The Dahle 846 is a 16 7/8″ wide stack cutter capable of cutting up to 500 sheets of paper at a time. You may notice, looking at the overall design, that it is very familiar to the popular line of Triumph stack cutters. This is because the angled manual arm design of the Dahle 846 is proven to be easy to use and operate. Many manufacturers use this design.

This stack cutter features a spindle driven backstop activated by a crank handle on the front of the machine. As this handle is turned clockwise or counter clockwise, the back stop moves forwards and back. This is how cutting measurements are entered into the machine. The process is simple and effective.

Both the Solingen Steel cutting blade (guillotine style) and the clamp are manually activated. Both require little effort to operate. Because of the way the cutting handle and the gears are designed, the handle requires little effort to bring down. I personally didn’t notice much difference in effort between cutting 100 versus 500 sheets.

The cutter can be placed on a counter or workbench or be attached to an optional cutting stand. I have used stack cutters on counters and stands and don’t have much preference between the two. The biggest advantage of using the optional stand is that you can easily move around the cutter.

Safety measures have been put in place to prevent injury while using the cutter. This includes covers on both sides of the blade. The clear plexiglass cover allows the operator to still be able to easily view what’s going on during the cutting process.

The build quality on the Dahle 846 is nice. It works well. Many people have asked me, however, which I would choose between a Dahle and a Triumph stack cutter. While I like the Dahle, I love the Triumph. The difference in cost may be the deciding factor though. Dahle machines are typically less expensive than the Triumph.

You can find the Dahle 846 Professional Series stack cutter here. You can find our entire selection of stack paper cutters here.

I had a customer recently ask me what a self-sharpening blade was and how it worked. The idea is that a cutting blade (found on paper cutters) will sharpen itself every time it is used, thus extending the life of the blade. Here is how a self-sharpening blade works.

Self-sharpening blades are typically found in rotary paper cutters. The base of the paper cutter, on the cutting edge, has a strip of metal along the entire length of the cutter. As the cutting blade is used to cut paper, it also rubs against this metal strip, causing the blade to sharpen. The concept is very similar to a knife and grinding stone.

Does a self-sharpening blade really work? That is up for debate. I have had some people tell me they work like a charm and that they’re are able to get years of cutting use out of a blade, but I’ve also had other people tell me it is a marketing gimmick. I tend to believe there is a little of both involved.

I don’t believe a self-sharpening cutting blade will never dull, but I also believe the self-sharpening design helps remove nicks and chips from the cutting wheel, thus prolonging the life of the blade. I also believe  self-sharpening technology helps keep the blade sharper for a longer period of time versus not having it at all.

As previously mentioned, self-sharpening technology is found in many rotary paper trimmers. You can find our entire selection of rotary paper trimmers here.

Cutting foamboard, corrugated plastic and other flexible materials requires a durable cutting device. One cutter you may want to look at is the Fletcher Gemini Pro substrate cutter. This is my review.

Fletcher-Terri is known for manufacturing a wide variety of substrate, corrugated plastic, glass and other cutters. Popular models include the Atlas, the Titan, the FSC and the Gemini Pro. Fletcher cutters are known for their build quality, multi-purpose functionality and ability to get the job done.

The Gemini Pro is a substrate cutter designed to cut through foamboard, corrugated plastics and other flexible materials up to ½-inch thick. The Gemini Pro is compact and capable of being used on a workbench or table.

The Gemini Pro is available in different lengths, depending on what’s being cut. It is currently available in 40″ (1m), 60″ (1.5m), 80″ (2m), 100″ (2.5m) and 120″ (30m) lengths. One thing that surprised me about the Gemini Pro is the weight. The smallest 40-inch model only weighs in at 40 inches.

One thing you never want to see with a substrate cutter is crooked or uneven cutting edges. Precision is a necessity when cutting flexible materials. This is where the Gemini Pro seems to excel. Cuts are straight, due in large part to the way the cutter is engineered. It includes an integrated base plate and is factory aligned for maximum straightness.

Using a heavy-duty substrate cutter can be tiresome after repeated use. The Gemini pro has an ergonomic power grip designed to make pushing or pulling the cutting head easier. This cutter also uses special grip strips that hold substrate material in place, making cutting less difficult.

While the cutter can be used on a table or flat surface, it can be used in conjunction with the Atlas workbench. This bench will provide added stability. You can find the Atlas workbench here.

Overall I have to say that I am impressed with the Gemini Pro. The build quality is top notch and it does what it advertises. To date, I’m not aware of any customer issues.

You can find the Fletcher Gemini Pro substrate cutter here. You can find our entire selection of substrate cutters here.

Opening letters and envelopes can be messy and a hassle. One machine that can really speed things up is an automatic letter opener. If you are in the process of looking for one, a model you should seriously consider is the Formax FD 450 automatic electric envelope opener. This is my review.

To begin with, Formax has been making high-end office equipment for years. They are best known for their paper folder inserters, but they also make a wide range of joggers, bursters, paper shredders and letter openers. The build quality with Formax is excellent. Most Formax products are made in the U.S.A. and the FD 450 is one of them.

The Formax FD 450 is designed for high speed and high volume letter opening. This is all done automatically. You place the letters in the hopper on one end, the FD 450 opens them and they come out the other end opened up. The concept is simple, but there are subtle differences between letter opening machines that you will want to be aware of.

To begin with, the Formax FD 450 uses a slitter to open up mail. This means there are no letter ends cut off or waste paper strips lying around. The FD 450 cuts the mail open, without damaging the contents. The process is quick and best of all it’s very clean. Many other competitors cut off the top of the envelope, leaving waste paper strips behind, which is messy and can potentially damage contents.

The FD 450 is also pretty fast. It operates at a speed of up to 300 envelopes per minute. This is blazing fast. Not only is it fast at opening envelopes, it can open various mixed sizes of envelopes without jamming or causing issues. Envelope sizes can range from 3.5 x 11-inches up to 5.5 x 15.6-inches. This is a nice range and should cover most envelopes sizes used today.

The machine itself only weighs 20 pounds, so it can be used on pretty much any table, workbench or desk. Moving the letter opener should also be fairly easy to do. Overall setup and use is extremely easy and does not require any special training.

You can get the Formax FD 450 with the optional 402 series paper jogger. This will jog envelopes as they leave the machine and keep everything neat and organized.

I consider the Formax FD 450 to be once of the highest quality automatic letter openers available on the market. You will find the FD 450 in mailrooms, schools, churches and businesses. The “American-Made” quality is some of the best I have seen.

You can find the Formax FD 450 automatic letter opener here. You can find our entire selection of automatic letter openers here.

Are you looking for a good alternative to a Rotatrim Professional rotary trimmer? This may be to save money or simply because you want to try something different. One model you should seriously consider is the Foster Keencut Classic rotary paper trimmer. I have used this rotary trimmer and this is my review.

To begin with, have you noticed the similarities between the Keencut Classic and the Rotatrim Professional? The design looks very similar. Probably the biggest similarity, and the biggest plus, is the cutting rail. The Keencut Classic has two rails for the cutting head, which makes cuts straight and accurate every time.

The Keencut Classic features an aluminum metal base that is lightweight and sturdy, measuring in at 15-inches deep. You can get the Keencut Classic in a variety of different lengths starting at 12 inches and going up to 48 inches.

The length you use depends entirely on what you will be cutting. Be sure you get a cutter that not only handles what you’re cutting now, but will also handle future jobs.

The Keencut Classic is commonly used by photographers, scrapbookers, graphic arts departments and many more. It can be used to cut up to 10 sheets of 20# paper, thin tissue paper, plastics and can even be used to cut 0.08-inch aluminum printing plate.

I have personally used this cutter to cut laminated paper without any issues. The cuts are clean and are absent of burs. The effort needed to push the cutting head is minimal.

The Keencut Classic also includes an adjustable guide that is attached to a ruler. This makes it easy to align paper and ensures the cut is where it’s supposed to be.

Overall I am impressed with this cutter. I definitely consider it to be a great alternative to Rotatrim and Dahle rotary trimmers.

You can find the Foster Keencut Classic rotary paper trimmer here. You can find our entire selection of rotary paper trimmers here.