The paper cutter also known as a guillotine or trimmer is one of the few office tools that are still manually operated. It’s used to cut large sheets of paper once and in a straight line.
They’re used in a variety of environments including schools, offices, businesses and even at home. Common uses include trimming printed paper, scrapbooking and cutting photographs for framing.
If you’re looking for the best paper cutter, here are four of the leading products online.
Swingline Paper Trimmer/Cutter Guillotine Review
If you’re trimming many papers at once, the ClassicCut Lite can handle 10 sheets of paper at a time. It’s easy to line up your paper before trimming thanks to the printed on alignment grid and dual scale ruler. You won’t have to trim more than once to get the perfect cut.
Concerns about accidental nips by the sharp blade have been solved through a protective guard rail and latch hook which keeps the blade secured when not in use.
Being a portable trimmer, you’ll need to hold it down especially when trimming batches of paper at once.
Fiskars Recycled 12-Inch Bypass Trimmer Review
Its blade will cut papers in batches of up to 10, and lengths up to 12 inches. The base has a precision printed scale and grid, allowing you to make accurate alignment before cutting. A built-in paper clamp keeps your papers from shifting while you’re cutting.
The base has rubber feet which prevent it from moving when in use. The cutting handle can be locked in place so you don’t have to worry about accidental cuts.
While it’s one of the best paper cutters, the Fiskars Recycled 12 inch bypass trimmer is a bit heavy making transportation difficult.
Fiskars 12 Inch Portable Rotary Paper Trimmer Review
This cutter has a unique design which includes a self-leveling swing out arm. This extends the trimmer to 12.5 inches to handle larger scrapbook pages. Its base has an attractive mat upon which the measuring grid and scale are printed.
To ensure that your photos come out perfectly, this trimmer has a smudge guard that’s built upon its expanding cutting rail. Although a good trimmer for scrapbooking and cutting photos, its rotary blade cannot handle large batches of paper at once.
JLS 12-inch Titanium Scrapbooking Paper Trimmer Review
This is made possible by the swing out dual scale ruler and alignment grid that’s printed on its base. To ensure that you won’t nip your fingers, this trimmer has a built-in protective rail guard.
This is complemented by a latch hook which keeps the blade secured when not in use. Operating lightweight trimmers might be difficult. The JLS titanium paper trimmer includes a paper clamp which makes operating it easy.
It’s also capable of trimming batches of up to 5 sheets of paper. It’s worth noting that the titanium cutting blade for this trimmer is sold separately.
Best Paper Cutter Buying Guide – How to find the right model for you.
Before you invest in a new paper cutter, the following are the main factors to consider.
Weight
Many of the paper trimmers for home and office use are designed to be highly portable. This allows you to carry your trimmer to your working area easily.
Blades
The best paper trimmers come fitted with titanium blades. These won’t wear down easily. If you can find one with self-sharpening blades, go for it.
Base Design
The base design will determine how easy it will be to operate the trimmer. A permanently printed on grid and ruler are the basic features. Other features mounted on the base to consider include a paper clamp and protective rail.
Safety
Paper trimmer blades are extremely sharp. A simple mistake can cause serious injury. You should therefore, consider features such as a protective rail and a blade locking system which keeps the blade unexposed when the guillotine is not in use.
Capacity
The advantage of using a paper trimmer is that you can accurately cut a straight line along batches of paper. This however, doesn’t guarantee that the trimmer you buy will cut more than one sheet of paper at a time. Make sure to confirm the trimmer’s capacity before purchasing.
