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Thread: Advice request: cutter

  1. #11
    Unwitting Thread Killer Ari's Avatar
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    Re: Advice request: cutter

    The guillotines always make the material move at the moment of cutting, even if it's only very, very slightly.
    Anyway, I could never get a square cut from them.
    I recommend the Rotatrim as well. It's fast, precise and cuts smoothly/evenly without nudging the material.

  2. #12

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    Re: Advice request: cutter

    Quote Originally Posted by Ari View Post
    The guillotines always make the material move at the moment of cutting, even if it's only very, very slightly.
    Anyway, I could never get a square cut from them.
    I recommend the Rotatrim as well. It's fast, precise and cuts smoothly/evenly without nudging the material.
    I agree with this, and also use a Rotatrim for paper. However, I've never been able to get a straight cut when attempting to trim 4-ply mount board with it. Other photographers I've known in the past used a heavy guillotine with hold-down clamp for that. Do any of you cut mount board with a Rotatrim? Guillotine? What have your experiences been? Thanks in advance.

  3. #13

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    Re: Advice request: cutter

    Sal, I tried cutting mat board with a Rotatrim once. Since then I've used a big Logan mat cutter, the $1k one. Mat board is expensive these days and if you want results you can live with, you need tools that do the job.

  4. #14
    Tin Can's Avatar
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    Re: Advice request: cutter

    The 1K Logan is on my list

    However I have been using precuts for years

    as for film only cutting, the blade must be perfect

    and technique counts, I start slow, then speed up before the blade contacts and cut decisively

    CHOP!

    Quote Originally Posted by Greg Y View Post
    Sal, I tried cutting mat board with a Rotatrim once. Since then I've used a big Logan mat cutter, the $1k one. Mat board is expensive these days and if you want results you can live with, you need tools that do the job.
    Tin Can

  5. #15

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    Re: Advice request: cutter

    Quote Originally Posted by Sal Santamaura View Post
    I agree with this, and also use a Rotatrim for paper. However, I've never been able to get a straight cut when attempting to trim 4-ply mount board with it. Other photographers I've known in the past used a heavy guillotine with hold-down clamp for that. Do any of you cut mount board with a Rotatrim? Guillotine? What have your experiences been? Thanks in advance.
    I only do prints with my Rotatrim. For straight cuts of mat board I would just use a knife and straight edge.

    A mat cutter can be a useful tool if you can justify the expense relative to the volume of mounted prints you make. There are several benefits. They make it easy to set up accurate, repeatable cuts, and they make it relatively easy to make window mats with beveled edges, so basically you can do everything yourself in whatever size.

  6. #16
    Drew Wiley
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    Re: Advice request: cutter

    I'd never use a matcutter for cutting down film. My linear matcutter does have a squaring arm and sizing option for cutting down and squaring matboard, as well as a different cutter for beveled window cuts. I also have a big wall mounted machine for precise right-angle cuts of backing board, plastic sheeting, and glass. It's very difficult to make true straight cuts handheld. Even my circular saw is a top-end rail version capable of precise cuts, so much so that a jointer is not even needed afterwards when assembling and gluing wood strips to a precise fit. And nowadays, a person on a budget can get a basic straightedge with a linear cutter captured on it. That could be made to work with especially large pieces of film on atop a self-healing mat, but would not in my opinion be ideal.

  7. #17

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    Re: Advice request: cutter

    Why would one use a mat cutter to cut film?

    Quote Originally Posted by Drew Wiley View Post
    I'd never use a matcutter for cutting down film. My linear matcutter does have a squaring arm and sizing option for cutting down and squaring matboard, as well as a different cutter for beveled window cuts. I also have a big wall mounted machine for precise right-angle cuts of backing board, plastic sheeting, and glass. It's very difficult to make true straight cuts handheld. Even my circular saw is a top-end rail version capable of precise cuts, so much so that a jointer is not even needed afterwards when assembling and gluing wood strips to a precise fit. And nowadays, a person on a budget can get a basic straightedge with a linear cutter captured on it. That could be made to work with especially large pieces of film on atop a self-healing mat, but would not in my opinion be ideal.

  8. #18
    Drew Wiley
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    Re: Advice request: cutter

    A matcutter could be adapted if it had a self-healing mat installed, along with some kind of squaring system. But that would be a clumsy way to do it, especially in the dark.

  9. #19
    Eric Woodbury
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    Re: Advice request: cutter

    https://www.qcmcorp.com/1200E.html

    I used one of these once long ago to cut 8x10 film stock. A local photo finisher had it. I used it as his place. He had a darkroom. Worked very well. Pricey and not large enough for 24", but you might ask at the local print shop.

  10. #20
    Drew Wiley
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    Re: Advice request: cutter

    You might find one of those from a commercial printing house supplier, or used on eBay in the industrial rather than photographic section. There are also dedicated used offset printing gear suppliers who list that kind of cutter. But if you did obtain a used one, you'd want to thoroughly clean it first, and make sure all the adjustments are correct. Lots of that kind of equipment has had a hard life; it was designed to do a task day-in/day-out.

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