Got my new rotatrim 24" today

[neile]

Ok, how on earth did I ever live without one of these things? Up until now I've been cutting prints down to size on my massive 60" mat cutter with a squaring arm. Servicable, but a pain to set up every time I want to do some small trim job. This rotatrim is beautiful! Rock solid on the rails, lovely little stop along the ruler so I can set a specific page size and get repeated perfect cuts, and a self sharpening blade. Woohoo!

I'm off to go find random things to cut now

Neil

[bill t.]

Give a man a Rotatrim, and everything's a print!

[KeithR]

I've been looking into getting a new trimmer as well and have heard nothing but good things about the Rotatrim. Can I ask where you got it from and cost?

[neile]

I've been looking into getting a new trimmer as well and have heard nothing but good things about the Rotatrim. Can I ask where you got it from and cost?

There's an odd story behind where I got mine. I found one on Craigslist for $250, but debated whether to get it and by the time I decided yes, it was sold. So I checked eBay (where lots are available for around $300 with free shipping), and saw one for sale for $260. But the seller only had 8 pieces of feedback and it looked kinda sketchy. Then I realized the seller was located in Seattle, and looked at his username, and figured out it was one of the instructors from the local photo school and that he was on my Facebook friend list

So I bought it from him for $230.

Amazon has them for around $300 with free shipping if you are an Amazon Prime member.

Neil

[ThePhotoDude]

Well done on the purchase!

I was thinking of getting one as well. I currently use a 1 meter long steel ruler, Stanley knife and a cutting mat to cut all my prints up.
How much time does it really save? I've never used a Rotatrim before.

Thanks

[Justan]

Congrats! I bought mine used on Craigslist and have enjoyed it

Hard to calculate the time savings but like any good tool, it makes the job effortless and quick.

[vandevanterSH]

How much time does it really save? I've never used a Rotatrim before.
**********
It's a really good piece of equipment.

Steve

[neile]

How much time does it really save? I've never used a Rotatrim before.

For me it's a huge timesaver, and more importantly it gives me more accurate cuts.

Prior to getting the rotatrim I had to take out my 60" matcutter, add the leaf in my dining room table, attach the squaring arm, and then I could start cutting things down to size. When I was finished I had to put it all way. Total setup and takedown time was easily 10 minutes every time I needed to trim prints.

Time is not really why I got it though. Accuracy is. I can shave less than 1/8" off the edge of a piece of paper with the rotatrim. I couldn't do that with my mat cutter. The blades on the rotatrim are self-sharpening. The ones on my mat cutter aren't. The rotatrim has a very well designed production stop that the paper can't slide under. My mat cutter has a production stop too, but the gap between it and the squaring arm is large enough that the paper slides underneath.

All in all it was a fantastically great purchase.

Neil

[LeiMeng]

Ok, how on earth did I ever live without one of these things? Up until now I've been cutting prints down to size on my massive 60" mat cutter with a squaring arm. Servicable, but a pain to set up every time I want to do some small trim job. This rotatrim is beautiful! Rock solid on the rails, lovely little stop along the ruler so I can set a specific page size and get repeated perfect cuts, and a self sharpening blade. Woohoo!

I'm off to go find random things to cut now

Neil

Got mine too!  Amazon just lowered price of the 24" model from $305 to $255 so I quickly placed the order.  I use it to cut Epson enhanced matte poster board.  It gives precise and clean cuts, much much better than using my hand with a medical knife, a ruler, and an extra person...  Order yours before Amazon raises the price back!  Thank you everyone for recommending this cutter in this forum.  Saved my money and time of trying other brands.

[dchew]

B&H is also at $255.

[Gemmtech]

There's Rotatrim and there's, well, nothing else!  Great tool, it's like a Festool

[bellimages]

Will the rotatrim cut through 4-ply rag matte board? I'm guessing not. I'm going to order one, and wouldn't want to knock it out of alignment by cutting something thicker than it was designed to do.

[neile]

Will the rotatrim cut through 4-ply rag matte board? I'm guessing not. I'm going to order one, and wouldn't want to knock it out of alignment by cutting something thicker than it was designed to do.

Much to my surprise the answer is yes. I just tried it and it worked fine. The rotatrim site says the capacity is 3mm (http://www.rotatrim.co.uk/product.php?product_code=4) and my 4-ply rag mat measures 1.43mm.

Neil

[bellimages]

That's great. Was the cut through the 4-ply matte easy to make? Or did it take some muscle?

I have an Epson 24" ink jet printer. I use roll paper in it. My standard length is usually around 30-36 inches. Will the 24" trimmer be wide enough to handle it comfortably? Or do I need to jump up to the 30" trimmer? I hope not, since it costs a lot more?

Also is it cumbersome trying to handle such a large piece of paper in the cutter?

[neile]

That's great. Was the cut through the 4-ply matte easy to make? Or did it take some muscle?

I have an Epson 24" ink jet printer. I use roll paper in it. My standard length is usually around 30-36 inches. Will the 24" trimmer be wide enough to handle it comfortably? Or do I need to jump up to the 30" trimmer? I hope not, since it costs a lot more?

Also is it cumbersome trying to handle such a large piece of paper in the cutter?

Depends on how big your muscles are  It was more work than paper but still quite doable. It will cut 24" wide paper just fine. Not cumbersome, but not as easy as an 8.5x11"!

Neil

[Neil Currie]

Depends on how big your muscles are  It was more work than paper but still quite doable. It will cut 24" wide paper just fine. Not cumbersome, but not as easy as an 8.5x11"!

Neil

If you want to cut something heavy run the cutter back and forth 7 or 8 times first. Makes it razor sharp.

Also do not push into the cutter as it will roll up onto the cutter bed. Nerve racking trying to roll it back down again.

Canvas and rag paper can really dull the blade. Run it back and forth a few times every time the cutting gets ragged.

[schrodingerscat]

Also check out the LPL Rotary cutters. Japanese made and at an attractive price point.

[Shutterbug2006]

I bought a 42" model from a company in Ontario a year ago September. They had a special sale on the product, with shipping I paid about $650

It's a very nice trimmer. Though I rarely print larger than 36", I figured the price difference would be worth not having a hassle down the road.

Trimming is a breeze. I can't imagine working without it. A stand would be a nice addition, can't seem to find anything to fit it however, so it sits on a very large ancient solid wood desk.

I do find it difficult to line up exactly where I want the cut to begin. A laser beam across the page at the cutting edge would be appreciated, but I don't know how such a thing could be implemented.

[bill t.]

I do find it difficult to line up exactly where I want the cut to begin. A laser beam across the page at the cutting edge would be appreciated, but I don't know how such a thing could be implemented.

I had trimming device where the  cutting edge was over a long, narrow lightbox that backlighted the print.  Very easy to see the shadow of the exact cutting edge through the print.  It was just a fluorescent fixture built into a table with a milky opaline glass cover flush with the table surface.  Turned on with a foot peddle.  A little complicated to build but things like that can save a lot of time.   Or if you have a nice big beefy lightbox just put the cutter on top.