I'm planning to purchase a trimmer.

[cagen]

I'm planning to purchase a trimmer. I'm in use of 44 inch printer.
I'm going to purchase the product in 54 inch rotatrim.
By the way I wonder if 54 inch trimmer would be practical.
If I consider the future, will it be better to purchase 54 inch?
And please recommend me product with brand which is cheaper than rotatrim, but performance is similar.
Thank you for reading my message.

[Czornyj]

Frankly speaking, I have a trimmer but it's only gathering dust. I much prefer a knife, self healing cutting mat and a ruler.

[Wills]

I use the large Rotatrim you need a lot of space for a cutter this size, cheaper trimmers don't do the job, I also use a self healing cutting mat and trim knife for canvas trimming and mount trimming.

[jferrari]

I'm not sure how long your arms are but 48" is a stretch for me let alone 54 inches. As others have mentioned, I use self-healing mat and sharp utility knife with a selection of straight edges.    - Jim

[neile]

Here's a previous thread in the forum with a long discussion about alternatives to the Rotatrim: http://www.luminous-landscape.com/forum/index.php?topic=57162.0.

Neil

[framah]

I have a 36" Rototrimmer and it mostly sits off to the side. I also pretty much use a straight edge and an exacto knife.

I find that I have to measure and mark the paper for where to cut whether I'm using the Roto or the knife, it just is easier to set the st. edge and cut than to align the paper in the cutter and cut it that way.

Old school, i guess.

[bill t.]

Another old fashioned straight-edge and matte guy here.

You need a table anyway.  So build up a 4x8 table with Home Depot technology.  Cover it with a 4 x 8 cutting matte.

Buy a couple of foam-bottomed, stainless-edged staight edges in sizes you like.  I've got the 64" and 100" models, don't feel the need for anything else.  The big ones have some weight which helps clamp down the art.  But when you get them spend a couple minutes de-burring the ends with a file.  The straight edges have foam on the bottom, which keeps them in place and allows me to fearlessly place them over the image areas of fine art papers and canvas.  And I like the "safety" straight edges not so much because they're safe, but because that vertical thingy is a terrific aid to keeping your utility knife vertical, one kinda registers one's little pinky of one's cutting hand against it as one makes the cut.

Oh yeah, forget those stupid Xacto knives.  Use a man-sized Utility Knife.  Make sure you get a model with a quick-change blade release, fiddling with those old-fashioned screws is a pain.  And the only utility knife blades worth a hoot are Stanley #1992 Heavy Duty Utility Blades.  All those other, fancy, hi-tech blades you see on the rack are frauds.

The matte I indicated has no markings.  If you must, get one with markings, but don't count on them for precision work.  That matte is also a great surface for joining polystryene frames, which is the Future of Framing.  framah may disagree.

[hugowolf]

I use a 54 inch Rotatrim and a 28 1/4 inch Dahle. I don't know where I would be without them. I do use 2 x 3 foot and 4 x 6 foot self healing cutting mats with blades and straight edges for mount cutting. the Dahle is wall mountable, which is handy for storage.

Brian A

[Justan]

I bought a used 36” Rotatrim that I found by doing an advanced search in Craig’s list. It is one of my best bargain purchases.

Over time I found that using a long metal ruler or T square and a utility knife does a great job. This takes some practice to be able to keep the edge cutting along the ruler line. Lean the knife edge one way and it will wander away from the ruler’s edge, lean it the other way and it will try to cut the ruler, which absolutely trashes the blade, or worse, it will push the ruler out of the way and ruin the straight edge and the print as well. So it’s important to keep the blade straight up and down.

I have 3 rulers – a 48” a 72” and a 96.” When I use the longer rulers I clamp them to the table so they cannot move. With the shorter one, I cut about 1.5’ and then move my hand and cut another 1.5’ By doing this, there is always pressure on the ruler and that stops the knife from pushing the ruler around, if the blade is leaning toward the ruler (see above).

Also, always use a sharp blade. Buy blades by the box and change them frequently. Probably a good idea to have some Band-Aids nearby as well.

You can also find a work tables on Craig’s list. I paid $200 for a 10’ long oak dinner table and chairs, including having the guy deliver it. I raised the table a bit and it’s now a wonderful work table. I keep some gatorboard on the table top and it takes most of the knife hits.

Plus I got some chairs for my work area. These are frequently put to work as the foundations for drying racks, step ladders, coat racks, and so on.

[mstevensphoto]

I far prefer straight edge and utility knife. good ol 3 for 14.98 Husky retractable razor knives are my favorite. go through anything with a single pass, no finger cramps. I am adamantly against foam/rubberized straight edges, they always mar something for me. I like plain ol aluminum or stainless, thicker is better.

hit up craigslist for a 70's or 80's drafting table if you don't want to build something.

[designpartners]

we use a Keencut Evolution e2
http://www.fosterkeencut.com/Products/CuttersTrimmers/PrecisionCutterBars/EvolutionE2Series/tabid/2576/Default.aspx
not sure how the price compares to rotatrim but it's brilliant for what we need it for.
it cuts foam core mounted prints wonderfully also which we use for presentations all the time.

[Clearair]

I use a Rotatrim, measured the actual cutting length at 50 inch. Always wanted one, never had the money.
Found it on ebay. Local school had 2  

Over spec for the little darlings and too heavy for health & safety (in a school?)
Both had large amounts of glue and bits on them, and one was out of whack in the rota housing.

The better one cleaned up great and works so smooth and I don't go all hot and cold worrying about the pinkies.

Bit aerobic to use but I am happy with the clean cuts even with canvas.

Rotatrim have parts and are easy to contact.

Paid £175.00

[Randy Carone]

+1 on the Keencut Evolution. I've used a 100"+ to cut 1266 pop-up banner images directly from rolls of material. I would not have attempted this with the old 'straight edge and utility knife' method, which we do use for small, single one-off fine art images. The Evolution paid for itself on that one job. Keencut offers the highest quality cutters I've used and the distribution center in PA has always been able to answer my questions. BTW, no affiliation just a satisfied user.