Is it possible to have entire rolls of paper cut?

[dwswager]

I have a 13 inch printer and am trying to find a way to get paper for prints of wide aspects like 1:3.  I'm looking at Epson Exhibition Fiber and Hot Press Bright and Natural.  While the 260gm Luster comes in a 13" roll, neither of these other papers do. 

I was wondering if there is a way to have a 24" roll cut down to basically a 13" and an 11" roll?

[Mark Lindquist]

Yep - take it to a woodworker who has a good chopsaw.  Cover the roll where you want it cut with painters tape.

Have him blow off the rolls with compressed air before you leave.

Many ways to cut a roll down - best not to try it with a bandsaw ubless you know what you're doing.

A good large sliding chop saw works well.  Nice straight cuts but would be best if hooked to a vacuum system.

[alain]

There's special equipment for that cuts a roll.

[bill t.]

My most recent attempt to cut a canvas roll with a TCG blade made such a thread-bare mess at the cuts that I didn't want to put the stuff through my printer.  Might have been OK with paper media, or maybe not.

Later, an industrial engineer told me the best choice for layered materials is a "wide angle ATB blade" where the cutting tips were more pointy than a normal blade, and tilted out more from the plane of the blade disc.  In other words, more knife-like.  Never tried it.

Was kinda hairy getting that roll cut and things could easily have gone out of control, best to leave that to the pros.

[Some Guy]

There's special equipment for that cuts a roll.

Yep.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KLvGWcv2jDM

Sort of a scary thin rotary knife blade and the sharpening of it shown at the beginning.

If all you want to do is cut 13" wide from a wider roll and 39" long (1:3 ratio), maybe you could cut it with a hacksaw to about 13.5 inches wide.  Then roll off 40" or so for length, and manually cut the hacksawed edge on a cutting mat with a rotary blade and a meter long straight edge to make it 13" wide.  Trim the end down to 39 inches too.

I'd also store those flat once cut and not on a roll as it may cause curling issues inside the printer.

SG

[disneytoy]

You have to watch that video. China has absolutely no SAFETY in the workplace. This guy stands dead in front of a high speed giant blade. He doesn't even veer to the left or right of it. Yikes.

[Some Guy]

You have to watch that video. China has absolutely no SAFETY in the workplace. This guy stands dead in front of a high speed giant blade. He doesn't even veer to the left or right of it. Yikes.

You noticed that too?

Plus, he reaches around what looks to be a 15" diameter spinning razor blade to the hand-wheels for the sharpener adjustment.  If that blade ever flew apart from him cranking on those wheels too much... 

SG

[Mark Lindquist]

Like I said, take it to a woodworker.  They have many ways of cutting round objects.  Even if the guy has to build a simple jig, it will be fine.  I have cut rolls and quickly sanded the ends on a 12" stationary disc sander doing a rolling sand.  Smooth as silk.  Roll must be tightly wrapped. 

Most woodworkers have the tools and means.

If you don't have the mojo, don't do it at home.

[Mark Lindquist]

My most recent attempt to cut a canvas roll with a TCG blade made such a thread-bare mess at the cuts that I didn't want to put the stuff through my printer. 

Whooo-yeah..... any kind of fabric with any normal blade is big trouble.  I've done it and didn't like it either.

Woooo-weeeeee! 

[bill t.]

Whooo-yeah.....
Woooo-weeeeee! 

I recall that those and some even more colorful phrases were invoked as the roll attempted to rotate under the saw blade!  I was in way over my head on that one.

[Mark Lindquist]

I recall that those and some even more colorful phrases were invoked as the roll attempted to rotate under the saw blade!  I was in way over my head on that one.

You can make a simple jig easily, Bill, if you have bandsaw.  Make 2-4 flat squares about 1/2-3/4" bigger on each side than the diameter of the roll.  Make a circle cut the exact diameter of the roll, entering in on one side withe bandsaw and exiting same straight line cut.  Pre-drill a hole for a sheetrock screw on one side - countersink to prevent splitting.  (The "ant-roll block jig" tightens or clamps down on the roll when you tighten the screw.  When properly positioned and tightened it will keep the roll from spinning/rotating using any kind of blade or cutting device).  Make as many as you need.  Put the "anti-roll blocks" on the roll appropriately spaced where it will work best for the cutting machine.  You can either make additional "square anti-roll clamps" or just make some shims the exact height under the roll to go on either side of the blade.  If you need to use the system for future cuts - meaning you do this frequenty, glue the clamp-blocks onto a sheet of apprpriately sized plywood, etc., etc.

One of many ways to skin this cat.

Mark

[aaronchan]

You need something call a roll paper slitter

[disneytoy]

I agree, the most elegant way would be to run the roll to a new roll with a blade set to slit the paper. That would be the cleanest cut. It would require building something.

[brinked]

I wish I could order 25" wide rolls for my 9890.  I print so many 24" wide prints and waste so much paper printing on the 36" roll.  But I need to have a 24.5" thickness so I am stuck.   Thats the least of my problems though.

[bill t.]

The problem with slitting is that you have to run the media through the air between rolls, generating static and picking up dust in the process.  Even worse, dedicated hardware and valuable floor space is required.  I recently though about adapting a fancy laminator for roll to roll slitting, but nah!

The now out-of-business guys in Oakland who used to cut down rolls back in the days of the Epson 2200 told me all about it.  They were actually sawing the rolls with equipment that did not seem to generate sawdust or mangle the media.  Their secret died with them.  Still have some of those rolls.

PS  If you need to waste some time, this video is kinda fun around 2:35 where smoke starts pouring out of the ends of a vinyl roll being sawed.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xoa2B8e0Srg

[darlingm]

I've been recommended to use a horizontal band saw.  Its blade is quite slow, which avoids burn marks.  I purchased a used one, and need to refurbish it a bit before using it.

[Phil Indeblanc]

Just cut down a 50" to 44" with a chop saw as Mark said. Make sure you don't tape off too much as the tape can lift any coats. I didn't have any problems, but something to consider. A good a clean cut with no loose strings.

Funny enough, the day after I purchased the 50" canvas, I was driving down the street and there were some cabinet workers by my house. I stopped and asked them if they would cut it for me, as I noticed they were cutting thick plywood.
I figured this would be an OK blade for such a job. So I asked them and they cut it.

Paper will be next, and I expect it to be as easy, except I'll have to pull my chop saw out and make sure I have a good blade for it. I wonder, If you go too slow you may get burns?

[hugowolf]

I have a chop saaw with no problems. You really have to vacuum the ends afterwards.

Brian A

[Mark Lindquist]

Best to hook the vacuum up to the chopsaw before and during cutting.  Afterwards, remove the tape, then use the vacuum again with compressed air lightly, aiming across cut surface and in tube towards vacuum.

Piece of cake....

[Phil Indeblanc]

Piece of cake....

Shouldn't that be "Piece of paper" ?

;-)