What's a Better Alternative to Pre-Perforated Papers?

Question: What's a Better Alternative to Pre-Perforated Papers?

I like the convenience of pre-perforated papers for business cards and postcards, but the paper is not the best quality and often the perforations are noticable. If I cut my own, what's the best way to do it?

Answer: There are a lot of cutting devices out there. However, for most paper cutting tasks such as business cards, postcards, trimming photos, and such then rotary cutters, arm cutters, and guillotine cutters are your most common types of paper trimming devices.

Scissors or knives can do only a sheet or two at a time and you need a steady hand to keep the lines straight. But for short cuts and a small quantity, they are the least expensive option.

Rotary paper cutters consist of a platform to hold the paper and a plastic or metal guide bar that holds the cutting blade. The paper is placed under the guide bar where the cut is to be made and the blade slides up or down the bar slicing through the paper. Desktop rotary cutters, often used for scrapbooking, work well for just a sheet, maybe two, at a time and are more precise than scissors.

Compare Prices on Fiskars 24" Rotary Paper Trimmer.

Arm paper cutters also known as swing blade or lever cutters consist of a wood or plastic platform and a long blade that is attached at one end to a corner of the platform. These paper cutters can handle more than a few sheets at a time but even with them it can be slow-going and you still end up with uneven cuts quite often -- especially with multiple sheets or on long cuts. If you do go this route, spring for a good quality paper cutter with a clamp to hold the paper in place. The better ones can hold 20 to 50 sheets and generally cost $100-$300. Less expensive models may only hold 5 to 10 sheets and the cheaper ones are worse than using scissors. With any kind, keep the blade sharp.

Compare Prices on X-Acto 12" Laser-Guided Paper Trimmer.

Compare Prices on Premier 30" Paper Cutter (note that they call it guillotine style but this is an arm-style blade).

Compare Prices on Martin Yale Industries 36" Paper Trimmer.

Guillotine or Stack Paper Cutters can be manual or electric. A clamp holds a stack of paper in place and then by pulling a handle (manual) or pushing a button (automatic) the blade comes down through the paper. For home use, they are more expensive and bulkier than rotary or arm cutters but if you are willing to pay $500 to $700 then they provide the best cuts and can handle stacks of 100 to 400 sheets. However, you could take your stack of printed material to a print shop that has a heavy-duty electric semi-automatic or automatic guillotine cutter and pay a small fee per cut. These things can quickly do large stacks of paper (3 inches thick) with great precision.

Compare Prices on Martin Yale Industries 200 Sheet Paper Cutter.

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