Paper Cutters Key Terms

Learning key paper cutter features will help you stock the most versatile products

By Denise Ryan

Whether you’re catering to home crafters using paper cutters for scrapbooking and card-making projects or businesses that need commercial trimmers to slice through documents or artwork, familiarizing yourself with the product’s terminology will help you order and suggest the right paper cutters. Although paper cutters essentially perform the same basic functions of cutting, scoring, perforating or adding a decorative edge, some customers may request features like a rotary blade and edge light, while others don’t have a need for them. Consider this overview of the basic terms to ensure your products entice your target market.

Guillotine trimmer

If your elementary school had a paper cutter in the office, it was probably the traditional guillotine trimmer style. Adept at slicing through several layers of paper or other materials, the guillotine trimmer has a long, extremely sharp blade on a swing arm attached at the top of the trimmer. To cut, customers must position the paper under the blade and press down to slice.
Try: Blue Page covers paper cutter safety tips, particularly in reference to guillotine-style paper trimmers. The site also features articles on paper cutter materials, computer controls, terms and related resources.

Rotary blade

Instead of the guillotine blade on a swing arm, some paper trimmers have a rotary blade housed in a cartridge that the user slides up or down the guide arm to make a cut. Some paper trimmers include interchangeable rotary blades that have scoring, perforating or decorative edges to turn the trimmer into a multi-function tool.
Try: Paper Cutter Store provides descriptions of different types of paper cutters, including rotary trimmers. Information also covers the types of materials that work best with a rotary blade.

Cutting bar

Also called a guide bar or cutting arm, the cutting bar on manual paper trimmers typically holds the cutting blade in a track that lets it slide up and down to make the actual cut. Some trimmers have a stationary cutting bar, while others swing up on hinges to allow customers to easily position the paper.
Try: Scrapjazz discusses different types of cutting bars on a variety of paper trimmer models. The site also covers additional paper trimmer features in its selection guide and product reviews.

Clamp

Often aided by a long magnet along the cutting surface, a clamp on a paper trimmer holds the paper steady. The automatic clamp is handy when positioning paper, particularly when making precision cuts.
Try: Product and feature descriptions at Lamination Plus detail the benefits of an effective clamp when trimming paper.

Edge light

An edge light, also called an illuminated cutting line or optical cutting line, will show customers where the paper trimmer will make its cut. An add-on feature to deluxe paper trimmers, the light eliminates the need to make pencil marks to ensure the trimmer is cutting the paper or artwork in the right place.
Try: Genesis Trimmer discusses the benefits of an edge light, as well as ways to use and install it on this particular paper trimmer.