(Part 2) Best rotary paper trimmers according to redditors
We found 72 Reddit comments discussing the best rotary paper trimmers. We ranked the 28 resulting products by number of redditors who mentioned them. Here are the products ranked 21-40. You can also go back to the previous section.
Swingline
With the laser cutter I was just playing with the settings myself, I could cut 5 sheets at a time with clean (though brown) edges but anything more and it would start to burn. If it were my own laser, I wouldn't mind so much and I could set up multiple stacks of paper with registration lines but I was on borrowed time.
That trimmer you linked is an idea, I have a fancy Rotatrim I could use like that, it will just be time consuming. Time isn't a big problem for this project obviously, I only need to make one book and I'm not selling anything but I like to think in terms of production. I will have to look around town for a clicker, it seems like an invaluable tool for book art, especially when you think about stamping covers.
The 110lb Index is an uncoated cover stock. As the name suggests, it is the same material they make 3x5 index cards with. There is no coating, so ink will soak into the stock and hold nicely.
The 67lb Vellum Bristol is coated with a soft matte. It is significantly lighter in weight than the index. The coating on this stock is fairly light compared to other kinds of card and cover stock, but will be more prone to smudging than the 110lb Index. It will still work for your purposes since the coating is light and not a glossy cover.
The weights of paper stocks can be confusing. You can find an in depth explanation of weights here and here. The main point being that each category of stock will have a different way of measuring weights. The universal way to tell what stock is heavier/thicker is through the metric grams per square meter (gsm).
I personally would recommend the 110lb Index over the 67lb Vellum Bristol. I prefer an uncoated stock when working with my notebooks. The thickness between the two stocks aren't terribly apparent at a quick glance (200 gsm for the Index vs 140 gsm for the Vellum Bristol), but you'll definitely notice a difference with prolonged use.
Most consumer guillotines are prone to warping and creating a non-straight cut due to the curved blade. I would recommend a rotary trimmer.
I hope this is helpful for you! Feel free to ask anything else that comes to mind.
Source: am a print services supervisor for a large retail printing facility.
It would be if it would accept a 24" wide sheet. Until then, this is the old standby.
I usually just start with basic 110lb cardstock. This is commonly available at Staples and other sources, and is easy to run through almost any printer.
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https://www.staples.com/Staples-Card-Stock/product_SS992807
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Once things are a little more stable you can either print onto label stock and put it onto mat board, or just print onto regular paper and use a spray adhesive like this:
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https://www.uline.com/BL_773/3M-Light-Duty-Aerosols
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For cutting, you can use an xacto knife and a metal ruler. But if you're going to be cutting a lot, it's worth investing in a rotary cutter like this:
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https://www.amazon.com/Heavy-Rotary-Paper-Trimmer-18inch/dp/B0006HV9O8
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That Carl rotary trimmer is by far the most useful thing I have ever purchased to help me with game prototypes.
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Find a method that is most convenient for you and allows you to make and alter cards as quickly as possible.
What works for me:
I use 3x5 index cards cut in half for my initial prototypes. Once I want a higher quality prototype I use multideck for mac. Multideck takes csv datasources for card content and then you use a wysiwyg editor for card layout. I then print the cards on regular printer paper and cut them with a guillotine paper cutter. Cutting was the biggest time sink for me, so I think a good paper cutter is essential. Once cut, I sleeve the cards with a magic card as a back to make them sturdy. One last tip: If you are going to sleeve your cards, make the layout of the cards you print slightly smaller than the sleeve you plan to put it in.
Links to resources mentioned above:
edit: lists are hard
I went to staples and bought a slide cutter.
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https://www.amazon.com/Fiskars-SureCut-Portable-Paper-Trimmer/dp/B000OMYB18/ref=pd_sbs_229_2/132-5103649-4317965?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_i=B000OMYB18&pd_rd_r=ea2eea45-752a-11e9-a70e-fdfd69152f1b&pd_rd_w=XauCU&pd_rd_wg=I3OCF&pf_rd_p=588939de-d3f8-42f1-a3d8-d556eae5797d&pf_rd_r=HSFEGFBQ1A4B4N10CQ5B&psc=1&refRID=HSFEGFBQ1A4B4N10CQ5B
One of these, and it was really easy to cut in straight lines with.
Here's all the files you'll need.
For the paper, I just use standard 8.5x14" Legal paper. My printer has a duplexer, but it won't duplex legal, so I had to do a manual duplex (flipping the paper over by hand and printing everything again). The cover is 65lb Bristol Board and was manually duplexed as well.
My books have 10 pages in them, which is made by two sides of 5 sheets of paper. The pages print 2-up per page and they are cut down the middle long-ways, that way when you fold them in half, the score sheet appears on the front page and the notes page ends up on the back of the score sheet. 5 sheets of paper make two books. I have a paper cutter that can cut the full length of the legal sheet, but if you don't, you can simply use a straight edge and a razor blade, or if you have a regular paper cutter, you can just fold the pages in half on the short edge, then cut them in half on the long edge.
Once everything is stapled, I round the corners using a corner cutter. Here's a cheaper corner cutter, but it can't handle the whole book at once. I have both of those corner cutters, and the cheaper one comes in very handy for other projects I do.
In that link is both Trap and Skeet books. I have a doubles sheet, but I need to finish the cover. Once I get done with it, it'll be in that link as well.