Dahle508 Personal Rotary Trimmer, 18" Cut Length, 5 Sheet Capacity, Self-Sharpening, Automatic Clamp, German Engineered Paper Cutter

I use this to cut 17" wide heavy weight photo paper and inkjet matte art paper to precise lengths for printing posters and for trimming margins from artwork. The guides and rails are straight, the base is stable but not too heavy, and it's a good size for storage. I do wish they could somehow make it easier to load the stiff roll paper into it and I wish the clear plastic paper holder were easier to get in and out. The manual was very clear and explained how the wheel must not be allowed between the metal cutting rule and the body of the device, which happened to me on my third cut but was easily fixed.This is my first rotary cutter and I am wondering where they have been all my life. Yes you lose the drama and tense anticipation of using a swing-arm cutter, it doesn't feel as cozy as the wood and large steel swing blade, but the Dahle rotary cutter makes straighter, more precise cuts and is easier to store, move, and align paper on. No finesse required, just place the material, position your fingers on the paper holder, and use steady pressure on the cutter bogey as you slice the paper and leave a true straight edge as good as factory cut sheets.

The media could not be loaded. This is an excellent paper trimmer. I am an avid crafter, and use my Dahle trimmers, daily. I sell my crafts in my Etsy shop, so my cuts need to be nice and precise. I have two Dahles and they are well worth the money. I have the 550, which too big to move around, and the blue 507, 12 inch, in this listing. The 12 inch blue is not very heavy, and may be moved around, easily, although it is heavier than your average plastic trimmer.If you are familiar with the plastic trimmers that most crafters use, then this will be a huge step-up. It cuts precisely. In order to make skinny cuts, gently remove the plastic ruler/paper holder. It’s easy. Be gentle. SEE VIDEO. Also, there is a small learning curve: Know your cutter, and learn how to maintain it. This is not a plastic hobby-store trimmer.BTW, I changed the blade in my huge trimmer, once, in 4 years. The blade replacements cost about 20.00. I’ve spent more than this on my plastic trimmer blades. In fact, I could have purchased many Dahle trimmers with the money I’ve spent on the plastic trimmer blades. I keep my blade clean and oiled, every few months. In other words, I maintain the trimmer.

I bought this same paper cutter in 3 years ago. When the blade became dull, I ordered another. The new one worked for about a month and then started tearing instead of cutting. I tried to take it apart to make sure the blade was propetly aligned (something that I had found easy to do in the past) but the parts were misaligned and I could not take it apart. I tried to reach customer service. They bounced me around. Finally transferred my issue to their North American affiliate who promptly closed my case as "resolved" (!!!) without ever contacting me. DON"T BUY THIS PRODUCT!!!

As I needed a rotary trimmer that could cut 18", I narrowed my choices to the Dahle 508 and Carl RT-218 models and purchased both. The differences were stark. Most important to me is the precision of the cuts; here, Dahle was far superior. Cuts can be easily aligned before trimming. Unfortunately, with the Carl, an unnecessary ruler to the right of the blade makes precise alignments hit-and-miss, which is the biggest problem with the Carl. Its mechanism is wobbly and imprecise by design. This issue is made worse by the fact that the product is constructed entirely of plastic. By contrast, the Dahle's bed and trimmer support rail (90% of the product, I'd guess) are made of metal. Also, its narrower footprint saves space, which is a big plus for me. In this class of rotary trimmers, I strongly recommend the Dahle 508.

Just know that you will likely only get 1 or 2 of the rubber feet that it's supposed to have, but it works well so far, seems well engineered that triangular(?) rail that the cutter rides on really adds to a precise ride (slide?). So I guess I took away a star for rubber feet and flimsy packaging.

This machine is so accurate and won't eat up your paper like the other smaller versions. I needed a wider cutter then my Fiskar as I had larger print paper to cut. I was also tiered of ruining prints because it ate my paper. This thing is AMAZING. I can't even tell you how happy I am. It will do the smallest shiver cut if you didn't cut right the first time. It costs a bit more, but trust me, it will save you from headaches and redos.

From going from an old worn out guillotine cutter that was heavy and hard to store to this was great. I wish the plastic piece at the edge that your paper goes under was more flush with the edge so I could line up the cut by eye instead of guesstimate. Other than that, I have no complaints. I know the more expensive models are more durable and nicer, but for the money, I couldn't be happier.

BUY THIS!!!This cutter is divine !!!Yeah she’s a big girl but I got big things to cut so yeahI have arthritis in my hands but this has ease of operation.