Paper Cutters- who's got one, and what do you suggest?

[alexfugazi]

Hey guys-
I'm finally moving out of my garage into a REAL shop- and I'm tired of driving all over town for films and cutting and stuff.

SO...what type of electronic/ hydraulic paper cutter do some of you guys have, and what do you suggest purchasing? I'm a big fan of USED equipment, eh?

[paul204]

If you're in a big city, wait a for an old manual cutter, 30" blade. Dirt cheap and safer/less hassle than a hydraulic cutter. Make sure it's got some good blades with it, new ones are expensive. Getting blades sharpened isn't expensive, so don't worry if they're dull.

You'll regret buying a smaller one if you do. Cutters with 30" wide beds still have a tricky time with full sized parent sheets but can handle anything in a pinch.

[Josh Rickun]

i've got an old chandler and price...turns a stack of jeans into short shorts with no effort

[squeegeethree]

Ours is neither electronic nor Hydraulic. Purely mechanical. The is a 500 lbs flywheel that upon reaching full momentum creates all the energy for the cutting.

[Nicholas Wilson]

We have a hydraulic Challenge 305, and I wish we had something that could cut 40".

[PedalPrinting]

We have always used old challengers. They are simple machines, no bells and whistles. Therefore commercial shops are replacing them with a lot of new micro/digital adjust machines. So they are cheap on the market and easy to maintain. We have had both manual "jump up and down" style and hydraulic style cutters. Someday I'd love something with microcut jr, but for now manual turn cutters work just fine. I'd suggest making sure whatever you buy was in use right before purchase and had a service/maintenance schedule, especially if its hydraulic.

We purchased an older circa mid 1980's model that had been out of use for 5-6 years, it was pretty rusted, had not been maintained and adjusted properly. The hydraulic paper clamp had come of out adjustment and was hitting down to hard on one side vs. the other. It eventually cracked in half on us. We also had an issue where the jogger block(what pushes the paper) at one point came out of adjustment and hit against the blade(shattered it). So be very aware of your machine, keep bolts tight, hydraulics fluids full and pressure correct. Keep your table waxed so it does not rust and transfer to your paper. Blades have to stay clean and sharp(look for a local sharpener). And most of all BE CAREFUL. They are very dangerous machines. Paper sheer blades are sharper than any knife you have ever touched, and just their weight alone is enough to take off a finger/hand if you were to drop a blade while cleaning/changing out.

[squeegeethree]

44" wide cutting 54" deep. These can be found for cheap but they are costly to move.

[exxxlonghair]

This is all good info, I have been scouring craigslist for one for the last two years. I can find tons of 19" wide cutter but nothing in the larger range.

[Fools Gold]

30+ year old Challenge 30.5 . . . great cutter, manuel clamp, hydraulic cut.

Make sure you find one that's setup for your shops power supply. I spent a year looking for a 30"+ that ran on single phase 220, most where 3 phase 220.

30" is fine to cut 26" parent sheets.

[vrooooom]

I really want to buy one (it's up there with a large format ink jet), but every time I think about it, all I can picture is losing a finger / hand.

Strangely enough, hand-feeding a letterpress doesn't bother me. Hmm..