I turn my rotatrim around so that the cutter and bars are facing me. It’s a lot easier to see the metal edge every time. Completely sped up my workflow.
I found this video to be extremely helpful. Thank you for your knowledge on the equipment and procedures. As a Walmart employee, I can tell you that we rarely receive enough critcal training.
THANK YOU! I just got a Dahle trimmer (similar style to your Rotatrim) and it's been a struggle cutting full bleed prints without getting a little white strip. Love the corner trick!!
Nice tip on the corner trick. Since I sign my prints (as taught in a workshop at Ansel Adams Gallery), I need a 0.75" white border on all four sides. I struggle to get that border consistently and accurately despite the scale and grid. I would like to see you demo that in a future video. Thanks!
Thank you for the TIP about the corner trim. I am going to try it on my craft paper cutter!!! AND I am going to make diagonal lines on my digital paper as markers to see how that cuts! Thank you so much
Thanks for this great video. Love the corner trick. I notice that you don't have the black side guide installed. I can see why removing it would be good for material that extends past the platform. Is taking the black side guide on and off difficult with the Rotatrim Pro?
Interesting trick, will have to try. My question/concern is the plastic guard. I'm always worried that it will scratch the paper. Is that not something you've seen?
No, I’ve never seen an issue with it. They designed it with a smooth surface and a nice rounded edge so it goes under without any issues. One thing though is you want to keep it clean. Every now and then wipe a soft cloth along the under side of the guard. If debris gets under it that will do some scratching.
It can, as long as the canvas isn’t too thick and you don’t do it excessively. Otherwise you could dull the blade faster than the self sharpening could help. But most canvas designed for photo printing should be fine.
I have had my RotaTrim for decades. I suspect that is is a tad bit off square, so I am looking for a video of how to "true my RotaTrim", but haven't found one yet.
Yes, you can. I actually have a friend of mine that orders 17” rolls and every now and then he’ll come in and use my rotatrim to cut down a big batch of 17x22 and stores it in a box. Down side to that is you have to deal with the curl from the roll.
I have my portfolio that has perfectly cut pages (not one page is larger or smaller than any of the others), so how did my portfolio builder do it on her Ideal 1071 A2 Professional Guilotine? What I'm essentially asking is, when I'm adding new prints to my portfolio, when I get my RotaTrim (A3 size), how do I cut my pages so they're EXACTLY the same size as the pages she cut for me AND so that the the images are in the same place on the page? I hope whoever reads this understands my question implicitly, thanks. :)
To repeat the process measuring would be really important. To get repeatable measurements something I have done is to tape drafting triangles to the board so I have a marker to push up against. The ideal has built in guides to help with this as well as the capability to cu up to 40 sheets all at once.
With it being a horizontal movement and it being right in front of you, I don’t see it being an issue. I also have another print lab that I run at a university and there are hundreds of students that come through there both righties and lefties, no one has mentioned a problem yet. I’ve even seen people flip it upside down and use it that way.
Look for lint free cotton gloves, like the ones Carlos uses in this video. Even rubber gloves would work. Just make sure not to get skin oils on the finger tips where you’ll be handling the prints.
I turn my rotatrim around so that the cutter and bars are facing me. It’s a lot easier to see the metal edge every time. Completely sped up my workflow.
That’s a great hack! Thanks for sharing!
Just ordered a Rotatrim and found this video. I love the corner trick
I found this video to be extremely helpful. Thank you for your knowledge on the equipment and procedures. As a Walmart employee, I can tell you that we rarely receive enough critcal training.
Glad it helped
THANK YOU! I just got a Dahle trimmer (similar style to your Rotatrim) and it's been a struggle cutting full bleed prints without getting a little white strip. Love the corner trick!!
How does Dahle compare against Rotatrim?
Nice tip on the corner trick. Since I sign my prints (as taught in a workshop at Ansel Adams Gallery), I need a 0.75" white border on all four sides. I struggle to get that border consistently and accurately despite the scale and grid. I would like to see you demo that in a future video. Thanks!
Add crop marks in your layout software then cut based on those.
Thank you for the TIP about the corner trim. I am going to try it on my craft paper cutter!!! AND I am going to make diagonal lines on my digital paper as markers to see how that cuts! Thank you so much
How’d that go? Did the corner trick work on your craft cutter?
Thank you!!! great video and tips!
We hope it helped.
Thanks for this great video. Love the corner trick. I notice that you don't have the black side guide installed. I can see why removing it would be good for material that extends past the platform. Is taking the black side guide on and off difficult with the Rotatrim Pro?
No, it’s actually really easy. Loosen it enough and it slides right on and off.
Interesting trick, will have to try. My question/concern is the plastic guard. I'm always worried that it will scratch the paper. Is that not something you've seen?
No, I’ve never seen an issue with it. They designed it with a smooth surface and a nice rounded edge so it goes under without any issues. One thing though is you want to keep it clean. Every now and then wipe a soft cloth along the under side of the guard. If debris gets under it that will do some scratching.
Can Rotatrim be used for cutting canvas prints since it has a self-sharpening feature?
It can, as long as the canvas isn’t too thick and you don’t do it excessively. Otherwise you could dull the blade faster than the self sharpening could help. But most canvas designed for photo printing should be fine.
I have had my RotaTrim for decades. I suspect that is is a tad bit off square, so I am looking for a video of how to "true my RotaTrim", but haven't found one yet.
Very helpful. Can you use the Rotatrim to cut down a roll of photo paper, i.e., a 17" wide roll (by 24 or 39, etc.) to 17x22?
Yes, you can. I actually have a friend of mine that orders 17” rolls and every now and then he’ll come in and use my rotatrim to cut down a big batch of 17x22 and stores it in a box. Down side to that is you have to deal with the curl from the roll.
Thank you so much! And also your advice about the curl. I hadn't thought of that.
Could you please tell me the brand and type of paper used in the video?
For the two prints I cut I used Moab Lasal Photo Matte and Moab Lasal Exhibition Luster
I have my portfolio that has perfectly cut pages (not one page is larger or smaller than any of the others), so how did my portfolio builder do it on her Ideal 1071 A2 Professional Guilotine?
What I'm essentially asking is, when I'm adding new prints to my portfolio, when I get my RotaTrim (A3 size), how do I cut my pages so they're EXACTLY the same size as the pages she cut for me AND so that the the images are in the same place on the page? I hope whoever reads this understands my question implicitly, thanks. :)
To repeat the process measuring would be really important. To get repeatable measurements something I have done is to tape drafting triangles to the board so I have a marker to push up against.
The ideal has built in guides to help with this as well as the capability to cu up to 40 sheets all at once.
With it only cutting from right to left, will it be hard for a lefthanded person to use?
With it being a horizontal movement and it being right in front of you, I don’t see it being an issue. I also have another print lab that I run at a university and there are hundreds of students that come through there both righties and lefties, no one has mentioned a problem yet.
I’ve even seen people flip it upside down and use it that way.
@@TheVisualCenter Thank you for your timely response!
this helped a lot, what type of gloves is recommended??
Look for lint free cotton gloves, like the ones Carlos uses in this video. Even rubber gloves would work. Just make sure not to get skin oils on the finger tips where you’ll be handling the prints.