Side by Side Comparison of: Swingline vs Best Laminating® vs Hammermill

I love this paper cutter! I have used the same style, but in a larger size for the past 5 years in my elementary art classroom, and it had been in use for many years before that. The arm stays up until you're ready to pull it down, and you don't have to worry about pulling the arm in while pulling it down like you do on some other cutters. I can cut up to 5 sheets of thick drawing paper at a time, and do not have to worry about frayed edges. It can handle the mass quantities of paper I cut year after year for my 750 some students. I highly recommend this cutter for someone who needs a cutter for frequent/daily use.

Precise, sturdy and professional, you can't go wrong with it. I bought 3 before this one, they were all lousy trimmers, this is the one to look for If you're looking for a perfect trim that can cut through thick card stock paper or thin layers of plastic.

I am an art teacher, and this is equivalent to what we have at work. I got it for my personal home studio and I am pleased. If you do any serious work with paper, get the 24", not 18".

I was looking for a paper cutter that would do a good job on cardboard to make parrot toys with. This paper cutter is excellent. I use clean cardboard boxes and cut them into shapes to make parrot toys. I would definitely buy this cutter again. It slices through cardboard like a butter knife going through butter.

If you want to cut large photo prints or other art work, a 24 inch board will do the trick. For me, this need arises due to an Epson Stylus Pro 4900 - 17 inch large format photo printer.This cutting board is made of solid wood like what I remember from school days in the 1960-70s. Heavy duty stainless steel blade and a surface with standard half inch gridlines etched into solid wood. We didn't have any safty gaurds at that time. As one reviewer noted, the safety fence can easily be removed, but I shutter at the thought of removing a finger for that convenience. I think about my wife or that ocassional visitor; I can't predict the future, but accidents are always possible. I recommend keeping the safety in place.Nothing complicated about it, but it is NOT a toy. It might be too large if the majority of your needs are limited to letter sized stock only. But I doubt you're reading review with that in mind.

Although this tool costs slightly more than competing products, it is WORTH the additional cost. Reason? read through the reviews for other products, and read the details about this one. The swing arm is dye cast steel. That is a big deal! I can see the precision and feel the power in my cuts on this Swingline. Also, I have every intention of using this tool regularly, and don't expect it will wear out or fall apart. Even the maple is gorgeous - no cracks or unevenness. The wood grain makes me happy. I bring work projects home so I can use my ClassicCut Ingento.The one thing I've done to improve my experience is purchase an aluminum drafting t-square. Since the 2'x2' space is so large, it helps me to have a second ruler and another point of contact for my paper stack. I got along fine without it, though - so I'm sure that it's simply personal preference.

This cutter works better for my use than I could have dreamed. Swingline has been making these cutters since before I was born and I am 82. To stick around that long you have to be good. This 12.5 inch cutter is every bit as good as their larger more popular ones but on a smaller scale. There are cheaper ones on the market. The word "cheaper" says it all. Spend the money now or spend it later when you replace the cheaper one later.

Excellent paper cutter. Good, sharp blade, solid base, smooth hinge. For the price, a very professional paper cutter. I've used it to cut various thicknesses of paper, cardstock, and even cardboard, and the blade remains sharp and the cuts are clean. It's saved me lots of money - making my own marketing materials and cutting paper to appropriate sizes.

I searched long and hard to find a paper cutter that was well built and would stand the test of time (and many many uses). This product delivered on every aspect. The base is strong and study, the cutting arm is steel and very strong.It is being used on a constant basis and so far is holding up perfectly.

This is the one to get. I went through 4 before I was finally satisfied. I am a homeschool mom and use this to cut laminated projects. Its get sharper as you use it! It has weight to it so it doesn't lift as you lift the blade. I highly recommend. NO PLASTIC PARTS! Its so much better than the other items on the market.

I love this Swingline paper cutter. The hard wood construction and self-sharpening blade were some of the features that sold me on this. I have purchased cheaper paper cutters of various designs over the years, and I have been disappointed by each one. The Swingline does not, however, disappoint. It cleaves a clean, sharp cut through paper and cardstock alike. The guard, a solid metal bar near the cutting edge, does sometimes make a perfectly straight cut on a longer piece of paper challenging. I intend to remove this, as I don't live in a home with small children, and the guard is held in place by a simple Philip's head screw. In its place, I plan to make a heavy wooden block lined in felt or craft foam to protect the paper, as I use the cutter to trim out heat transfer designs and printed prop boxes and labels. I have made good use of this cutter even without this alteration, as it is well constructed and includes both a built in ruler and a quad pattern grid to help with precise placements for each cut. This is a quality paper cutter, and well worth the price.

This is a super sharp paper cutter. The measurements are not perfect. On mine, the lines on the wood work well, but the ruler is a bit off. I suppose I could adjust it with a little elbow grease, but for my purposes, I just need my paper to be the same length on all ends. I don't need to cut to precise measurements. If I line up the paper on the lines, it works just fine for me and makes cutting many sheets of paper at a time a breeze. If you need to use the ruler for precise measurements, I suggest buying something else or just expect that you will have to adjust the ruler yourself when you get it. For me, it is sharp and does what it is supposed to. It has been an invaluable tool in my workshop and I love it!

Good product but does not cut 100% square. It does cut clean

A fine cutting board, sturdy, sharp, straight cuts, and the size accommodates our 12 x 17 sheets too. Perfect for multiple departments and multiple projects in our church. Only reason for the loss of a star is the surface guide marks are a little pronounced on the new model (vs our ancient well-smoothed used model). The lines seem to snag the paper as you work the cuts - sliding the sheet is not smooth at this point. A definite good investment!

Cuts well and square as long as you firmly press down the paper while cutting. Otherwise the paper will skew a bit and cause an uneven shear. I use one of the wide clear plastic sewing rulers to hold the paper firm against the surface of the trimmer while cutting.

This works great! Sharp; and accurate - a much improved replacement to what we used to have. A good value!

could be better. the cut is a bit rough when cutting multiple sheets at a time. and the guide is not very accurate or square, which may not be an issue for most people. but i'm very detail oriented and these shortcomings are a bother. i'd still recommend this over the plastic versions.

The branding of this guillotine trimmer is a giant mess. It's not made by Swingline, but its "made to Swingline Standards" in Taiwan by a company called ACCO. I guess Swingline has licensed their name out, or something... There is also this card included that notifies you that you "may have been expecting a GBC brand paper trimmer, but noticed that instead you have received a Swingline trimmer." I don't know what this GBC brand is, its not mentioned anywhere else on Amazon, the trimmer, or the box. And its also not "really" a Swingline trimmer, like I said the brand on the bottom of the trimmer is ACCO. Its not a big deal I guess but it seems like the rights to this trimmer are getting swapped around a lot, its strange and the Amazon listing is misleading.It seems well made however. It cuts very well, straight and precise. The key is one fluid motion, don't be scared. Also don't jam a ton of paper in there to cut, its not meant for that. 3 to 5 sheets of regular paper or 1 or 2 pieces of thicker types at the max before things start to go wrong. obviously, it cuts better the closer to the spring that you are.It is not exactly like the trimmer pictured on Amazon, it lacks the letter molding on the handle, the handle is completely plain, kind of boring and disappointing. The cover over the spring is not clear like the picture, it is opaque and the same color as the handle, no biggie I guess.Make sure you look around in the packaging for the rubber feet, and attach them. I had to dig through a dumpster to find the box for mine once I realized it had them.

Nice weight to this cutter. Sharp blade. Seems to be good quality construction.

Works great. Love the look! When getting up towards the max capacity of papers (even just using copy paper) 15 was a little hard to cut accurately. I reduced it to 5 pages at a time with no problems. Can do 10-15 but I don't like to. The very end of the cut is slightly off.

A classic piece. The bade is sharp and perfectly calibrated, the base is heavy and solid, and the overall look is fantastic.My only complaint is that I wish it had something, anything, to help guide the paper in straighter. But I guess I chose durability over convenience (something I do not regret!)

Its okay. It does the job. But 5 or more pages or so through the cutter will slide a little and fray the edges. What Im using this for the pages don't have to look perfect. I was bought this to make my job easier instead of hand cutting each individual page with scissors. It does help me process stuff quicker but wouldn't be a good purchase for someone doing a professional task/job like making books.

This paper trimmer is fairly well made--not excellent, but certainly more than acceptable. I use it to cleanly and straightly cut light gauge soft sheet metal (silver, copper, brass), which attests to the strength, durability and sharpness of the cutter.

I needed a cutter for my 67 and 110 lb stock as well as my photo cards. The cutter is sturdy and easy to carry/move. It works well, and the handle stays up when placed.The only drawback for me are the lines (groves) in the board which sometimes prevents me from sliding my paper smoothly across the surface and the fact that it does not always make a clean cut. One has to remember the directions: to pull the blade down and inward when cutting - makes all the difference in the kind of cut you get.

This product cuts really well, but has a few shortcomings. Fit and finish are not great; the ruler and platform grid lines do not match, consequently cutting accuracy is compromised. Mounting hardware, and varnish are cheap and/or poorly applied. Specifically the ruler could leave you with a splinter or two. Lastly, the rubber feet fell off during shipping and I had to reattach (glue them) once again.If you require cutting accuracy you should likely look elsewhere. If you are simply cutting things that require a quick simple cut, this paper cutter will likely work fine. Since it's new, I cannot address it's ability to withstand regular use, or if the blade will dull quickly.

Very sturdy. Cuts well. No frills. Does the job.

Something was misaligned so I had to be careful to get a straight cut and not line my paper up with the edge.

We bought this cutter because of its safety features. Had to please the insurance company. The paper has to be lined up with the grid, not the backstop as it sets the paper up a little bit off. It works fine if you just use the grid lines.

We cut labels printed from our VERY precise laser printer and each label has cut lines. This trimmer does not cut down the line exactly (when lining it up against the ruler). It really goes off the longer the sheet. However, we've gotten used to adjusting our cuts a bit and the blade is nice and sharp -- very sturdy and industrial feeling. If you need precision, don't do it! If you're okay with eye-sighting finer adjustments, then it's the trimmer for you.

This is a heavy duty paper cutter that I purchased to cut paper for making paper beads. There are a few small improvements that could turn this into a 5 star cutter. It would be better if the measurements on the board were in 1/4" inch measurements instead of only 1/2" and 1" increments. . There are no measurement guidelines where the cutter is which makes it difficult unless you have marked the paper before cutting. The information states that it cuts multiple sheets but I found that it moves the bottom sheets making the size inconsistent with the top sheets.

Great build quality. Very sturdy, and the metal arm makes a world of difference over cheaper ones. The reason for the 3 star review is that the top ruler was crooked on mine. First thing I did was try to cut a straight line, and it failed. On closer inspection, I saw that the wooden ruler/guide at the top flared out towards the end. Easy enough fix. Removed it, sanded it on a flush surface, and now it's perfect. It's a shame I had to correct it myself, as cutting in a straight line is what this product was made for.

You have to pull the handle to the left as you cut.

My guillotine came a little defective. I need to twist the sheet slightly to get the perfect angle. Kind of disappointing.

does a fair job for pricesafety bar limits thickness of what you can cutruler doesn't extend to cutting edge

I used to have a 36'' cutter and somehow lost it. I tried to downsize and the 12'' does not cut the entire comp shingle. I am a roofer and the cutter gives me an excelent eadge on the ones that need cutting. I was surprised the ad said free shipping and then charged me for the shipping. I would have liked to change it for a 16'' but I had to use this one in order to see what it could do. Since I have used it for a couple days I dont think anyone else would want it. I am still useing it and it is easier to move arouned the roof and storrage may be a problem....I might loose it or end up covering it up with other tools.

I replaced the one I had because, multiple cuts to one piece of paper weren't accurate. This machine tends to pull the paper into the blade as well, so you have to be really careful while cutting.It's solid enough and the blade does appear to be sharp. I waste some paper trying to get the cuts right however.

almost impossible to get a straight cut

The blade is not as sharp as the old one we had. Nice clean look but cutting with it is not very helpful.

It does not cut straight.

If you are doing any serious cutting I would not suggest this guilotine. unable to cut straight line, and does not cut #80 paper very well at all. If you are using regular copy paper it might be worth the purchase. Very unhappy with this product.

In short, you'll not get a square cut, let alone a straight line, out of this paper cutter.Pros:1. Nice and heavy so it remains completely stable during use.2. Lots of easy-to-see lines for measuring.3. Looks expensive.Cons:1. Cuts are just awful. To try it out after I set it up, I grabbed 4 sheets of regular ol' paper (like you put in your printer). I backed it up against the blade and the guide on the back, made sure the paper showed lined up in every direction (lots of lines make that possible). I held the paper in place with my left hand spread out and pressed down on the 4 sheets of paper, and I pulled the blade handle down while (in accordance with the little sign on the cutter, pushing firmly to the left on the handle. The result? Half way through the 8 inch cut, it began creating a fuzzy edge which terminated in torn corners of every sheet. I compared each sheet to the next. Obviously none were straight, but not one sheet was the same as the next. And YES I had the handle pressed firmly to the left. I tried it with one sheet of paper. Only slightly better. I tried it with a sheet of cold press watercolor paper. No improvement. I tried it with two sheets of nice, thick Copic Sketch Book paper, and it was absolutely the worst. Even though the paper was small enough for me to keep both sheets in place with my left hand, the paper began bunching up. The cuts left in the paper had nothing much to do with "a straight line".I tried smooth Bristol. Actually, I thought my first cut was straight, so I cut a second strip to the same measurement. Ha! Neither of the two strips was squared on any corner, and each was different.In case you think the problem was a blade adjustment, I can hear the evenness of the steel blade as I push the handle firmly to insure the blade and the steel guide are connecting.Had to send it back. Going to try a Premier this time. I'll let you know.

I had to remove the built-in ruler, and using a square, I had to re-position this ruler so that it was actually "square" to the cutting blade. What good was this product if it did not cut square? Swingline must be outsourcing like much of America's Companies. What a shame too. Swingline use to be the very best you could buy. Not anymore! Keep searching....

I'm quite disappointed with this cutter as I expected more from a reputable name brand for the cost. The blades are metallic, though not sure if they are steel. The arm that one blade attaches to is plastic. My first attempt at cutting was a disaster. The countersunk screws were not flush catching on the stationary blade on each pass. An attempt to tighten one of them resulted in stripping the threads in the plastic arm. The amount for a clean cut of 20# paper is less than I would expect for what I wanted. I would not recommend this.

This paper cutter's spring mechanism broke after a years use. I would not recommend it

I ordered this cutter and was excited to get it...good reviews... I am not sure, but it did not work for me. Once I put say an 8x10 picture and start cutting, it lifts the photo paper towards the end and then the cut is not straight. I need to put my fingers very close to the edge of the cutter holding the paer down and this is not very secured... I tried and tried, and followed instructions of putting pressure moving the handle towards the left, it was still doing the same. Cut was sharp but not straight.:( Now I need to find another one...

this papercutter does not cutthe blade is covered with epoxyit tears the paper apartvery very unhappywhy cant you just send me an arm with an actual blade

Wow. What an inaccurate paper cutter. This machine completely ruined a project by giving me the false hope that it was accurate. It is not. The ruler guide doesn't match up with the inscribed grid of the cutting board. The closer it is to the blade the more inaccurate your cuts will be. I was using single sheet of 100# cardstock when I found that two of these papers stacked on each other was producing inaccurate cuts.One would think that a specialized machine, such as a paper cutter, would do its one function well. In this case, it does not. I highly recommend one look at other cutters/trimmers if they want accurate, no-brainer cuts with their art/craft projects.

First of all this thing is massive. Second of all, it looks nothing like the picture. The picture looks almost like the handle is made of wood. It's all a beautiful rosewood color with lovely staining... this monstrosity arrived and it's ugly, giant plastic, and does not look too well made, and for the price I was really shocked.

bought this used and when I lifted the handle for the first time it locked in the up position. I had to take it apart, re thread and put new bolt in it. and it also cuts on an angle and I've had to put marks on it so I can cut strait. buying new would probably eliminate all the problems I had. It cuts well as long as I keep pressure on the arm against the cutting surface. very angry about it, but I'm stuck with it since I had to take it apart and modify it just to get the arm to come down

I purchased this cutter because of past experience with these cutters. What a mistake that was. I am a photographer and I do a lot print cutting after the print has been mounted on very thin two sided adhesive. I must have made a 100 test cuts with the adhesive on test prints. Not one and say again, not one print would come out square after the cut. There was always one side that was off. I ended up purchasing a "Premier" 12" cutter and it works perfectly with the adhesive on the back of the print.If you are just cutting paper or photos I'm sure that the Swingline would have been OK. I have also tried a roller photo cutter and they are fantastic, but by introducing the adhesive, it would gum up the cutter guide bar and it had to be cleaned. This took to much time for the cleaning process.Thanks to Amazon's great return policy, this cutter was returned and exchanged for the Premier cutter. Hope this helps with the type of cutter you may need.

would not cut through 2 pieces of thin paper clean, rough edges. junk is junk!

DO NOT WASTE YOUR MONEY! Does not cut straight!!! I even had a replacement after the first was more than a 1/4 inch off... still not fixed.. its sharp, but not accurate at all..

I just returned it because it can't cut more than 1 or 2 pages together. There's no press to hold the paper tight and overal quality of this product is completely unacceptable.product reviews seems too good to me and I so decided to buy it for my office but I was wrong.

Swingline Classic Cut Ingento 12 Inch Maple Guillotine Paper Trimmer, CL500m - 1132is completely useless.Its incapable of cutting even one sheet of copy paper.I returned it the same day it arrived

I was really excited about this cutter, I thought I am going to spend some money for 12 inch maple swingline cutter. However I cant even cut a sliver off of normal piece of paper , let alone any of my photos that I intended to use this for. The blade just fold the paper back, or photo back? If I hold my hand really close to the blade and cut it will work. Does anyone know if I am doing something wrong? I am very unhappy with this cutter!

Bought this cutter for trimming various art papers, it doesn't cut cleanly unless you are doing a single sheet, so returned it.