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I almost bought this model because I'm tired of buying $30 trimmers twice a year (I have 5 now) and just couldn't face paying for this Carl trimmer although I came close. Have a look at the new Carl 13715 Trimgear Industrial Trimmer. It's more compact (the second 6 inches slides under the first 6 for portability) and offers most of the features of this model for virtually less than half the price at some places ($93). It cuts all matter of material (and 5 sheets of cardstock at once), and has a self-sharpening blade that "returns to start" after cutting. It's a tidy little package that's portable.
I'm waiting for mine to arrive tomorrow and can update this review then. Really looking forward to it. After trying 5 trimmers, I'm looking for one that will last for awhile.
First, I should say that I don't have the DC-210; I have the RT-200, which I believe is one step down. My only real beef with the Carl trimmer is that the rotary arm is stationary - it doesn't lift, like on most trimmers. It may not seem like a big deal, but it can be a real problem at times.
First, it makes it very difficult to cut small items - there is just no good way to really position them for the cut, since you can't get under that arm. To make small cuts even more difficult, the rotary arm on mine is not transparent, like almost all rotary trimmers are. (It looks like maybe Carl learned from that mistake, since it appears that the DC-210 does have a transparent arm. Keep this in mind, though, if you are considering other Carl models.)
Second, there are times when I'll need to trim something that might already have a little bit of adhesive on the backside. Even just a teeny bit of adhesive can cause the item to stick to either the cutting mat or the underside of the rotary arm. Since the arm is stationary, I've actually had to use tweezers and little tools like that to try to pry out my paper. By the time I finally get it out, it's often just ruined anyway.
Also, in situations like that, if the paper leaves any residue of adhesive under the arm, it is a real pain to try to clean it out. On most trimmers, you could just lift up the arm, and wipe the adhesive off. With the stationary arm, though, I've had to just do cut after cut after cut on scrap paper until the residue was finally worn off.
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I love this trimmer! It cuts through chipboard and multiple sheets of cardtock like butter. I make a lot of books with my zutter so this saves me so much time and was worth the price (which I was worried about).
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I have very thick chipboard that I use for books and this cut through it with no problems. I was amazed. It did take 2-3 passes on the trimmer, but it cut it clean. The trimmer locks down onto your paper/chipboard and it will not move as you cut. Best trimmer I have found to cut thick items.
I have the larger 15" version of this trimmer and I absolutely love it. I needed something that could cut cleanly through heavy weight chipboard and this does the job with ease. Very highly recommended!
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I recently got a chance to PLAY with this amazing trimmer .. i would have given it 5 stars.. but i thought it wasn't fair, since i don't actually own it.
This is a super heavy duty industrial trimmer and it makes the absolute SMOOTHEST cuts.!! great for cutting cardstock or patterned paper.... i haven't tried it for digital pictures though...
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i love this trimmer. ive had mine for about 10 years and it still cuts straight and awesome . just changed the blade for the first time last week and i use mine alot!
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I love that this trimmer will cut multiple pages at same time. It works great for large cuts. However you cannot cut paper less than 2 inches with this cutter. You need the smaller Carl cutter for that.
This review was written about a related product.
After purchasing several different cutters to cut chipboard, this was the only one that really did the trick - the cut is smooth and clean. I WAS using the Fiskars Procision rotary cutter but the cutter folds at the 5.5 - 6 inch mark and it was difficult to get a good cut at 5.5, 5.75 and 6 (the Cal Brand is 12 inches across with no folds). Chipboard also moved in the Fiskar cutter. The only negatives with the Carl Brand cutter are the lack of markings and difficulty cutting anything narrower than 3 inches. There are no 16th inch markings and only the inch and half inch marking go all the way up and down the cutter so if you are cutting an 8.25 by 8.25 chipboard piece you will be able to line it up on the bottom of the cutter but no where else. Huge flaw! Also there is a bar that holds the chipboard down making it easy to cut but that same bar makes it difficult to cut anything thinner than 3 inches.
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