Paper cutting woes. Bruised paper and uneven cuts.

I have a Challenge 30” hydraulic cutter that works great, but I need a little input. I print on crane 220lb almost exclusively and when I clamp the paper, I get bruising on the top 2-3 sheets.

If I back off the clamp a little, my stacks are uneven and about 1/16” difference with every sheet as you go down.

A briarpress member told me to add foam to the bottom of the clamp to prevent bruising, but I’d like to hear feedback from others.

How to you get a nice tight clamp without ruining good paper!

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just use double sided Tape and adhere a strip of Binders board, width twice the depth of your clamp.

I print on hand and mould made paper, never had an issue with my cutter.

my clamp is 2 inches deep I believe….if I adhere a 4” strip, that reduces my min cut size….right?

right, but the overhanging Board in the back prevent a sharp impression in the paper. I just glued a stack of small strips and if I need to cut small, I put that in front of my saddle before adding the paper.

I have an old cutter which only has a 5/8” deep clamp. Getting things clamped without marking the sheets is always a problem for me, no matter what stock I am cutting. I keep set-up sheets and misprints in a stack by the printer to set on top of the lift of sheets after getting the backguide set.

I also put a sheet of chipboard under the lift to keep the sheets from picking up any stains fromt the bed of the cutter. At the moment the shop is covered with lots of construction dust and it is terribly difficult to keep horizontal surfaces clean. I’m adding on an attached garage to the side of the shop, and my usually slightly untidy shop is really a mess. Piles everywhere and all the equipment moved away from the subject wall. I can’t find anything!

John Henry

Foam backed clamp pads are sold for this purpose,should be able to buy from most any printing supply company or printing paper company. I have used them for many years,they help a lot.

I use the magnetic foam pads for finish trimming, but for the initial cuts I use scrap paper on top and on bottom of the paper to prevent stock from pulling during the cut. Might not be an issue with a Polar cutter, but with the small manual cutters found in lots of hobby shops it can be.

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