Dahle 552 Professional A3 Self-Sharpening Paper Trimmer, Dual Guide Bar, Automatic Clamp, Safety Protection Cutter, Blue

Having recently purchased an A3 printer, I thought it was time to upgrade from using a stanley/craft knife and ruler and I am pleased with my choice. The cutting mechanism is precise and capable of taking the smallest strip from the edge of the page. It is very sharp and I have used it to cut multiple sheets at the same time - from standard printer paper to 350gsm card and specialist photo papers. The trimmer is well made and robust. I have find the measuring guides/rulers to be precise and easy to use/read. Worth reading the instructions (my initial approach was "how hard can it be") as it does provide useful information on how to use the trimmer to best effect/get the best results.Whilst space is not a problem (for me) It is worth noting that it does have a significantly larger footprint than an A3 piece of paper and it is heavier than I was expecting but is reflective in the quality and ability to deal with oversize A3 formats.I strongly recommend.

This rotary trimmer by Dahle, one of the leading manufacturers of this type of product, arrived safely and well packaged. This heavy duty trimmer is solidly made and reassuringly heavy, over 5kg (I bought the 552 model in A3 size). It does have a large footprint so be aware of this when buying. The cutter rail is much more robust than others on the market, allowing for a good accurate clean cut from the self sharpening blade. The nonslip feet hold the trimmer steady in use. The metal base has markings in A sizes, metric and imperial. I found these markings to be spot on and square to the blade. It does come with a magnetic alignment guide which, although I haven't used it, seems to be accurate too. In use, the automatic clamp holds the paper tight freeing up one hand. The booklet states that paper up to 2mm can be cut. Not really a useful figure as paper and card comes in weight rather than thickness! I've used the cutter for watercolour paper up to 350gsm with no issues.Yes, it's expensive compared to many Chinese trimmers which are flimsy and inaccurate. The expression 'buy once, cry once' springs to mind!

Went for the A3 version - it's a large, well constructed piece of kit which makes very clean cuts on ~6-8 sheets or fewer, but will still cut up to the advertised number of sheets with some slight fraying.Definitely best to use this on a large cutting mat / other grippy surface - the bottom is doesn't have rubberised grips to allow use on a table without it sliding around.Once stabilised it's a very smooth experience - the sliding stop can be precisely locked on the ruler allowing very consistent cuts and is sprung to keep it straight. Very easily able to put together notebooks with this as a result.

Good trimmer, but the guide (with the red button) feels flimsy and plasticky and not completely straight, making it useless. Now I've had trimmers before with dodgy guides but I would've expected a better quality guide at this price point.Other than that it's a very sturdy cutter and cuts perfectly through up to 350gsm cardstock paper. Can make super sharp milimetrical cuts for extra precision.

This is a fabulous paper cutter. Cuts beautifully and lots of increments to guide intricate cutting. I love it!

I bought this for my wife as she has had two cheap rotary trimmers and ends up using scissors. She's always laminating and cutting. I bought this and she said it's the best teacher present I bought her. The self sharpening system means no rough or difficult cuts. This means it should last much longer as when rotary blades dull you push them harder and it ends up breaking. Great product.

I purchased the A3 size Dahle and soon discovered that it is not possible to use the adjustable guide (with the button), as it is always with a small angle (non parallel as it should) with the cutting edge, resulting in wrong cuts.The guide has a spring loaded mechanism under the red button that pushes in the wrong way. The design is flawed and the construction of the guide is poor quality, too.Furthermore, the transparent plastic cover, that is meant to hold the paper in place, does not only move up/down but also backwards. Again, this is due to both design and manufacturing issues. You cannot rely on what you see to determine where exactly your paper will get cut.The flaws combined result in a product that is useless for precision work. I had read similar reviews of other customers on Amazon and the average rating of the product misled me to believe that some customers may have received a defective item. Well, my product is one of them.I spent a lot of money on this product and can't do my work efficiently using it, hence, I cannot recommend it.

Solid construction, well made and finished, and professional standard cuts. Easy to handle and store and super stable when being used. I bought this to replace a poor purchase which was double the price RRP and same price but A4 size, plasticy, awkward to handle and difficult to get a consistent cut - don't make the same mistake, buy this.