How about a big, warm welcome for Erin Bassett?!
Erin Bassett lives in Southern California with her husband, a Golden Retriever, and a very fat cat. She’s a craft addict who loves to do something creative every day. Her current loves are scrapbooking, papercrafts, mixed media, sewing, jewelry making and screen printing.
Erin’s creative journey began as a child when she collected her memories in a scrapbook, albeit one filled with acidic things and original, non-digital photos. She forgot about those scrapbooks for many years when her Grandmother taught her how to sew, knit and other crafty things. It wasn’t until she was engaged to be married that the lure of photos and memories once again captured her heart. Today, Erin’s favorite scrapbook subjects are herself & her husband, her nieces, and her pets. She tends to scrapbook the everyday moments more than the big events of life. Erin loves to share her creative projects, tutorials and other crafty stuff on her website: erinbassett.com. She stays busy creating projects, teaching, and writing for several craft manufacturer design teams (like Imaginisce, ProvoCraft, and Tattered Angels, and also writes for Mixology Crafts.Reported by Erin Bassett
Every crafter needs a paper trimmer, and I am no exception. I recently was on the search for a trimmer that was lightweight enough to take with me when I travel, yet well made so that I could get nice straight cuts. A friend of mine recommend the Fiskars new Craft Premium Portable Paper Trimmer, and after trying it out I decided to upgrade. It is a big improvement over their previous models that I’ve owned.
I really like that they widened the cutting surface to 6.25” and added markings for common cutting sizes such as 2” x 3.5”, 3” x 5”, 4.25” x 5.5”, 4” x 6″, and 5” x 7”. It makes it much easier for crafters that scrapbook, make cards, or other paper crafts.
Another great improvement is one that Fiskars describes as a “unique patent pending cut-line indicator [that] shows where the blade will cut, for perfect project alignment.” It looks like a thin wire that hovers over the blade track.
Having 1/16” increments on the cutting surface made it really easy to get precise measurements and cuts for this Easter basket I made with the Fiskars paper trimmer. To make this basket I needed to cut almost 30 strips of Bazzill cardstock and then weave them together.
All my cuts were straight and I found that I could cut two sheets of Bazzill cardstock at the same time accurately. The Fiskars website states that you can cut 5 sheets of 20# paper at a time.
There are other great features as well, such as a ruler extension that swings out and measures up to 15.25”, rubberized feet for stability, a “built-in paper clamp” that locks the cutting rail into place, and a bigger photo smudge protector on the cutting rail. One other upgrade that one will only be able to appraise over time is the “anti-wear veneer” which according to Fiskars website is made by printing on the underside of the deck of the paper trimmer so that the scale and grid never wear off.
Pros:
- It’s lightweight and easy to use.
- It has a “cut-line indicator” so you can see where you will cut accurately cuts multiple sheets of paper.
- You can lock down the “paper clamp” on the paper, or to just keep the cutting rail from opening during transport.
Cons:
- The bigger photo smudge protector can sometime make it hard to cut paper that’s narrower then 1-inch.
- A scoring blade does not come with this trimmer but may be purchased separately.
The Fiskars Premium Portable Paper Trimmer 12″
is available at Amazon.com
is available at Amazon.com
What portable paper trimmer is your favorite? Leave us a comment and let us know!
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THIS trimmer is my favorite to date !!! Love the wire guide and the 15″ measuring ability !!
I have tried a lot of trimmers & this is my favorite trimmer hands down!!!
I just bought one of these today and it sounds like I made a good decision. Thanks for the review.
This is my new favorite trimmer. Great review of all the best things about it.
I’m not one for portable trimmers, but this one seems good! Thanks!
This is the second recommendation I’ve seen for this trimmer this week. I really need to get one.
I don’t know that I need a portable trimmer but this looks like a good one. I like reading the comments from those who use these items.
Thanks!
I absolutely love this trimmer! If you are a card maker, you will know how important the wide platform is in cutting or scoring a standard 5.5″ x 4.25″ card. On other trimmers, the platform ended just at the 5.25 inch mark, making it difficult to line up. I have also cut multiple sheets of paper without a problem. Replacement blades are easy to find, and a scoring blade is also available. This is a AAA+++ product!
I have had this trimmer for several months. It is by far and away my favorite of all the many trimmer I own. I agree with thepoints you made in this review.
I have this trimmer – the only difference is mine does not have the gridlines protected -they are wearing off, but everything else is the same and it is my favorite of the three I have owned. Another less expensive one by Fiskers and then a rotary trimmer I cant remember who makes but it was pink.
I have a different Fiskars trimmer but I want to get this one. It has better features than mine.
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I have a Fiskers trimmer but it is getting old. I may look into this one. It seems to have some nice features
This is the BEST trimmer I have found! I have a drawer full of other Fiskars, Cutter Bee and Creative Memories and LOVE, LOVE, LOVE, this Craft Premium!!!
This definitely sounds like a paper trimmer I need! I love that it’s footprint is small, but the “base” can cut a 6″ swatch w/o having to open the arm. Great idea! I hope my original Fiskars doesn’t get “jealous” when I get one of these, too.
This is the second review I’ve seen regarding this trimmer. Both have given it high marks. I guess that means I need to look for it!
I had a portable trimmer; the illusive someone broke it.
I’ve had this trimmer since it hit the market and I LOVE IT! I have a total of 7 trimmers and this is the one. The size is a huge improvement for cards, the wire is a dream for seeing exactly where to cut, and it’s design has the best of all Fiskars cutters, making it affordable. I won’t give up my table top cutters (professional use models), but this is my 99% of the time trimmer.
i have not found portable trimmers very accurate, but i would be willing to give this a try.
I know what one I don’t recommend and that’s the blue fiskars trimmer. My blade is constantly falling out of the track. Drives me crazy. I wrote Fiskars this week so we’ll see if they still have good customer service and do something about it.
An update to my earlier comment. I did get an email today from Fiskars. They are sending out a new ruler and blade. Glad to see they still have great customer service.
I too love this trimmer! but i have shredded the guide wire on 2 trimmer. although fiskars cannot tell me why this happened to me, they did send replacement arms. good customer service. My blade keeps falling out, does anyone know how to prevent this or what I am doing wrong.