Joe’s Question Corner: Getting Even (With Booklets That Is)

Q: “When we trim saddle-stitched booklets on our knife guillotine cutter, the booklet sides opposite the folded/stapled edge end up uneven. Is there a problem with our cutter?

A: This is called face trimming and your cutter is probably just fine. Booklets often end up slipping around because of the springy, expanded area created by the fold. A simple solution to hold your booklets in place would be to try Book Clamps. These clamps attach to your cutter’s backgage to push down and hold the saddle-stitched spines flat and flush  for face trimming. This way you end up with a clean and uniform face trim. This simple solution should save you plenty time troubleshooting a cutter problem that probably does not exist.

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