Staff Review
An In-Depth Look at the Dahle 550 Professional Rolling Trimmer
Selecting the right rolling trimmer is easy when you know what to look for. One that’s definitely worth some consideration is the Dahle 550 Professional Rolling Trimmer. Here’s an in-depth look at its strengths and weaknesses.
Strengths:
- The Dahle 550 is a good trimmer to use if you want to process a fair amount of paper at one time. It can cut up to 20 sheets at once.
- You can use this trimmer to cut paper that’s up to 14 inches long, including letter- and legal-sized sheets (8.5” x 11” and 8.5” x 14”).
- This cutter has a self-sharpening blade that’s made out of ground steel. The blade will sharpen itself and it can cut in both directions which makes this device really easy to use. Plus, you won’t get injured when cutting because the blade is stuck inside a piece of plastic for your protection.
- If you need to work with a big roll of paper as opposed to a stack of sheets, you can attach a roll holder to this trimmer. Having this option gives you a lot of flexibility and the ability to work with different kinds of paper.
- You can choose between using standard or metric measurements when cutting with the Dahle 550. The base has a grid with both systems printed on it for your convenience. (If you need to cut on an angle, there’s even an imprinted protractor.) Also, the base is very durable because it’s made out of metal.
- The Dahle 550 has a paper clamp and an adjustable backstop. The clamp will hold your materials in one place when you trim them, saving you time because your cut will be more accurate.
- Since this trimmer measures 21-3/4” (width) x 14-1/8” (length), you may find that it takes up too much room on your work surface. If that’s the case, you can mount the cutter to the wall to free up some space.
- The Dahle 550 comes with a limited lifetime warranty. Not only does this ensure that any needed repairs will be taken care of, it shows that the company really believes in its product.
Weaknesses:
- Although this device has a good cutting capacity, it could be improved. For example, Dahle’s 440 Premium Rolling Trimmer has a 30-sheet capacity, so a product like that would be a better choice if you need to cut more sheets at once. (Note: the 440 can also trim documents up to 14 inches long.)
- This device is meant for medium-sized documents and not wide-format ones (i.e. blueprints, etc.). You should pick out a different cutter if your work tends to be pretty large.
Overall, the Dahle 550 Professional Rolling Trimmer would be an excellent choice if your company or organization is looking for a high-quality paper cutter. It has a decent cutting length and it’s handy that you can use rolls of paper in addition to sheets. Plus, this product is well-made and it’s backed by an excellent warranty. If you want a device that’s on the cutting edge, take a look at the Dahle 550 today.
