Overview:
The GBC Accucut A400pro (also known as the Smartcut A400 pro) is a heavy duty high performance 12" rotary paper trimmer. It is designed for trimming signs, presentations, photos, labels and more. It even works with laminated items and matboard.
The A400pro rotary trimmer is the introductory model for GBC's line of professional rotary trimmers.
The A400pro even has optional cutting blades that are available for decorative cutting and perforating
Strengths / Features:
The Smartcut A400pro is a professional grade rotary trimmer designed for trimming all types of materials. It is rated for cutting up to 10 sheets of 20lb paper at a time. However, it is not the ideal solution for cutting large volumes of paper. Instead, it is designed for the precise trimming of laminated materials, signs, presentations and photos.
This cutter has a metal cutting base that offers stability and strength and the base has a printed alignment grid that helps to provide precise cutting of all different formats of paper. The cutting length of the A400 is twelve inches and the width of the base is nine inches.
The A400 has a transparent cutting guide that makes it simple to see exactly where the cutter will trim. The rotary blade travels along the edge of the transparent guide allowing you to precisely judge where the blade will travel.
The A400 uses a high quality stainless-steel rotary blade that cuts in both directions. The blade can easily be replaced if it becomes dull. There are even optional blades available for the A400 that allow you to use it for perforating documents or for adding a decorative edge to your paper using a wave cutting blade.
The A400pro also has a convenient storage department in the bottom of the cutter that is designed for holding extra cutting blades.
Weaknesses / Limitations:
Although the A400pro has a metal rod for the blade to travel on, the blade mechanism still seems to have some play in it. This can make it difficult to make the most precise cuts when accuracy is absolutely essential.
The A400pro uses a cutting mat to help ensure high quality cuts. However, over time the cutting mat will become worn and the quality of the cutting produced by the A400 will degrade. The cutting mat can be reversed and then fipped over for a total of four possible positions. However, it is essential to replace the cutting mat as it becomes worn. This helps to ensure the quality of your cuts.
The cutting base of the A400pro is only 9 inches wide. This makes trimming larger documents difficult. Documents with more than 9" to the left of the blade are not able to take advantage of the rulers or guides on the machine making them extremely difficult to cut.
Recommendation:
The GBC Smartcut A400pro is an excellent choice for small offices and home offices that are looking for an introductory level professional quality rotary trimmer.
The trimmer offers a great set of features for its price level. However, it offers a limited cutting length, cutting table and the cutting blade is not as secure as I would prefer in a true professional level paper trimmer. For these features you would need to step up to the 500 series of GBC trimmers.
However, the 500 series of trimmers does not offer wave cutting or perforating. If you need these features then the A400 or A410pro which offers a 15 inch cutting length are ideal.
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