The 10 Best Mat Cutters in 2020

Every artist and craft enthusiast needs the best mat cutters. If you often create art, frame photos, and craft pieces, or cuts cards and coupons at the office, there is only so much you can do with scissors or paper cutters.

Have you struggled to get straight cuts or tight corners on a paper? It is frustrating, but with a mat cutter, you cut with accuracy and speed.

We’ve reviewed the ten best mat cutters based on their cutting capacity, safety, size, quality of construction, and price-to-quality ratio. Continue reading and learn how to pick a mat cutter that meets your cutting needs.

10 Best Mat Cutters for the Money:

Review

The Logan Graphics 301-1 Mat Cutter is tough enough to cut thick papers, long enough to cut papers up to 2.5 feet, and compact enough not to take up your entire work table. It cuts wrapping paper with the same precision it does thick papers. In the package, you get a cutting board, a bevel cutter, a mat guide, straight cut knife, and a user guide.

What Consumers are Saying

According to consumers, this mat cutter is ideal for home use as it is for professional use. You can use it to cut standard-sized photos and custom shapes. The cutter is easy to use and highly portable when you need a unit you can carry from home to your studio.

Conclusion

If you are starting in business and need professional mat cutters, this might be a great choice.

Review

If you need the best paper trimmer for your office, the Fiskat SureCut Portable Trimmer might fill that gap. The trimmer cuts office paper, coupons, photos, and much more. Its rugged construction lengthens its productive life even in a busy office.

What Consumers Say

Consumers love the fact that this paper trimmer comes with a lifetime warranty, has a lightweight construction for portability, and has so many features that enhance its accuracy.

Conclusion

The Fiskars paper trimmer works perfectly in an office setting and framing studio. If you need to cut shapes, this might not be ideal for you.

Review

The Fiskars Classic Loop Rotary Cutter can easily pass as the best rotary cutting mat cutter, thanks to its ergonomic construction and ease of use. It is ideal for cutting layers of fabric, felt, vinyl, and papers. This makes it a perfect cutter for artists, DIY crafts enthusiasts, and office use.

What Consumers Say

Some of the things that consumers love about this cutter include its lifetime warranty, the ability to cut different shapes, and its ergonomic use.

Conclusion

The Fiskars Classic Loop Rotary Cutter is for a studio that cuts so many other items besides paper. It also cuts different shapes.

Review

The Olfa Deluxe Handle Rotary Cutter cuts through different materials, including paper, vinyl, upholstery, tarp, felt, and fleece. It comes in handy in an office setting as it does in a framing studio. If you are looking for portability, this is a handheld device that fits in your bag.

What Consumers Say

The ergonomic build of this mat cutter for framing, its ability to switch blades, and its lightweight impress consumers.

Conclusion

If you need an affordable rotary cutter, the Olfa Deluxe Handle Rotary Cutter might be right for you.

Review

If you need an office paper cutter or a framing studio cutter, the WorkLion Portable Paper Trimmer might be the right choice. It cuts labels, cards, photos, cardstock, origami, coupons, and craft project papers.

What Consumers Say

Consumers observe that this is a paper trimmer that comes with very shape blades that are easy to replace. It also features an ergonomic build that is easy to use.

Conclusion

This WorkLion Portable Paper Trimmer is ideal when you need a trimmer for kids, office, or design studio. Its blades are very sharp, but these blades also need relatively more replacements.

Review

The design of the Olfa RTY-2/G Rotary Cutter makes it popular in the sewing industry. It cuts materials into shapes, pieces, and strips for sewing, quilting, and craft projects. You can use it to cut papers, cardboard, cardstock, fleece, felt, leather, suede, and wool, among others.

What Consumers Say

The Olfa RTY-2/G Rotary Cutter is a versatile rotary cutting mat cutter as consumers observe. You can use it in the office, at home, framing studio, and in a sewing shop. It is also easy and safe to use.

Conclusion

The Olfa RTY-2/G comes in handy when you need a versatile rotary cutter. It sports a sturdy blade for use in different settings and on different materials.

Review

The Dahle 558 is one of the most compact professional rolling trimmers from Dahle. It comes in handy for office and framing studios that need to cut papers, photos, coupons, and cards. Its lightweight construction makes it portable and easy to use.

What Consumers Say

Consumers love that you can choose different cut lengths for this picture mat cutter as your need dictates. The 51 1/8-inch cutter is the largest and most versatile, but some cut only up to 14 inches.

Conclusion

The Dahle Professional Rolling Trimmer is best suited for professionals, thanks to its relatively high price tag and its high capacity cutting.

Review

If you need a professional paper, photos, and card cutter at an affordable price, you might consider the Logan LOG2000 Jn Mat Cutter. It sports a professional build, but even beginners and DIY craft enthusiasts at home can still use it.

What Consumers Say

According to consumers, this is an ideal mat cutting kit for a home picture framing project or for scrapbooking. It is also great for office use, thanks to its accuracy and safety.

Conclusion

The Logan LOG2000 Jn Mat Cutter is an ideal choice for office, home DIY craft projects, and photo-framing studios.

Review

The Logan 701-1 sports the most rugged construction among all the cutters on this list. It cuts matboards and foamboards for professional and home DIY craft projects. Even in its sturdy build, the cutter is still compact and easy to carry.

What Consumers Say

According to consumers, the Logan 701-1 takes practice to use, but it works perfectly on matboards and foamboards up to 4.7mm.

Conclusion

If you are always cutting matboards and foamboards, this is the only photo mat cutter on this list that does that. It is ideal for framing, matting, and design and creative DIY projects.

Review

Unlike other paper trimmers that sport a push-style design, the Carl Heavy-Duty Rotary Paper Trimmer sports a wheel cutter. This makes it strong enough to cut up to 36 sheets of paper at the same time. Although you will pay a little more for this rotary paper trimmer, it is ideal for professionals working in business offices and studios.

What Consumers Say

The trimmer delivers smooth and clean cuts, according to consumers. Both the trimmer and the replacement blades are affordably priced given their quality and features.

Conclusion

The large cutting capacity of this paper trimmer will work well for you if you work in a busy office or framing studio.

Education

Why do you need a mat cutter?

The answer to this question will determine the right type of mat cutter for you. For starters, consider the amount of time you need to spend learning because the learning curve does not reduce with price. Again, you do not want to break your bank for a cutter you will only use for a few DIY projects at home.

Mat cutters cost between a meager $10 and a whopping $400. For this reason, you need to be careful when shopping for mat cutting tools.

Factors to Consider When Buying the Best Mat Cutters

Guided Cutting

A mat knife, coupled with guides, gives you perfect results every time. Guides are standard on paper trimmers, allowing you to cut accurately. If the device does not have guides, it should have a start-stop indicator to avoid overcuts and give you more accuracy.

These features are great on straight mat cutters. Handheld rotary cutters might lack these features, but they are great when you need to cut shapes.

The Use

Do you need a paper trimmer, fabric cutter, or a mat board cutter?

If you need a mat cutter for office papers, coupons, and cards, a paper trimmer with guides will work the best. If you need to cut upholstery, leather, vinyl, felt, fleece, papers, and so many more, a rotary cutter with a large wheel comes in handy.

Rotary mat cutters are also great when you need to cut shapes, pinked, and wavy edges. If you need to cut matboards and foamboards, choose a heavy-duty metallic mat board cutter.

When picking a device, consider one whose cutting capability matches the speed you need at the office or workshop. For instance, a business office can use a paper trimmer that cuts multiple sheets at once.

Quality Construction

Portable mat cutters sport aluminum or Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene (ABS) plastic construction. A plastic construction is lighter, but less durable.

However, the ABS plastic is more durable than any other form of plastic. Aluminum is lighter than other metals; it is durable, but is relatively expensive.

Most cutters have carbide steel blades. These are very sharp and strong, and they retain their edge for long. A coated blade is better than a non-coated blade as it experiences less friction and consequently, less wear.

Consider the ergonomic construction of the handle. A rubberized handle with grooves or curved loop is better at eliminating hand fatigue.

Safety Features

Because no one wants to end up with injured fingers, ensure you pick a device with hidden blades or one where the blade retracts after use. The safety features should not compromise the efficiency of the device.

For your home projects, you may also need high-quality scissors and staplers.

Mat Cutter FAQ

How do you adjust the blade depth on Logan mat cutters?

Different Logan mat cutters present different ways to adjust the blade. On most, you need to loosen the blade holding screw and adjust the blade adjustment knob. On others, such as the Logan Log2000, you only need to move the knob at the bottom of the unit clockwise or counterclockwise.

Should you sharpen or replace blades?

Heavy duty blades should be sharpened for a while before replacement. Light blades such as those on the WorkLion Portable Paper Trimmer require replacement. Some blades are self-sharpening and only require replacement after a while.

How does blade coating help?

Coated blades experience less friction and, therefore, less wear. The blades last longer with superior edge retention.

Conclusion

The Logan Graphics 301-1 Compact Classic Portable Mat Cutter is my favorite paper cutter. It is versatile, easy to use, safe, and gives smooth and accurate cuts. You can use it at the office, at home, and matting and framing shop.

If this is out of your budget or you need a more versatile mat cutter, consider the Fiskars Classic Loop Rotary Cutter. It is a simple device, but it cuts so many materials with its 45mm blade. You can use it to cut leather, suede, upholstery, papers, wool, and felt, among others. It is also an ideal best mat cutter when you need shapes.