Using built-in cutter for canvas

[PeterAit]

The Breathing Color people recommend against using my printer's cutter for canvas - they say it results in dust and debris collecting in the Printer (Epson 4880). Is this a real problem or, with the low volume of printing I do, not a concern?

Thanks.

[Randy Carone]

Epson also recommends against using the 4880 cutter blade for canvas. The Stylus Pro X900/X890 series have a rotary cutter that can cut canvas and very heavy fine art paper. The dust issue is one you'll have to decide for yourself, but don't use the 4880 to cut canvas.

[PeterAit]

Thanks!

[Peter McLennan]

Canvas is easy to cut with a sharp utility knife.

[Johnny_Boy]

Is this only issue with Epson or generally true for everyone? I've been using the built-in cutter on my ipf8300 for cutting BC Lyve canvas. Seems to work fine without much dust problem?

[mcpix]

I've been wondering about this too. I still cut the canvas by hand on my Canon 8300. Is everyone else using the built in cutter?

[ternst]

I've been using the cutter on the 8300 for a while on BC lyve and crystalline canvas and it works great and saves a LOT of work. My HP printer would not cut canvas at all. However, the most recent version of crystalline (I think they are on #12) jams the cutter now for some odd reason about half the time, but still works fine with all other paper. I don't know if my cutter has gotten dull or what might be wrong - been cutting lots of big canvas for 18 months without issue until just recently. I have a spare 8300 in the closet so may have to switch the cutter and see if that helps. For me, being able to cut the canvas is a huge time and work saver, plus it will make a better cut.

[Geraldo Garcia]

Beware that canvas also reduces the working life of any blade (makes them dull faster).

Best regards.

[Scott Martin]

Beware that canvas also reduces the working life of any blade (makes them dull faster).

Sure but they're easy to replace. I've been using the original cutter on my iPF9000 (upgraded to a 9100) for years and it's still going strong.

Because I travel around ~4 days a week working with clients on their own printers, I've cut canvas on a ton of printers. And I'll say that the cutting mechanisms are not consistent. Some printers do this well, others just don't - even when they are new. This is especially true with the iPF printers. If you buy 3 replacement cutter blades one might work well and the other two likely won't. I suspect it has something to do with the spring that pops the blade into position. I really like it that Epson has follewed Canon's lead and switched to a rotary blade with a superior design.