Whats the best way to cut your DVD covers so that they are straight. I use scissors and they look okay, but never perfect.

get yourself a cutter (guillotine) you can get em pretty cheap these days

I used scissors years ago and managed to get them pretty straight with some precision. Today I use a guillotine(one where the blade slides across) and the result is perfect.

However another good alternative is to get a metal ruler, place your cover on a cutting board and run a stanley knife blade along using the ruler as a guide. Results can be good this way, but ultimately you will get the best results from a guillotine.

Search ebay for pricing ideas.... They range from $4.99 to $300+ just REMEMBER to check the shipping costs... the one I found for $4.99 has a $19.99 shipping charge... :eek:

Also a paper cutter is a tool and like all tools you usually get what you pay for... If you 'Buy Cheap' don't be too surprised if you 'Get Cheap'... If you buy cheap and aren't happy then you'll likely go back out and purchase the good one at a later date... Thus wasting money on the crappy tool first. Words of wisdom from my father that I didn't bother listening to (at first) and as a result have a garage full of 'cheap junk tools' under powered drills, stripped screwdrivers galore, etc etc etc... that I should have never purchased in the first place.

My advice would be to check ebay for 'aprox. pricing' and then go to your local Staples / Office Max / etc and if they aren't WAY more expensive then buy it from them.

However another good alternative is to get a metal ruler, place your cover on a cutting board and run a stanley knife blade along using the ruler as a guide. Results can be good this way, but ultimately you will get the best results from a guillotine.


I have a m8................three finger jack...........he cuts his covers exactly the same way.............well he used to :D :D

Since this about cutting covers I figured it a good place for this question also. When printing the covers I have trouble with the correct sizing. When I scan a cover it come out pretty much the right size but, when I download a cover it is usually to small or to large.

I use a HP Deskjet 6540 for printing and also a older Epson 400, I have two other printers that are all in ones that scan the cover and then print them. Both work alright.

Any ideas on a program or the correct size I should be using?

Thanks

However another good alternative is to get a metal ruler, place your cover on a cutting board and run a stanley knife blade along using the ruler as a guide.

Thats how i do it now, got a craft knife and metal ruler, perfect cuts every time :)

Whats the best way to cut your DVD covers so that they are straight. I use scissors and they look okay, but never perfect.

I use a X-Acto Compact Rotary Paper Trimmer 12".

http://store.scrapinsanity.com/239367.html

I found it cheap in a local store.

Much easier & precise then the full size guillotine cutter I used before.

Good Luck,

zapp

I use Photoshop CS2. The result is perfect.

so a sissors dont work as good

However another good alternative is to get a metal ruler, place your cover on a cutting board and run a stanley knife blade along using the ruler as a guide. Results can be good this way, but ultimately you will get the best results from a guillotine.

My printing template (Mickeysquish Pubmasher) is set up with cropping guides - little lines at the corners to make lining the ruler up a science, rather than an art - so this is the method I use.

You don't need for the ruler to be metal - mostly, the craft knife doesn't dig into the edge if you're at all careful. You do need the ruler to have a non-slip bottom, though - having the thing pivot at the end of a cut really is the pits.

Paper is tough to cut, and blades do get dull - and the cuts you get with a dull papercutter (guillotine) are pretty ugly. Craft knife blades, OTOH, are pretty cheap to replace when they dull.

Since this about cutting covers I figured it a good place for this question also. When printing the covers I have trouble with the correct sizing. When I scan a cover it come out pretty much the right size but, when I download a cover it is usually to small or to large.


Even when I scan the cover, once I clean up the scan, I usually need to resize a tad. At 300 dpi, the standard size for covers is 3240 pixels wide and 2175 pixels high for standard cases, 3150 by 2175 for thinpak cases.

I use Jasc Paint Shop Pro (8, contemplating upgrading to 9) for resizing - it's really easy in that. If I recall correctly, Irfanview is freeware, and will let you crop and (maybe) resize - but I don't know how accurate it is.

Starting a new thread for a new question is probably gonna work better for you, too - I almost missed this, buried in the comparison of cutting methods.

Danno