Photo Materials Co. Premier 30" Paper Cutter Trimmer Chicago Guillotine

Photo Materials Co. Premier 30" Paper Cutter Trimmer Chicago Guillotine

The Photo Materials Co. Premier is a 30-inch guillotine-style paper cutter made by Photo Materials Co. of Chicago, Illinois. It uses a swinging arm blade mechanism to make straight cuts across paper and photographic prints up to 30 inches wide. The cutting bed features an integrated inch-graduated ruler for accurate cut placement.

Specifications & What's Included

• Brand: Photo Materials Co. (Chicago, IL)
• Model: Premier
• Cutting width: 30 inches
• Cut style: Guillotine swing-arm blade
• Cutting bed: Green ruled mat with integrated inch ruler
• Ruler: Metal ruler bar graduated in inches, visible from approximately 4 to 30+ inches
• Construction: Cast metal arm and hardware, wood/composite cutting bed
• Unit only — no additional accessories included

Applications

Photo Materials Co. was a Chicago-based supplier of darkroom and photographic printing equipment, and the Premier cutter was designed primarily for trimming photographic paper, photographic prints, and film-based materials in professional photo labs and darkrooms. Guillotine-style cutters like this were standard equipment in commercial photo finishing operations, portrait studios, newspaper photo departments, and school darkrooms from the mid-20th century onward. The 30-inch cutting width accommodated large-format photographic prints and panoramic enlargements. These cutters are still used today wherever clean, straight cuts on paper or thin board stock are needed — including print shops, art studios, and archival/framing work. This example dates from the mid-to-late 20th century, consistent with Photo Materials Co.'s active production period in Chicago.