WALLPAPER · THE CUTTING SCHEDULE

The next cut starts
where its phase fits.

A strip’s required length and the pattern position at its top are two separate inputs. The schedule makes the material between cuts visible instead of hiding it inside a blanket waste percentage.

Enter the cut you actually intend to make

Use one chosen drop length for the whole plan. Include your top-and-bottom trim and any other length allowance in that number before entering it. The schedule keeps every cut at that exact length. It does not automatically round the length to a repeat multiple.

Enter the required number of full drops separately. This tool does not measure a room or subtract windows and doors. Paperroll’s original wall-width planner provides a simple strip-count model; its repeat-rounded estimate uses different assumptions.

Define a pattern reference on each roll

The first-reference input is the distance from the roll beginning to the first phase-A position you intend to use. A value of 0 means that reference is at the beginning. A value of 12 means the first 12 cm is before that reference. This same reference distance is assumed on every roll; the calculator does not inspect a printed pattern.

After a cut, the next start is the earliest matching position at or after its end. For a positive repeat, matching positions are the chosen reference plus the phase offset, then further whole repeats. The alignment gap is the next start minus the previous end.

Matching starts = first reference + phase offset + whole repeats

Same-phase mode uses phase A for every drop. Half-phase mode alternates A and B, where B’s offset is half the repeat. Custom mode alternates A and a user-entered B offset smaller than the repeat. These are geometric input choices; they do not tell you which match a product requires.

Graham & Brown’s official measuring guide distinguishes free, straight and offset matches. Its 64/32 cm example describes a 64 cm repeat with a 32 cm offset. Use the matching symbols and instructions for your selected wallpaper; a repeat measurement alone does not identify the required cutting sequence.

A worked comparison: 1,024 cm rolls

A roll change keeps the next drop’s phase

In that half-phase example, drops 1–3 use A, B, A. Drop 4 still needs B after moving to roll 2. The new roll’s first A reference resets to 0 cm, so drop 4 starts at its B reference, 32 cm. It ends at 282 cm; drop 5 starts at the next A reference, 320 cm.

The diagram numbers drops globally. Read the per-roll table for exact start, end and gap-before positions. A cut ending exactly at the roll end is allowed. If a required phase cannot fit even on a fresh roll, the entire plan shows an error.

Why a 10 m roll is different

Keep the 250 cm cut and 64 cm repeat, but shorten the roll to 1,000 cm. Same-phase cuts still start at 0, 256 and 512 cm. The fourth would end at 1,018 cm, so it does not fit. Both the same-phase and half-phase first rolls hold three cuts in this example.

Choose plain mode with repeat 0, and offsets are ignored. The four cuts instead start at 0, 250, 500 and 750 cm and end at 1,000 cm. The change in roll count comes from the entered alignment model, not just dividing area.

Read gaps and tails separately

Each roll’s alignment gaps include material before its first selected cut and between later cuts. The unused tail is the roll length minus its final cut end. Full cut lengths, alignment gaps and the tail add back to that roll’s entered length. The schedule does not reuse either gaps or tails for shorter strips.

What this schedule leaves to your real cutting plan

• Manufacturer-specific hanging direction, reverse hanging, A/B roll products and matching instructions.
• Different drop lengths, corner overlaps, interruptions around openings, pattern defects and additional trimming.
• Different starting pattern references between physical rolls.
• Reordering drops or reusing offcuts to search for a global minimum roll order.

Plans accept up to 500 whole drops and 100 rolls. Larger plans are rejected clearly rather than silently shortened. Decimal positions use exact integer ticks; inputs allow four decimal places of centimetres, with half-repeat positions retained precisely.

Print or download the schedule to keep the inputs, global drop numbers and model limits together. Calculator inputs are processed locally in your browser. For corrections or calculation feedback, email paperroll.cytoplast640@aleeas.com.

Manufacturer reference checked 13 October 2026. Original calculations and examples; no manufacturer affiliation.