The cutters used have varied over the years. I doubt the same machine would be used in 91 that was used in 55. And Panini and other manufacturers use an entirely different process now.
I have doubts about the picture shown for cutting in that article. Especially since some of the others are staged and not actual production. Hand feeding one sheet at a time into a machine is so slow it wouldn't work. The machine she's got is too narrow to fit the sheet that's there, and the bookcase next to it isn't leading anywhere.
That it's a staged photo on a different machine isn't surprising. The collating machines were a trade secret, and wouldn't be shown in a public article. They may not have even been collated at Topps, I don't recall the date, but in the 90's a company was advertising secure cutting and collating services in the Thomas Register.
The claim that nobody can detect a good trim job is just plain wrong. Lets put an end to that. Could it be hard given the few seconds the TPGs spend? Yes. Undetectable? No.
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