Hi,
I have used the 1/4" ruler and I have done without it. If your new to quilting and paper peicing it is easier to trim your fabric because the ruler has a guide that will stop at the paper and will not move when you are trimming your peices. I have used just the plain ruler and added some small sticky notes to the back of the ruler to make the same sort of guide with my smaller quilting ruler. It is a matter of preferances.
rmichap