Comments on: Cheap Cricut Machines: What You Should Know Before You Buy

By: Nancy White

Nancy White — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 11:03:02 +0000

Thank you for jumping in the conversation. I actually replied to john’s email last week and recommended the Wishblade. I know the learning curve is a little steep, but unfortunately the Pazzles only works on PC using Windows XP or Vista, and he owns a Mac.
It’s a great machine, though…

By: LuxuryCardStore

LuxuryCardStore — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 22:52:38 +0000

Hi John, I was intrigued by your hobby and would like to give an answer to your question based on my experience. I am in no way an expert, but I’ve owned a few personal paper cutters in the last few years. For what you want to do, you might consider buying a Pazzles Inspiration cutter. http://www.pazzles.com. I used to own a Wishblade personal cutter and sold it to pay for my Pazzles. I think the learning curve for the Wishblade was too steep, instructions were very poorly written, and customer service didn’t have a lot of the answers. The Pazzles Inspiration machine is computer based whereas Cricut is cartrige based. The big difference between the 2 is Pazzles was created for people like yourself who like to make your own designs. It does come with a few shape files already loaded, but not many. You can use their software that is included or use Adobe Illustrator to make the designs, then import them into Pazzles to cut it. And yes Pazzles does cut fabric also. On the other hand, the Cricut is cartridge based, and you can use their software (only sold separately) to design things, but you can only design using the shapes on their cartridges. So if you don’t own a certain cartridge you can’t cut that part of the design! The cartridges can be both cheap and pricey costing anywhere fron $19.99 to $89.99. Now in spite of what I just told you, I bought a Cricut after owning the Pazzles for 1 1/2 years. I like the Pazzles, but felt that I don’t ALWAYS want to make my own designs, I like the fact that I can quickly pick a premade design from a cartrige I own. I found that Pazzles was frustrating sometimes, becasue the auto-trace feature leaves a lot to be desired. Now that I have both cutters AND a Cricut Gypsy, I’m happy with both! I hope this gives you some insight into the personal cutter world and maybe amswers your question.

By: 1feistymama

1feistymama — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 00:24:45 +0000

Check out software titled Sure Cuts A Lot. If you look at youtube you’ll find demonstrations of how the software works, how to load it, how to save your pictures in the proper format, etc.

I have yet to purchase this item but will after seeing the demonstrations.

By: John Marshall

John Marshall — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 19:14:32 +0000

Hi. I’m a dyer. I cut stencils to use in this process employing traditional Japanese methods. I’m preparing a series of limited edition books and would like to include real samples. Cutting my stencils is very labor intensive and I’ve been intrigued by the various Cricut machines. However, I would prefer to cut my own designs. Is it possible to hook the Cricut to my own computer to power the cutting mechanism? I use a MAC. Any insight you may have to offer will be greatly appreciated!!

Gratefully,
John