If you don't feel like reading my story, scroll to the bottom where I tried to sum up everything in point form, I also included a few tips that I learned as well.
I had never heard of this product before one of my co-workers purchased one and told me about it. Needless to say, I was intrigued, and within a few weeks, I had one on order and was waiting in gleeful anticipation for it to arrive. As usual, it arrived ahead of schedule and within moments of picking it up, I had it unpackaged and ready to go. So this isn't the cheapest of items, but even for this price point, I was impressed with the build quality. Everything was well thought out and intuitive to use. It took moments to set up and it wasn't long before I was ready to start my own projects.
The model I bought came with the basics, A fine point blade, a Standard grip mat, USB cable, a manual, and a few pieces of cardstock to complete the tutorial. (I do suggest doing the tutorial as it helps you wrap your head around how things work). Everything you would need to start to get started. My main reason for purchasing the Cricut was for creating my own vinyl, which I had to order separately, but the more I use it the more I think of different ideas I can make with it. It is almost mind-boggling the number of uses this Cricut machine has. From labels to stickers, to birthday cards to t-shirts. You are essentially limited by your own imagination and the availability of materials. Plus there is a huge online community of already created projects that you can load in and create.
One of the first official projects that I created was a custom vinyl sticker. It was fairly intricate and I wanted to test out how fine of detail it was able to do. Once I loaded the design into the online design space, I sent it to the Cricut and within moments I was staring in awe as the machine churned away, cutting out the pattern I had set up. Once it was done I took a closer look and was shocked at how fine of detail it was able to reproduce. My only complaint with this machine is perhaps the software and its footprint. In general, the software works quite well and having both desktop and mobile versions are pretty awesome, but it is not nearly as intuitive as it could be.
A few things you either discover through trial and error or through online Youtube videos. There is a fairly large tutorial section with the software and online, and I would suggest watching a few videos before attempting any projects. That is unless you like wasting materials. It needs a lot of space, both front, and back. The mat runs through the machine and out the back so the standard 12"x 12" mat needs close to 3 feet in space to run everything comfortably. Just be aware of the space needed before your purchase one. So to sum everything up…
This machine is awesome! It carries a fairly hefty price tag, but the amount of uses you get from it, and what it is capable of doing is extraordinary. I seem to discover new things it can do pretty much every day. Basic and templated projects are easy to create, custom gets a bit more complicated, but once you understand it it's fairly easy as well. All in all, If you are on the fence about getting one, then I say jump off and order it, you won't be disappointed.
Summary:
Pro:
• Well built, designed, and easy to use
• A huge array of accessories that allows you to create pretty much whatever you can think of
• Unlimited in potential on what you can create
• Works with a large number of materials
• A huge online community of projects at your disposal
Cons:
• The software can be quite confusing at first
• It needs a lot of space to work. So if you are limited on room, beware before buying it.
• Materials can get costly as you'll want everything!
• The initial cost of the machine is pretty expensive, but it's definitely worth it.
Tips:
THE STANDARD MAT:
One of the first things I tried doing was cutting out a shape on regular paper… worked fine, the only problem is the standard grip mat is pretty darn sticky. Trying to separate the paper from the mat became almost impossible and ended up tearing it and picking tiny pieces off one at a time.
SPACE:
At first, I treated it like a printer. Set it somewhere with lots of room at the front. I quickly realized that the mat gets pulled through the machine and out the back. So make sure you have enough space at both the front and rear of the machine before you start
WEEDING:
For those that don't know, it's removing the unwanted pieces from the vinyl/sticker/cardstock, etc. Cricut sells weeding tools, but I found you can find much better tools for cheaper elsewhere. However, you DO need something, especially if you plan on creating detailed pieces
SOFTWARE: I'd highly suggest watching some tutorials before attempting to make anything. There are certain things that don't seem obvious at first that make a huge difference in your projects. Especially for the print then cut feature.
cricut.com
www.silhouetteamerica.com
