|
Post by Delta Dawn on Apr 30, 2018 6:31:31 GMT
Forgive me for maybe stating the obvious, but for people who bought the electronic version of cartridges they no longer will have them and the people with the cartridges are fine?
|
|
Deleted
Posts: 0
Apr 20, 2024 11:27:40 GMT
|
Post by Deleted on Apr 30, 2018 7:17:30 GMT
crazy4scraps I loved Funtime. I used it with my Gazelle. I didn't like the dongle but I loved Funtime. I do recommend the Cricut to some people. I know tech can be so overwhelming and Cricut does it make it easy. I even look at my cutters for "How long is this going to last?" I wrote earlier technology has an end date but it doesn't end. I am still using old printers on Windows 10 and plotters too. I know my Cameo I can get it to work for probably another decade or more. If Cameo software doesn't work with it after several years I can use it on Linux. Cricut we always had a joke over at the old Cricut MB that we called it our three year machine. Didn't think the joke was going to become a motto. Delta Dawn Girl, I thought that same thing on Friday night! Great Minds, huh? I forgot all about digi cartridges. I was at WalMart in the "scrapbook" section looking at the Cricut. I told my DH about CCR closing. I said if they pull this with Cricut Design Space someday everyone will be without their digital images and a cutter because you have to depend on the software to use the cutter. It is not like the legacy Cricut's where you can still use cartridges and even use other software like SCAL & MTC if you still have those versions. I did forget that CCR was selling digital too. You can still use your digital cartridges if you buy an Explore. They are all linked to our account now. That's the only way. If you are a legacy Cricut user and do not buy a new machine then you lost your digital library until you buy a new Explore or Maker. I would write to them and see how they are going to handle that situation. Maybe they will be fair about it.
|
|
|
Post by warrior1991 on Apr 30, 2018 13:39:51 GMT
I don't think this matters anymore since I'm not upgrading. But a couple of my cartridges say they are linked in CCR, but I never linked them. No one has access to my CCR, so it wasn't done by someone else. Any thoughts on why this happened? Again, maybe it doesn't matter as I won't sell the cartridges and will walk away when my Create dies. But was wondering.
|
|
scrapnnana
Drama Llama
Posts: 6,105
Jun 29, 2014 18:58:47 GMT
|
Post by scrapnnana on Apr 30, 2018 22:26:13 GMT
All I can say is after reading all this, I’m still running my trusty old Pazzles Pro that I bought in 2003. It cost $2500 back in the day, but it was worth every penny and after all these years of hard commercial use, it honestly owes me nothing. I can’t believe I’ve had it for sixteen years! Yes, I’ve updated the Funtime software a couple times over the years, but the version I’m using now is eight years old and it works just fine on my newish HP laptop running Windows 10. I have a Silver Bullet Cutter that I bought a few years ago to replace the Pazzles when or if it goes belly up, but so far it just lives in a bag under my work tables because the Pazzles is still going strong. I can’t imagine how frustrating it must be for some of you to have bought system after system over the years and end up having spent all that money on something that you can’t use at all. All of us with the older machines can still use them as they were originally intended, as stand alone cutters. We just can't manipulate the images with the computer to weld, etc. I did look at the Pazzles machines once upon a time, but the price tag was more than I could manage at the time. I am happy for you that yours is still going strong. I am surprised that your Silver Bullet is gathering dust, though.
|
|
scrapnnana
Drama Llama
Posts: 6,105
Jun 29, 2014 18:58:47 GMT
|
Post by scrapnnana on Apr 30, 2018 22:43:05 GMT
Forgive me for maybe stating the obvious, but for people who bought the electronic version of cartridges they no longer will have them and the people with the cartridges are fine? I think that is correct, unfortunately. That is why I recommend cutting every image you want to keep from black. Then, if you buy another cutter, you can probably import the images and cut them on whatever cutter you have. See my earlier post about that. Amayalylac, I was used to Illustrator CS2 before Funtime, and I never really liked Funtime. The dongle did not improve my opinion of it. Then one day my Gazelle stopped communicating with my computer. Even my computer savvy, techie DH could not figure out the problem. At that point, I went out and bought a Cameo, because I did not want to go back to my much smaller old blue Wishblade, which was my first electronic cutter. I feel really bad for those who are faced with the CCR demise. Of all the electronic cutter companies, Provo Craft/Cricut seems to have close to the worst track record (Xyron/Wishblade aced them out for absolutely terrible customer satisfaction before they gave up on the Wishblade).
|
|
|
Post by Delta Dawn on Apr 30, 2018 23:12:20 GMT
Forgive me for maybe stating the obvious, but for people who bought the electronic version of cartridges they no longer will have them and the people with the cartridges are fine? I think that is correct, unfortunately. That is why I recommend cutting every image you want to keep from black. Then, if you buy another cutter, you can probably import the images and cut them on whatever cutter you have. See my earlier post about that. Amayalylac, I was used to Illustrator CS2 before Funtime, and I never really liked Funtime. The dongle did not improve my opinion of it. Then one day my Gazelle stopped communicating with my computer. Even my computer savvy, techie DH could not figure out the problem. At that point, I went out and bought a Cameo, because I did not want to go back to my much smaller old blue Wishblade, which was my first electronic cutter. I feel really bad for those who are faced with the CCR demise. Of all the electronic cutter companies, Provo Craft/Cricut seems to have close to the worst track record (Xyron/Wishblade aced them out for absolutely terrible customer satisfaction before they gave up on the Wishblade). I had that red Xyron red/pink cutter thing. It never worked for me. I think it's in a box in the basement somewhere or other. I forget the name of it now. I should never have bought the Silhouette. It was beyond my capabilities and just said no. I also should NOT have bought the Expression but I was working for Cricut and had the Cake machine so I needed an Expression, too. Dumb mistake.
|
|
|
Post by jjpeapea on May 1, 2018 0:49:32 GMT
I use the CCR now and then and I will miss it but I am not surprised. It was great for seeing how layers fit together and seeing how things are sized. I know images are measured top to bottom but I am sometimes surprised with the result just using the dial - the Craft Room shows how many inches tall and wide your image is. I only have about 17 cartridges but that is enough for my purposes. I'm losing access to 2 digital cartridges and two stand alone images. I plan to keep using my Expression with my cartridges. Any time I can use my Expression is fun time.
I guess I forgot to opt in for email because I never got an offer for $75, but I'm not planning on getting another machine. I'd love a steep discount on those two cartridges but I can't see that happening.
|
|
|
Post by crazy4scraps on May 1, 2018 3:49:59 GMT
All I can say is after reading all this, I’m still running my trusty old Pazzles Pro that I bought in 2003. It cost $2500 back in the day, but it was worth every penny and after all these years of hard commercial use, it honestly owes me nothing. I can’t believe I’ve had it for sixteen years! Yes, I’ve updated the Funtime software a couple times over the years, but the version I’m using now is eight years old and it works just fine on my newish HP laptop running Windows 10. I have a Silver Bullet Cutter that I bought a few years ago to replace the Pazzles when or if it goes belly up, but so far it just lives in a bag under my work tables because the Pazzles is still going strong. I can’t imagine how frustrating it must be for some of you to have bought system after system over the years and end up having spent all that money on something that you can’t use at all. All of us with the older machines can still use them as they were originally intended, as stand alone cutters. We just can't manipulate the images with the computer to weld, etc. I did look at the Pazzles machines once upon a time, but the price tag was more than I could manage at the time. I am happy for you that yours is still going strong. I am surprised that your Silver Bullet is gathering dust, though. Right, but because the Pazzles is computer based, I can weld and design and do all that other fun stuff. The only reason my Silver Bullet is gathering dust is solely because I’m so much more fluent with the Funtime software. It really is a fabulous machine that will do a lot. I could probably run the Funtime software in my sleep, and designing with it is SO much faster for me. SCAL, while also good for what it does, is just different enough that it takes me three times as long to do what I want to do and quite honestly I have too many other things to do to spend time fighting through it when I don’t need to (most of the time). Plus my Pazzles still does what I need it to (for scrapbooking and paper crafting), so I haven’t. When I was working on the one design I wanted to make to make into a test custom cookie cutter last week, it took me almost two hours to import it, clean it up and add the offsets in SCAL. If I would have used Funtime for the initial parts of the process, I’d be willing to bet it wouldn’t have taken me half an hour total at most. Then I spent another hour and a half messing with it in Tinkercad. I forced myself to use SCAL because I really do need to learn it eventually, ugh.
|
|
scrapnnana
Drama Llama
Posts: 6,105
Jun 29, 2014 18:58:47 GMT
|
Post by scrapnnana on May 1, 2018 5:33:08 GMT
All of us with the older machines can still use them as they were originally intended, as stand alone cutters. We just can't manipulate the images with the computer to weld, etc. I did look at the Pazzles machines once upon a time, but the price tag was more than I could manage at the time. I am happy for you that yours is still going strong. I am surprised that your Silver Bullet is gathering dust, though. Right, but because the Pazzles is computer based, I can weld and design and do all that other fun stuff. The only reason my Silver Bullet is gathering dust is solely because I’m so much more fluent with the Funtime software. It really is a fabulous machine that will do a lot. I could probably run the Funtime software in my sleep, and designing with it is SO much faster for me. SCAL, while also good for what it does, is just different enough that it takes me three times as long to do what I want to do and quite honestly I have too many other things to do to spend time fighting through it when I don’t need to (most of the time). Plus my Pazzles still does what I need it to (for scrapbooking and paper crafting), so I haven’t. When I was working on the one design I wanted to make to make into a test custom cookie cutter last week, it took me almost two hours to import it, clean it up and add the offsets in SCAL. If I would have used Funtime for the initial parts of the process, I’d be willing to bet it wouldn’t have taken me half an hour total at most. Then I spent another hour and a half messing with it in Tinkercad. I forced myself to use SCAL because I really do need to learn it eventually, ugh. Yes, I know more about the Pazzles Pro than you might think. I think we all have our favorites when it comes to software, although I did not start designing till 2005, and it was with the original $700 blue Wishblade (also computer based cutter) and Illustrator CS2. I agonized over spending so much, but it paid for itself in a variety of ways eventually. I learned to create anything I wanted. I taught classes, and created original projects that I had designed with my software. I had no interest in Cricut when they first came out. I got the Gazelle next after the Wishblade because I wanted the 12 inch width. I used Funtime when I had to, but it bothered me when I couldn't edit points like I could in Illustrator. Maybe that has changed since I had my Gazelle. I only eventually bought the Expression so I wouldn't have to take my computer and Wishblade or Gazelle to crops. I loved my Gazelle. I just didn't care for the Funtime software because I could do more with Illustrator. Eventually either my Gazelle or Funtime stopped communicating with my computer, which meant the Gazelle no longer cut for me. I bought the Cameo on Black Friday 4 or 5 years ago to replace the Gazelle. I currently have the business edition of Silhouette, which lets me do almost as much as Illustrator without converting the file. I bought an Explore a year and a half ago because my son designs leather projects, and the Explore cuts leather. I recently bought a Scan N Cut. Had it not been for the cartridges, I would have spent less on my multiple machines than the Pazzles Pro originally cost. I never intended to buy more than half a dozen cartriges, but I soon learned that without those carts, the machine was pretty limited. It was an impulse buy that I kind of regret, and kind of don't. Provo Craft gave the LEAST value for the money with the Expressions and cartridges, IMO. I never bought the Imagine, but that was even worse. The Expressions aren't bad machines, but Provo Craft comes out with new machines as fast as they can, and they push customers to upgrade one way or another. The Explore is a far better machine than either of the Expressions ever were, but you do have to use a computer. I actually prefer using a computer for most of my projects, as long as I like the software. I just don't care for the Design Space software. I upgraded to the Business edition of Silhouette so that I could export svg files to use with my Explore. I think for those who may be considering a replacement cutter, you should seriously look at and play with the software for each cutter. My problem is that I am a sucker for electronic cutters!
|
|
Deleted
Posts: 0
Apr 20, 2024 11:27:40 GMT
|
Post by Deleted on May 1, 2018 7:31:54 GMT
warrior1991 There was a time when every cartridge you linked was being uploaded to your account on the cloud. I only had digital cartridges that came with my Gypsy. If you go to my account it says all my cartridges are linked CCR or Gypsy. All my cartridges are physical. Kind of sneaky of PC isn't it? scrapnnana I agree with you about Xyron. Did you ever think about looking for that plug-in Silhouette sells that you can cut with Illustrator. I seriously thought of getting that. I don't know if I can cut directly with Corel Draw. Delta Dawn That is the Wishblade your thinking of. Silhouette would have been the upgrade to your Wishblade. I am sorry that happened to you. Believe it or not I never wanted the Expression. I got talked into it. I only wanted the Baby Bug. I have a lot of I shoud have said no too. I am actually going through my room this Spring cleaning and saying to myself "What would I do differently?" I am fixing my no's. jjpeapea Can you check to see if you can find your cartridges on Ebay. Some of the cartridges are really cheap now. I wish I didn't get rid of my cartridges now. I would have been so glad to give them to you all.
|
|
|
Post by Linda on May 1, 2018 12:47:07 GMT
I think I was very fortunate to buy the SCAL software before Provo Craft won their lawsuit. It will be a sad day when my Cricut Expression dies. I will definitely switch to Silhouette. I have had some people ask me over the years what is better and I always tell them to stay away from Cricut. me too. I've never used cartridges - just SCAL - with my Expression and I won't go with a Cricut when it's time to replace it
|
|
|
Post by crazy4scraps on May 1, 2018 14:27:09 GMT
scrapnnana Oh, I know you’re VERY knowledgeable when it comes to these cutters and I really love reading your posts and thoughts about diecutting. Back when I bought my Pro, I was designing page kits full time and had been including paper patterns in every kit which I knew was a huge PITA for my customers. So when I stumbled on the Pazzles when it first came out, I knew that even though it was crazy expensive it would quickly pay for itself. And it did! Over the years, it probably paid for itself ten times over because I was using it commercially. I was also glad I jumped in head first and learned the software as well as I did right away. It was my first real exposure to vector based drawing and having that knowledge base has been a great starting point when it comes to learning how to use other vector based software. Having the time to sit down and do it? Now that’s something else entirely! I’ve never owned a Wishblade, a Silhouette or a Cricut. Never had a need. LOL, for the spreadsheet: Accu-Cut Mark IV Accu-Cut Grande Mark Cuttlebug Side Kick (finally donated it) Big Kick Pazzles Pro Pazzles Inspiration (bought it for a smoking hot deal that I couldn’t refuse when I was demonstrating them) Silver Bullet 15”
|
|
scrapnnana
Drama Llama
Posts: 6,105
Jun 29, 2014 18:58:47 GMT
|
Post by scrapnnana on May 1, 2018 14:28:49 GMT
Amaylylac, yes, I had the Illustrator plug in. I was one of the first to have the opportunity to try it. It was intended for those who do print and cut, to get better resolution in what you print.
And yes, if anyone still has their Wishblade, they can actually use the Silhouette software to run it. There may be a step or two to follow in order to get the Wishblade to recognize the Silhouette drivers. I just never really needed my Wishblade again after I upgraded to my Gazelle, and then later to Cameo.
If I could have seen the future, I would have waited 6 weeks to buy the Wishblade, when it dropped in price $300, but I was so mad that I was determined to find a way to make it pay for itself. That actually is what pushed me into designing files and teaching classes. And it did pay for itself. Eventually.
I cannot even remotely say that of the Expression or cartridges. I certainly would never have bought so many Cricut cartridges, if I had ever thought Cricut would someday make their files electronic. Like everything else, that could be considered both a blessing and a curse, depending on how that is affecting everyone with CCR going away.
Xyron did not survive the whole Wishblade fiasco. Eventually, they gave up the cutter and everything to do with it as a bad job.
For everyone else reading this thread:
Provo Craft survived the SCAL and MTC lawsuits, although I think they took such a serious financial hit from it in customer loss that they did finally realize they have to listen somewhat to customers. With this CCR issue, though, it is going to upset a lot of customers all over again. Some will keep using their machines as stand alone, some will upgrade to a version of the Explore or to the Cricut Maker, and some will buy some other cutter from a completely different company. There are a LOT of options if you are considering switching to a different company's cutter.
For anyone considering buying a new cutter, please try the software of any machine you are considering first, as well as look at the capabilities of the machine itself, and what time YOU want to put into learning a new machine and new software. It can be overwhelming to look into all the possibilities, but it can make the difference between money well spent or wasted dollars.
Also, while there are a lot of free files out there, it can really limit you if you are not interested in learning how to create your own cutting files. Keep that in mind if you decide to buy a new cutter, too. Look at what type files it can use. SVG capability is a MUST because many file designers (free files or for purchase) offer their designs in SVG. I also recommend you look at what files they sell, and whether or not you can trace clip art. Make sure you can use your computer's fonts. There are a lot of great free fonts out there.
Think about what you would honestly use the machine to do. All of the electronic cutters will cut paper, cardstock, and vinyl. Some do not handle heavier cardstock as well. If you want to cut heavier materials, such as thicker chipboard, fabric, and/or leather, that cuts down your options a lot.
Cricut Explore can cut a lot more materials, but Cricut Maker can cut even more. They have relatively affordable machines (when compared to the Silver Bullet, Pazzles Pro, or Klick N Kut), with higher capability than many others, which is going to keep some customers coming back to Provo Craft, and Provo Craft is counting on that. The Explore series of machines and Cricut Maker have simpler software, which a lot of home crafters prefer.
Just consider ALL your options. Please make any decision based on what you need, want, and can afford. Don't make it just based on aggravation with Cricut, or what you want a machine to do IF you are not willing to spend the time learning how to use a machine (or software) that will require time and effort to learn.
I own far too many electronic cutters. I really love my Cameo. I do the bulk of my crafting with it. If I had known how to do the "cut first, stamp second" method, I would never have bought the Scan N Cut. It's a good machine, but I did not really need it. I did need the Explore Air 2 for cutting leather, but had it not been for that, I would probably have never bought the Explore. I cut paper, cardstock, regular vinyl, and heat transfer vinyl for the vast majority of my crafting. I have used my Explore and some of the Cricut Disney designs for creating t-shirts, but I also have created other Disney shirts with my Cameo by tracing Disney clip art or coloring pages. I thought I had done sufficient homework before each machine purchase, but in looking back now, I could have done things differently and saved a lot of money.
|
|
scrapnnana
Drama Llama
Posts: 6,105
Jun 29, 2014 18:58:47 GMT
|
Post by scrapnnana on May 1, 2018 15:06:43 GMT
Crazy4scraps, your list made me laugh! It is similar to my own: Accu-cut Mark IV Red Sizzix Cuttlebug Sidekick (gave away) Some other manual cutter that I don't remember the name of (gave away) Wishblade Gazelle Cricut Expression Cricut Expression 2 (as a back up because I got it on Black Friday, it cut detail better, and I was stupid to invest so much in cartridges) Big Kick Cameo 2 (on Black Friday, after my Gazelle and computer had a falling out that even techie DH could not fix) Explore Air 2 Big Shot Scan N Cut I rarely found a cutter I didn't like. I saved up for each one. The Wishblade and Gazelle paid for themselves. So did the Cuttlebug. I was working for and teaching at the LSS, doing class kits and Make & Takes, and I used all of my machines. The Cameo has been totally worth what I spent on it. I cannot say the same for any of the Cricut machines or cartridges. I bought and used the Expression for awhile when I didn't have time to design my own cutting files, and when most of my scrapping was done at crops, but those cartridges made it the most expensive system on the market. This discussion has been a really good wake up call for me. I need to stop searching for the perfect cutter. I have what I need. And then some.
|
|
|
Post by warrior1991 on May 1, 2018 17:18:35 GMT
Slight hi-jack.
Any one who still uses their Cricuts, do you notice that it won't cut true circles anymore? My Create was wonderful at cutting circles, but now they aren't truly round. If I cut a 1.75" circle with a die, and then cut a 2" circle on the Cricut (doesn't matter which cartridge), the circle is not perfectly round.
I do all my basic shapes on my Silhouette if I don't have a die or punch for it.
Hi-jack over.
|
|
edie3
Drama Llama
Posts: 5,457
Jun 26, 2014 1:03:18 GMT
|
Post by edie3 on May 1, 2018 19:25:09 GMT
per Cricut chat:
Hari Karanam Yes. Correct. If you upgrade your Cricut Machine. edie so those images are gone? Hari Karanam They will not be gone, but will be in your Design Space account permanently and when you upgrade your machine later, you can access them.
|
|
scrapnnana
Drama Llama
Posts: 6,105
Jun 29, 2014 18:58:47 GMT
|
Post by scrapnnana on May 1, 2018 20:26:40 GMT
Slight hi-jack. Any one who still uses their Cricuts, do you notice that it won't cut true circles anymore? My Create was wonderful at cutting circles, but now they aren't truly round. If I cut a 1.75" circle with a die, and then cut a 2" circle on the Cricut (doesn't matter which cartridge), the circle is not perfectly round. I do all my basic shapes on my Silhouette if I don't have a die or punch for it. Hi-jack over. My original Expression never cut a perfect circle. It was one of the complaints. They were close, but not perfect, if you were cutting with the machine as stand alone, no computer. I never used CCR to cut circles with my Expression. I bought the Expression 2 as a back up machine, because I had invested too much in cartridges, and I was afraid the Expression would be eventually abandoned. I did not trust Provo Craft to take care of its customers. I also hoped that the E2 would cut circles better. It did slightly better, but still not as perfect as my computer driven cutters (Wishblade, Gazelle, and later the Cameo). If your Create cut perfect circles, it did better than both my Expressions. I'm sorry you are getting poor results now, though.
|
|
|
Post by riversong1963 on May 2, 2018 0:19:09 GMT
All of my Cricut machines (original, Expression, Cake Mini, Mini, and Explore Air) have always cut perfect circles.
|
|
|
Post by crazy4scraps on May 2, 2018 4:14:29 GMT
Crazy4scraps, your list made me laugh! It is similar to my own: Accu-cut Mark IV Red Sizzix Cuttlebug Sidekick (gave away) Some other manual cutter that I don't remember the name of (gave away) Wishblade Gazelle Cricut Expression Cricut Expression 2 (as a back up because I got it on Black Friday, it cut detail better, and I was stupid to invest so much in cartridges) Big Kick Cameo 2 (on Black Friday, after my Gazelle and computer had a falling out that even techie DH could not fix) Explore Air 2 Big Shot Scan N Cut I rarely found a cutter I didn't like. I saved up for each one. The Wishblade and Gazelle paid for themselves. So did the Cuttlebug. I was working for and teaching at the LSS, doing class kits and Make & Takes, and I used all of my machines. The Cameo has been totally worth what I spent on it. I cannot say the same for any of the Cricut machines or cartridges. I bought and used the Expression for awhile when I didn't have time to design my own cutting files, and when most of my scrapping was done at crops, but those cartridges made it the most expensive system on the market.This discussion has been a really good wake up call for me. I need to stop searching for the perfect cutter. I have what I need. And then some. LOL. A friend of mine used to do a big retreat every summer and there was this one lady who would attend that would bring one, maybe more than one, of those 4’ tall rainbow colored plastic scrapping organizer drawer things that Michael’s sells FULL of Cricut cartridges. Hundreds and HUNDREDS of cartridges! Every time I would see all those cartridges lined up neatly in their drawers I would be seriously in awe, not only because she owned them all and seemed to know what was on them, but also because of how much money she had to have spent to acquire all of them! I don’t even know how a person would be able to keep track of what images were on what cartridges. I would be lost.
|
|
Deleted
Posts: 0
Apr 20, 2024 11:27:40 GMT
|
Post by Deleted on May 2, 2018 7:02:33 GMT
scrapnnana I just looked at the Silhouette plug-in and it does cut from Corel Draw. I might seriously think about this since high DPI is important to me. Thank you for letting me know about the print resolution. This thread has been an eye opener for me too. I know it got me thinking about my history. I wanted the Wishblade. I was doing a lot of digi's then and I wanted to print and cut my own design's. Who knew the ideas I had in my head would be our modern day printables. I was happy with my Wishblade. I had the pink one. It was hard to learn. There were no resources back then. The communities were closed and not very helpful. If we had YouTube, Instagram, Pinterest, etc... back then I would probably had not looked at another cutter. What I could do with the Wishblade when I could figure it out made me very happy and fit my needs and loved it. I thought it was magical too, lol. I was a pcCrafter HugSister. ProvoCraft bigwigs asked us one day if anyone would go and welcome the girls at the new Cricut MB. I did. I had no interest in the Cricut. To this day I should not have welcomed, lol. I am kidding. The girls were open, loved to teach and so creative. Things I was not finding in the Graphtec/Wishblade/Silhouette communities. I bought the Cricut. It didn't fit my needs. I needed to Print & Cut my own designs. I wanted to make my own vector files. I did enjoy putting cartridges in my machine and I could cut out a fish bowl super quick. I think that is what looped me in was a library of designs. In hindsight I should have started a Yahoo Group to share files and have challenges since I already had other Yahoo groups. I would have had a nice image library now. Then I fell down the rabbit hole. Gazelle- To cut heavier materials. The dongle, member only forum and hand holding was too much for me. I don't regret my Cameo. My DH accidentally broke my Wishblade. That was the replacement. I do wish I got the Portrait instead. I never cut big. I do like my Cameo. It just became kind of redundant when I got the ScannCut. The other Cricut's I have owned. Peer pressure. I never fall for peer pressure. I should have stayed with smaller Cricut's or collected files for my Wishblade with the above Yahoo Group idea. The Explore was a replacement for my Expression that was at it's end of lifespan. I like the Explore. I don't love it. I would LOVE the Explore if it had an offset and offline software. I would be happy with hybrid software. Pretty please girls don't buy an Explore for their licensed files. I understand if you are selling and want to protect yourself legally because PC and Cameo do have their legal angel policies for their licensed designs. Honestly, if you are making Ariel Disney party favors for a five year old princess birthday party then you can find beautiful coloring book images and pretty printables to cut with your machines. Even Disney gives those out free. Dollar Tree has such lovely coloring books if you want to purchase. The ScannCut was the one that surprised me the most. I was very hesitant about it for a long time. I am tired of the die cutter drama games. I just was like I am sticking with Cameo/Cricut. I wanted to cut my own designs standalone without a computer. Brother is more proprietary than Cricut. I have fallen in love with that cutter. I will definitely say that if I was buying the first time I would be so happy with the ScannCut I probably would have never looked at the other cutters. I don't want to hype it though. It does have it's problems. It fits me. Circles- Mine were perfect too. Had a couple of wonky scallops. Ovals could be wonky if cut small. Hello Kitty would have a wonk eyes, ROFL! I notice when Cricut gets to the end of their lifespan circles are always the first to go wonky. crazy4scraps I had hundreds of cartridges too. I spent less than $600 in a ten year period on cartridges. I probably would have spent less than that. I did start with Cricut when it first came out. My first five were full price. Back then I thought it was fair because I thought they were going to be like the embroidery cartridges of the day. I didn't think PC would release billions of cartridges, lol. I really thought we were only going to get maybe three or four a year. I got my cartridges as gifts, reward points, sales, good hunting on Ebay.
|
|
scrapnnana
Drama Llama
Posts: 6,105
Jun 29, 2014 18:58:47 GMT
|
Post by scrapnnana on May 2, 2018 22:04:50 GMT
I don't have hundreds of carts, but I do have over a hundred. Most of them I bought on sale, possibly all of them. I used to buy dies, so a cartridge of designs was a better deal. If I liked 5 or more designs on a cartridge, it was less expensive than Sizzix dies, and far less than Accu-Cut dies.
But it all adds up. I think back now and kind of cringe when I consider how much I spent on cartridges, and every cartridge has at least some designs that I will never use.
I did not buy the Cricut for the Disney files. I bought it for crops so I wouldn't have to drag along my laptop. It was useful for that. For a couple of years, my friends and I used it while we cropped at the LSS. My regret is not the machine, but buying too many cartridges. I never needed all the ones that I bought, and that includes some of the Disney cartridges.
Some of the best Disney shirts I made for our family reunion at Disney World were created from online Disney clip art and some tweaking. I used my Silhouette software and my Cameo.
On a side note, I saw a review of the Cricut Maker that was by a bonafide seamstress who really gave it an honest review. After reading the review, any lingering temptation to buy it was eliminated for me. It is reportedly very, very slow, even though it is powerful. If you want to cut balsa wood, or if you quilt or make doll clothes, it might be a machine to consider. I will not be buying it. However, my Explore is a great machine, and it can supposedly also cut balsa wood. It definitely cuts soft, thin leather, which is why I bought mine. For those who decide to stick with Cricut, whether due to cartridges you want to keep using, or any other reason, the Explore Air 2 is a decent option.
I am a little surprised and envious that others here got perfect circles with their Cricuts. Neither of my Expressions ever cut a perfect circle for me. Since Cricut was not my only electronic cutter, it was not a huge issue, but it was annoying, and some others at the LSS had the same complaint. If it is the first symptom of a machine starting to fail, then maybe I only tried cutting circles later, when I'd had and used my Expressions awhile.
Amayalylac, I am glad that you are so happy with the Scan N Cut! I have no complaints other than regretting buying it based on my own unrealistic expectations before doing thorough homework.
For those who wonder why amayalylac loves her Scan N Cut, and I am not quite as enthusiastic, we each bought the machine to accomplish different things.
The reason I bought the Scan N Cut was solely because I am a stamper. I have a huge collection of stamps, many of which do not have matching dies. I figured the Scan N Cut would be cheaper in the long run than buying matching dies. I was not getting great results with the PixScan technology (related mainly to getting a photo that it would accept). I wanted to be able to stamp, scan, and cut. I was naive in thinking I could completely bypass the computer all of the time. Sometimes I can, and the Scan N Cut works well for just stamping, scanning, and cutting, but sometimes not. I now understand what works now, what doesn't, and why. I had never actually seen one demonstrated other than in online videos, which are very controlled situations, and which do not necessarily match what I do with stamps. Now that I have learned about cutting matching outline shapes first, then using a stamp platform to line up the stamps perfectly, I know that my Cameo was all that I actually needed. I will still use the Scan N Cut part of the time, since I already bought it, and there will be times when it is more convenient. With the Cameo, I do still need to scan and trace a stamp to get the matching cutting file.
|
|
Deleted
Posts: 0
Apr 20, 2024 11:27:40 GMT
|
Post by Deleted on May 3, 2018 6:08:11 GMT
I just thought I don't have hundreds of carts either, lol. I am so tired girls. You all know the stressful situation with my family member going on. Pretty please forgive me for any goofiness. I do have close to one hundred cartridges. I agree with scrapnnana I use to look at the Sizzix dies and think the Cricut cartridges were a better deal. I was thinking of this thread last night. The big thing I made mistakes on with my cutters is not having great social networks. That is not a problem any more. Any mistakes I made was because of that. I don't regret my cartridges. I wish I didn't get loped into buying so many of their machines. Everyone is still complaining that ProvoCraft just drops machines after 2-3 years. These are new users not us old Cricut users I am hearing this complaint from. What did we all complain in the old days was them churning out machines. Now there is a new generation complaining of the same thing. Cricut's business model is built on that. That is where they are making their big money. They knew their cartridges were a loss. Machines they could get you hyped. I fell for that. Shame on me. No more. scrapnnana Do you remember where you saw the article? I love to read it. That is why I wanted the Cricut Maker for was sewing. I do want to sew doll clothes. It sounds like the Cricut Maker is not going to handle couture clothing and it was made more for American Dolls. Yes, definitely different reasons why I got the ScannCut. Wanted to scan my own artwork. Got very high recommendations for it from my couture clothing social media I follow. Cutting couture patterns is something I loathe. I love the ScannCut can do it for me. I love I can scan fabric and cut the images out. I bought it for my sewing and professional artwork. Paper crafting I am still trying to learn. I am probably the worst person on this forum to ask what I like about it for paper crafting. You know my favorite nail art cutter is actually the Cameo.
|
|
scrapnnana
Drama Llama
Posts: 6,105
Jun 29, 2014 18:58:47 GMT
|
Post by scrapnnana on May 3, 2018 8:58:18 GMT
|
|
|
Post by elegantsufficiency on May 3, 2018 9:09:54 GMT
@amayalylac there's this one too. (the blog post that brought me to this thread, previously quoted in an earlier message, but reposted in case you missed it)
|
|
scrapnnana
Drama Llama
Posts: 6,105
Jun 29, 2014 18:58:47 GMT
|
Post by scrapnnana on May 3, 2018 15:43:54 GMT
@amayalylac there's this one too. (the blog post that brought me to this thread, previously quoted in an earlier message, but reposted in case you missed it) I checked your link, which only mentioned the positives, with no negatives at all. Maybe she had mentioned them previously, but she sounded like so many of the overly positive reviews and videos that led me to buy the Scan N Cut, which I now regret. It's a good machine for certain types of stampers and/or crafters, but it does not meet my needs nearly as well as I expected. I wish I'd seen a more honest review of the Scan N Cut that showed its limitations. Prospective buyers deserve to know the good, the bad, and everything in between. If a video for a machine is nothing but raves, they aren't telling you everything you need to know to make an informed decision.
|
|
|
Post by elegantsufficiency on May 3, 2018 18:07:32 GMT
I quite agree scrapnnana. Having read that review, I hopped on over here to see what people had written and came across this thread. How glad I did! I have a quilter friend who has been disappointed by most of the digital/die cutting machines she has tried. The accuracy of the cut is dependent on so many factors including the grain of the fabric. One means of managing that is to use stabiliser or similar, as we need to do using the Cameo when cutting fabric (not that I've tried it for patchwork pieces) - my alarm bells started to ring when I read about the ability to cut unsupported fabric using the Cricut Maker....can it really do that? I'm not altogether sure I believe it! As you say, a good review is an honest review - we need to know about the warts and all.
|
|
Deleted
Posts: 0
Apr 20, 2024 11:27:40 GMT
|
Post by Deleted on May 4, 2018 6:42:47 GMT
scrapnnana Thank you so much for the article. That was a really excellent article. She really took the Maker to task. I am so happy to see that. I need Pro's & Con's. I think my DH is still buying me one. He thinks I will love it. I definitely want to know the con's. I rather have con's and know what I need to work around and fix than have a bunch of pro's. I noticed a lot of pro articles are actually very big problems being glossed over. I thought the ScannCut had way too many positive reviews too. It made me so hesitant even though everything screamed that was going to be my machine. I played with it last night. I loved my cuts I made. I tried it with my USB stick. It worked great. I was so impressed. I don't like the onboard files. They are not good files. I bet they were made for quilter's in mind and not paper crafter's. I can tell by the style and shapes. Even though I loved the machine I ran into two major issues using it. I got cut on the blade. I have been die cutting for over a decade. That is the first time I ever got cut with a blade. The blade fits loose in the housing and I notice it drops easily. I was putting in my mat and the machine grabbed my mat and took off with it. I bent the corner of the mat. It is still usable. Again over a decade and I never bent a mat like that. I wish they would label things in the menu. I can find some con's, lol. elegantsufficiency- Thank you for the article too. I read it all. Back in the day PC use to write blog articles for affiliated bloggers. That blogger was paid or given free items to post the blog as their own work. One of the admin's told me this and two of the Cricut bloggers I am friends with admitted to this. The way her blog post was written looked like an official ProvoCraft post. I am not side eyeing. It is a way to promote and advertise their own machines. A lot of companies do this from crafting to gaming. It definitely has made me buyer beware. I think it will be helpful to quilter's. Cricut Maker does look like a nice quilting machine.
|
|
|
Post by gale w on May 4, 2018 6:53:17 GMT
All I can say is after reading all this, I’m still running my trusty old Pazzles Pro that I bought in 2003. It cost $2500 back in the day, but it was worth every penny and after all these years of hard commercial use, it honestly owes me nothing. I can’t believe I’ve had it for sixteen years! Yes, I’ve updated the Funtime software a couple times over the years, but the version I’m using now is eight years old and it works just fine on my newish HP laptop running Windows 10. I have a Silver Bullet Cutter that I bought a few years ago to replace the Pazzles when or if it goes belly up, but so far it just lives in a bag under my work tables because the Pazzles is still going strong. I can’t imagine how frustrating it must be for some of you to have bought system after system over the years and end up having spent all that money on something that you can’t use at all. All of us with the older machines can still use them as they were originally intended, as stand alone cutters. We just can't manipulate the images with the computer to weld, etc. I did look at the Pazzles machines once upon a time, but the price tag was more than I could manage at the time. I am happy for you that yours is still going strong. I am surprised that your Silver Bullet is gathering dust, though. Except the mini It only works with CCR. I tried 5 different expression machines and not a single one cut a decent circle.
|
|
scrapnnana
Drama Llama
Posts: 6,105
Jun 29, 2014 18:58:47 GMT
|
Post by scrapnnana on May 4, 2018 17:39:22 GMT
Gale, I had totally forgotten about the Mini. That one will be basically a paper weight, then, once CCR is gone. That is a shame!
And this may seem weird, but I appreciate knowing that my Expressions were not the only ones which could not cut a decent circle.
|
|
Deleted
Posts: 0
Apr 20, 2024 11:27:40 GMT
|
Post by Deleted on May 5, 2018 7:49:06 GMT
If you have the Gypsy you can still use the Mini. Just throwing out an idea for those Mini users who might be panicking about CCR going away.
Now there is a new drama about CCR. They only gave the $75 coupon for active CCR users. If you were not that active then you didn't get the coupon to upgrade. Some people actually called Cricut to get the discount and they were told they couldn't have the coupon. I understand people trying to con a discount that might not have ever used CCR or have even owned a Cricut that Cricut would tell them NO. They were telling people "You only used CCR twice last month. This coupon is for people who have used it at least ten times this month." If some of you didn't receive the coupon code that is why.
Am I the only one that finds it creepy Cricut keeps individual track of how much we use their cloud base program? I understand a mass track for analytics and upkeep. Individual seems to Big Brother. Learn something new about Cricut every day. This is the kind of things I don't want to learn. I want to learn an offset feature they will never give us, lol.
|
|