Scan n cut on sale at Amazon

Dumb question, but what exactly is the Online Activation Card for? It looks like it's a code you enter, not an actual piece of equipment, so the machine has the full capability to connect to a wireless network already built in, but they charge you an extra $40 to unlock it? O.o I keep thinking I must really be misunderstanding here.

joblackford

Wow. I really don't know what to say about that. I get paying Silhouette for software that has a bunch extra creative capabilities. But $40 just to unlock wireless seems like a racket. I'd thought about getting one because I like the idea of, well, scan and cutting my stamps without having to go through my laptop. The Pix Scan mat on the Cameo is fairly easy to use, but transferring the photo can be a bit slow, so an 'all in one' is appealing. (Although I'd never give up my Cameo!) And it only takes a 1/2 dozen die sets to offset the cost of the machine. I was about ready to buy one, and now I'm not so sure. Since I'd use my Cameo for non-stamp cutting, I don't think that feature would actually matter to me, it just feels a bit shady, kind of like when you buy a device where the battery has x-number of recharges, and the device is programmed to die when you've reached the recharge limit, regardless of whether the battery is still actually good and the device would mechanically still work. You have to pay for additional use of your perfectly working device. Or like printers that limit their lifespan to the number of times you change the ink cartridges, or that die once the waste ink pad fills. In this case, the wireless hardware is already present and included in the cost of the machine, but you have to pay to use the full capability of your out-of-the-box device.

Are there any other things that are going to surprise me on the scan n cut?

I checked. The price is a lot higher now. And it stated that it does not ship to my location. That really surprised me. I have never seen that message on Amazon before.

scrappinheather

I haven't bought one, I've only looked at them, so I'm really hoping someone with a clue answers your question. When I was looking at them, I thought the Costco one was the 250 model, the $224 is the 350. My understanding is that if you're cutting black outlines/colored stamps with dark outlines, the 250 cuts them like they're black images. If you want to cut out things that are light colored with no dark outline, the 350 has a new color mode that will identify and cut those. They advertise the rgb scanning as a new feature of the 350.

moraie I think the ScanNCut is still a really good machine, despite the con of the $40 card. From what I can tell it works really well, especially for cutting around stamped images. No computer needed for that.

Down the line if you want it to be wireless because you're sick of using the USB to transfer designs it's going to be annoying to know that you have to pay to unlock that feature. But the machine will still do what it claims to do. I guess it's kind of a convenience fee. If I get one I'm just going to pretend it doesn't have wireless capability. Hashtag denial is bliss ;P

joblackford

I'm trying to tell myself I won't ever be transferring designs to it because I have my Cameo and I like the software. I think that's probably mostly true. The wireless thing just makes me wonder if there's anything else that's going to sneak up on me. I'd really feel a whole lot better about it if they charged me for the software. To me, since the obvious part of the Scan n Cut is the scan part, adding software for creativity outside of the machine seems like a valid place to charge. Charging for wireless bugs me. I watched the video on their website, and it says you can now connect directly to your computer and they showed a cable (that I'm sure I'll probably have to buy separately). I'll have to go back and watch it again, but I'd be fine with a cable, too.

I'm also noticing in a lot of videos that for the most part it cuts really evenly around the design, but once in a while you see someone that their cuts are always "white-heavy" to one side. Have you ever seen anything about needing to adjust alignment so it cuts true to the scan and not off-center?

I agree. The software would have made for a better place to charge extra without making people feel cheated. The cable probably is an extra add on (I'm not sure but they often are) but, if it is, it should be possible to get a cheap cable online. You might even have the right kind of connector laying around at home if it's USB/lightning cable or similar. I would probably just keep a USB stick with the machine for transferring designs. That's what I have to do with my "wireless" scanner that won't talk to my laptop any more.    

I haven't seen anything about uneven cuts, but I also haven't watched too many videos lately.
Besides the money issue of collecting matching dies to go with stamps, the evenness of the cutting was something that appealed to me and my finicky nature. It seems like it can be quite tricky to line dies up perfectly centered on stamps, so I liked the idea that you'd get a nice even border... but I guess maybe not. I can't think what would cause that either. 

This sale price is really tempting but I just bought my first die cutter (a Big Shot) for my cardmaking business and I'm not sure that I should get a SNC too. I don't think I need one. I think I'm going to hold off until next year.