the Brother ScanNCut2 Review 1: the First Cut

I was excited and nervous as I prepared to use my new Brother ScanNCut2 machine.

"The box was packed upside down. Is it broken?"
"Is it going to cut through the mat?"
"Am I going to mess up?"

I've used my Silhouette Cameo for a long time and I have gotten so used to it that I can't help feeling the newbie jitters. Cutting with this ScanNCut2 is, after all, the first time that I'll be using a Brother electronic cutter. I had only just received the machine the day before! (See the Unboxing HERE). Many folks have said that it's easy to use and yet somehow my inner voice was convinced that I was going to screw up.

The ScanNCut is basically an electronic cutting machine with a built-in scanner. I had done some research on the cutter when Brother introduced the first generation of the machines in 2013. At that time, I decided against buying one after noticing the mixed reviews. However, the feedback for the new model, the ScanNCut2 is generally pretty good and so I went ahead and bought myself one**.

One of the reasons that I bought the ScanNCut2 machine was to cut out rubberstamped images. It is time consuming to fussy cut and costly to buy the matching metal dies. So for my first cuts, I planned to cut out some stamped impressions. I stamped on a sheet of Neenah cardstock, and placed that onto the cutting mat. Next, I took out the Operation Manual and started studying it. The instructions were clear and easy to follow.

With the Quick Reference Guide in hand, I confidently switched on the machine. I was ready to give it a go.

the default cut settings

It is important to do a test cut on the paper to make sure that all the settings are right before going ahead to cut the actual project. The ScanNCut2 has made it very easy to do just that.

All I had to do was to choose the test shape (I picked the triangle)...

... and size (I used the default)...

....load the mat and...

... press a (green) Start/Stop button so that the machine will start to cut.

My first test cut did not fully cut through the paper. As recommended by the Operation Manual, I increased the blade depth by 0.5 (i.e. from 4 to somewhere between 4 and 5 since there are no markings on the blade holder for 4.5) and got the machine to make a second test cut. It was perfect! Now it's time to cut out the stamped images.

These are the stamped images that I'm trying to cut out.

I loaded the paper and the mat into the machine and selected the Scan feature.

I followed the instructions on the touchscreen to start the scanning process.

The touchscreen is how I get the machine to scan and to cut.

I noticed that the machine not only scanned the stamped images, it also captured the shapes of the two test cuts that I had previously made. I was glad that I was able to trim the scanned page down and exclude the two triangles.

One of my favorite feature of the ScanNCut2 is that it allows the user to set a margin (i.e. an offset) around the scanned images. The Outline Distance starts at 0.04" and goes up by increments of 0.04". Since I usually cut my stickers out with an offset of 0.07", I set the Outline Distance for these stamped images at 0.08"- it's the closest thing I can get to an offset of 0.07" with the ScanNCut2.

Here's one more look at the cut lines. I thought they looked fine and so I hit "Cut" on the touchscreen....

... and hit the green Start/Stop button to start the cutting process.

I held my breath while I waited for the machine to finish cutting. I was so excited! As soon as the ScanNCut2 finished doing its thing, I gently lifted a corner of the cardstock and saw....

... a perfect cut!

In fact, all my stamped images were cut out beautifully. I was so happy!!

The ScanNCut2 is surprisingly easy to use. I didn't need to hook it up to a computer or download any software to cut these images out. I just followed the instructions in the Operation Manual, and pressed a few buttons on the touchscreen. I'm so happy that I no longer need to fussy cut my rubberstamped images or spend money to buy the matching metal dies for my stamps. I can just use my new ScanNCut2 to literally, scan the images and cut them out. Yippee!!

These are only the first cuts that I have made with the machine and already, I am in awe. I *heart* this cutter! Besides being able to scan and cut out stamped images, the ScanNCut2 also have many other features that I have yet to explore. I cannot wait to try them out and share them here with y'all!

Stay tuned. I'll be back soon to tell y'all more.

---

** I am not affiliated with Brother Industries, Ltd. I paid and bought the ScanNCut2 with my own money and the reviews are a reflection of my personal experience with the machine.

p.s. If you missed the Unboxing of this machine, you can find my post HERE.