(If you use this machine with Make-the-Cut, please add your opinions about this machine under the COMMENTS section of this post. Please only comment if you use the Gazelle. If I find any comments about any other cutters, I will move or delete it. Thank you.)
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Website: http://www.bosskut.com/
MTC Thread dedicated to the Gazelle: The Gazelle Thread
Price:
The MSRP of the Gazelle is $529.00 but when I googled, I found that the selling price of the machine is anywhere from $399-$499 plus shipping.
Currently BossKut is running 1-week special (Mar 16-Mar 25)on this machine:
One Week Only
March 16 - 25
Gazelle $389.00
Plus
1set of Standard Blades
1 set of Vinyl Blades
1 Deep Cut Blade
1 Extra cutting mat
Free Shipping in the USA
March 16 - 25
Gazelle $389.00
Plus
1set of Standard Blades
1 set of Vinyl Blades
1 Deep Cut Blade
1 Extra cutting mat
Free Shipping in the USA
The following user review was contributed by Julie, the owner of the MTC_Tuts Yahoo Group. Thank you, Julie, for taking the time to share your review with us!
--------------------------------------------------start of review-----------------------------------------
Introductory things: I currently own and use 6 different cutters: Pazzles Pro, Pazzles Inspiration, Cricut Expression, BossKut Gazelle, Craftwell eCraft, and the old blue Craft Robo. I have given away my Pazzles mini and old blue Wishblade to family members who needed them. I have used many other cutters in the past 6 years, and elected to keep only these so far. Each has its own strengths. I will report on the Gazelle, because it is my favorite portable cutter that cuts directly from MTC.
Gazelle Description The Gazelle is a powerful cutter in a compact metal housing, weighing in at only 9.7 pounds. It boasts of the cutting width and pressure of much more expensive craft cutters. This cutter can run day and night, and not overheat. Although it is not much larger than the smaller cutters on the market, with a footprint of 20 7/8” wide x 7.5"deep x 5 ¼” high, the Gazelle cuts three times as fast, with seven selectable speed settings. It’s cutting width of 12.25” enables users to cut a full 12” wide with room to spare. It will cut roll media up to 100” long, and is equally at home with tiny letters, numbers and shapes. It cuts everything from lightweight printer paper to chipboard and other media up to 1mm thick.
You can cut lots of fun media with the Gazelle: Paper, light, medium, and heavy card stock, thin rubber stamp material, lightweight metals, flexible chipboard, acetate, .020 mil Plastic Craft Sheet, stiffened 100% cotton fabric, rubber stamps, Grunge board, fun foam, vinyl, vellum, 7 mil stencil plastic Transparency film, acetate overlay material, Funky Film, Shrink plastic, Magnet sheets by Wube, Self Adhesive real cotton by Shortcuts, Freezer paper, Bling by Grafix, Ink Jetties by Impact, Exterior cling vinyl Duralar by Grafix, Clear Lay by Grafix, Laser Film by Grafix, Thin Wood Veneer, Glitter paper, Heavy metallic paper and more!
What do you like about the machine?
1. I like the small size of the Gazelle,
2. its portability, and the
3. fact that it cuts 12.25" wide, and
4. unlimited height.
5. I like its printer USB connection so that I can cut to it from many different software programs.
6. I especially like being able to cut from MTC directly to the Gazelle with a click of a button, and get excellent accurate cutting, even with the tiniest detail.
7. I like how it has two small drawers in the closable lid for holding blades and accessories.
8. I like how it can be used with any size pen for drawing, up to those as thick as the Cricut pens. I am not limited to using short pens either. I have thousands of professional art pens that I can use in my Gazelle for drawing really nice, multi-colored designs.
9. Cutting around drawn lines is easy and accurate using the laser registration feature.
10. I like being able to do accurate print and cut projects, though I don't do too many of these.
11. The Gazelle never overheats or pauses in the middle of cuts. It can run day and night without overheating. When I am in production mode, I really appreciate its ability to keep on cutting!
12. I really like the new blade holder with the dial for setting the blade depth (similar to the ones used by Cri...
13. I like the durability of the cutting mats. They don't wrinkle or curl, and can be resurfaced over an over is stored flat and not gouged by incorrect blade depth. They are not too thick or thin.
14. I think the Gazelle is a great value for the price. For those who have a limited budget but want a wide format cutter, I think this is a great option.
15. The Gazelle ships with the Funtime software, which has basic to professional design tools, and includes 750 built in cutting designs. It also includes 200 cutting fonts. I especially like the line and arc editing features that are not yet available in MTC. It opens WPC files and imports PDF and AI files. I like being able to transfer files between it and MTC. I also like to create my own cutting fonts in this software. I love the journaling fonts available for use with this software.
Does it cut vinyl and chipboard? It cuts vinyl very well. I prefer cutting the .022 chipboard with it in a single pass, though I have been able to cut thicker chipboard in multiple passes.
What do you, as the end-user, think about the pros and cons of the machine?
1. If you have a baby or light sleeper in the room where you are cutting, you might want to consider purchasing a quieter machine. This one is loud as the head travels to the right and left.
2. If I were needing to cut heavier project, I think I would look into a more heavy duty cutter.
3. Cutting thin scrapbook paper is sometimes difficult with some blades. It takes awhile to learn to get the pressure, blade depth right when used with welded text that is thin.
Is it too slow? The Gazelle cuts VERY fast with MTC. It cuts two or three times faster than the E. My Pazzles Pro cuts a lot faster, but with speed, you sacrifice accuracy. I think I get more accurate cuts with the Gazelle than I get with the Pazzles Pro.
Is it too fast? The slowest speed on the Gazelle is very slow, so any who want a slow speed have that option. I rarely ever use the slowest speed. I usually use speed 2 out of the 7 available, and rarely do I use speeds over 4 except for pen drawing.
What don't you like about it? I wish it would run more quietly. It can disturb others at crops when cutting detail, full page designs.
Would you recommend it? I highly recommend the Gazelle.
How expensive are the mats and blades? Gazelle mats are two for $19.99. The mats for the E also fit it. Blades can vary in price. Blades for Pazzles Inspiration, Cricut and Gazelle work with it, as well as Roland blades. I purchase the Gazelle heavy blades for most of my cardstock uses which are $17.99 each, as they are better blades and last much longer. Regular Gazelle blades are 2 for $13.99. Vinyl blades are 2 for $8.99 right now at Scrap-Savvy.
Are they hard to find? Gazelles are available from many different vendors, but you will not find them in big box stores. You can order from Scrap-Savvy or BossKut. Other companies also sell them online.
Cutting Circles: The Gazelle cuts circles very well.
Gazelle Description The Gazelle is a powerful cutter in a compact metal housing, weighing in at only 9.7 pounds. It boasts of the cutting width and pressure of much more expensive craft cutters. This cutter can run day and night, and not overheat. Although it is not much larger than the smaller cutters on the market, with a footprint of 20 7/8” wide x 7.5"deep x 5 ¼” high, the Gazelle cuts three times as fast, with seven selectable speed settings. It’s cutting width of 12.25” enables users to cut a full 12” wide with room to spare. It will cut roll media up to 100” long, and is equally at home with tiny letters, numbers and shapes. It cuts everything from lightweight printer paper to chipboard and other media up to 1mm thick.
You can cut lots of fun media with the Gazelle: Paper, light, medium, and heavy card stock, thin rubber stamp material, lightweight metals, flexible chipboard, acetate, .020 mil Plastic Craft Sheet, stiffened 100% cotton fabric, rubber stamps, Grunge board, fun foam, vinyl, vellum, 7 mil stencil plastic Transparency film, acetate overlay material, Funky Film, Shrink plastic, Magnet sheets by Wube, Self Adhesive real cotton by Shortcuts, Freezer paper, Bling by Grafix, Ink Jetties by Impact, Exterior cling vinyl Duralar by Grafix, Clear Lay by Grafix, Laser Film by Grafix, Thin Wood Veneer, Glitter paper, Heavy metallic paper and more!
What do you like about the machine?
1. I like the small size of the Gazelle,
2. its portability, and the
3. fact that it cuts 12.25" wide, and
4. unlimited height.
5. I like its printer USB connection so that I can cut to it from many different software programs.
6. I especially like being able to cut from MTC directly to the Gazelle with a click of a button, and get excellent accurate cutting, even with the tiniest detail.
7. I like how it has two small drawers in the closable lid for holding blades and accessories.
8. I like how it can be used with any size pen for drawing, up to those as thick as the Cricut pens. I am not limited to using short pens either. I have thousands of professional art pens that I can use in my Gazelle for drawing really nice, multi-colored designs.
9. Cutting around drawn lines is easy and accurate using the laser registration feature.
10. I like being able to do accurate print and cut projects, though I don't do too many of these.
11. The Gazelle never overheats or pauses in the middle of cuts. It can run day and night without overheating. When I am in production mode, I really appreciate its ability to keep on cutting!
12. I really like the new blade holder with the dial for setting the blade depth (similar to the ones used by Cri...
13. I like the durability of the cutting mats. They don't wrinkle or curl, and can be resurfaced over an over is stored flat and not gouged by incorrect blade depth. They are not too thick or thin.
14. I think the Gazelle is a great value for the price. For those who have a limited budget but want a wide format cutter, I think this is a great option.
15. The Gazelle ships with the Funtime software, which has basic to professional design tools, and includes 750 built in cutting designs. It also includes 200 cutting fonts. I especially like the line and arc editing features that are not yet available in MTC. It opens WPC files and imports PDF and AI files. I like being able to transfer files between it and MTC. I also like to create my own cutting fonts in this software. I love the journaling fonts available for use with this software.
Does it cut vinyl and chipboard? It cuts vinyl very well. I prefer cutting the .022 chipboard with it in a single pass, though I have been able to cut thicker chipboard in multiple passes.
What do you, as the end-user, think about the pros and cons of the machine?
1. If you have a baby or light sleeper in the room where you are cutting, you might want to consider purchasing a quieter machine. This one is loud as the head travels to the right and left.
2. If I were needing to cut heavier project, I think I would look into a more heavy duty cutter.
3. Cutting thin scrapbook paper is sometimes difficult with some blades. It takes awhile to learn to get the pressure, blade depth right when used with welded text that is thin.
Is it too slow? The Gazelle cuts VERY fast with MTC. It cuts two or three times faster than the E. My Pazzles Pro cuts a lot faster, but with speed, you sacrifice accuracy. I think I get more accurate cuts with the Gazelle than I get with the Pazzles Pro.
Is it too fast? The slowest speed on the Gazelle is very slow, so any who want a slow speed have that option. I rarely ever use the slowest speed. I usually use speed 2 out of the 7 available, and rarely do I use speeds over 4 except for pen drawing.
What don't you like about it? I wish it would run more quietly. It can disturb others at crops when cutting detail, full page designs.
Would you recommend it? I highly recommend the Gazelle.
How expensive are the mats and blades? Gazelle mats are two for $19.99. The mats for the E also fit it. Blades can vary in price. Blades for Pazzles Inspiration, Cricut and Gazelle work with it, as well as Roland blades. I purchase the Gazelle heavy blades for most of my cardstock uses which are $17.99 each, as they are better blades and last much longer. Regular Gazelle blades are 2 for $13.99. Vinyl blades are 2 for $8.99 right now at Scrap-Savvy.
Are they hard to find? Gazelles are available from many different vendors, but you will not find them in big box stores. You can order from Scrap-Savvy or BossKut. Other companies also sell them online.
Cutting Circles: The Gazelle cuts circles very well.
------------------------------------------------end of review-------------------------------------
Thank you, Julie, for the detailed review.
You can also read more user reviews here:
http://www.scrapbook.com/products/review.php?m=show&sku=bk-0101
Everyone, if you are using this machine, please add your own review to the COMMENTS section below.
Thanks so much!!
I'm new to cutting machines and my Gazelle was the first one I had ever even touched. I found it easy to use and loved the results! It took some practice to get the pressure and blade depths correct, but using the pre-set blade holder took care of that. I purchased my Gazzy because it had the best features/abilities for me in a mid-range price range. I also liked it because of it's smaller portable, size.
ReplyDeleteHaving had several cutters, this one is the best cutter I have among all of them.
ReplyDeleteI love the drawers on the inside of the lid for keeping extra blades and tweezers.
The lid also serves as a guide and platform for the cutting mats. The mats last a long time and I use Eler's repositionable glue stick on them.
It is an easy cutter to learn and to use. And the staff for the Gazzelle are beyond marvelous and willing to help all the time.
It cuts a full 12 inches, cuts tiny, intricate shapes even in glitter cardstock.
And in the programs, what you see on the screen position wise, is the way it will cut it on the mat.
I just wished I used it to its full capability after I got it. But I am using it now thanks to MTC with the importing of pdfs and svgs.
Marda
Mine came this week.
ReplyDeleteThe first cut is always the hardest and this time was not an exception. The paper included warned windows7 takes an extra step, but that step alone did not get my windows7 laptop to acknowledge the existence of the plugged in Gazelle.
I went and registered the machine and registered for the forum. Can't get straight into the forum until they process the registration... which got me to call customer service. Pretty cool. I think they've sold a bunch of machines this week and as such because the first cut is always the hardest, they were backed up. They took my name and number. ANd they called back within an hour. Pretty sweet. Much better than being on hold.
I probably would not have called customer service had I been permitted to post on the Gazelle visitor board or even just read on the actual board. I'm not sure about the need for privacy on their boards, but that's their call.
As it was I got to thinking about how the old CraftRobo had to be loaded as a printer and went to my computer>Printers and devices>find device and finally it noticed the thing plugged into it. Honestly I blame windows7 for this, not sure how a powered up device could be plugged in without automatically doing what it normally does.
So I figured it out before they got a chance to call back. It wasn't really that big a problem and the customer service is pretty excellent.
Cut out a rectangle with Funtime and moved on over to MTC. Made a couple more cuts, it cuts really fast. Some had said it was loud but I didn't think it was loud at all, just fast.
Still learning, but liking it very much so far. Still need to read the manual and log onto that board. I had access within a 3 hours or so... but who has the patience to wait 3 hours when the computer won't acknowledge the cutter?!!?
Dear Julie, You mention that you have used many cutters. I am looking for the one that you have had the best experience in clean cuts on detailed, layered, paper piecing die cuts. What would you suggest? Thanks in advance.
ReplyDeleteSorry, I only found your post today. I hope you found the cutter you are looking for. Did you get a Cameo? It works great for print and cut projects. The new Gazelles have excellent precision for print and cut projects using the laser registration feature with the Funtime Gazelle software. I am waiting to upgrade my older Gazelle with this new technology until I can use it with Make The Cut. I do lots of very intricate cuts using my Gazelle. Gazelle works fastest and best of all my cutters for intricate, detailed cuts.
DeleteI would also like to know if the gazelle does a clean cut on detailed, layered, paper piecing cuts?
ReplyDeleteI have had a gazelle for many years now, and I love it. I am relatively new to MTC. In was interested to see that you enjoy making accurate p&c cuts.....is there a tutorial anywhere that will explain how to position the blade for accurate cuts, I am confused as there is no registration Mark to laser align too. Any suggestions would be welcome.
ReplyDeleteThank you
Diane, since you have had the Gazelle for many years now I am going to assume you do not have the upgraded motherboard. You need to check out the owner's forum for information on upgrading if this is a feature you desire. Make the Cut is not compatible with PnC as this time. After you install the motherboard you will need to download the updated software. Then you will get the registrations marks through Funtime to do beautiful PnCs. Hope this helps.
DeleteHello,
ReplyDeleteI just received my gazelle two days ago. I didn't have problem setting it up and I have windows 7. Watching the videos on the Boss Kut site helps alot.
Yes it is pink and my usb cord was sparkle blue. I choose a white usb cord. I was able to cut right away with MTC. I got good clean cuts and was able to do some pretty detail cuts. I still need to some slight blade adjustment and learn the funtime gazelle. But overall I am really happy with my machine. Will comment more when I try the print and cut and the funtime software.
So far no regrets:).
Dolores
As you know, the Gazelle was the second machine to be added to my crafting arsenal and I absolutely adore it (putting aside the bright pink LOL)! This is one sturdy machine - all metal with the exception of the side drawers. Did I mention those oh so handy side drawers? Excellent little touch. This machine will pretty much handle any medium you throw at it. I was especially impressed with cutting fun foam and stiffened felt.
ReplyDeleteAnother great feature is the pause button. I hate doing a test cut (there is a button for that too!) and don't always set the controls right for the paper I am cutting. That's where the pause comes in. I can pause and re-adjust my blade, speed, or force.
If you like to do Print n Cuts, never fear, the Gazelle now has your back. Any machine purchased after September of 2011 will ship with the upgraded motherboard to get dead-on PnCs. I got mine before September and have just recently purchased the motherboard. I cannot believe how great the PnCs are. I did install the board myself. Super easy.
Let's see what else. The blades last through many, many cuts and they also upgraded the sticky on their mats. Just the right amount of stick and last a while too with just a soapy water rinse to get any paper fuzz. I also prefer the adjustable blade holder that ships with the machine than purchasing the optional Click holder. I use my Gazelle with Make the Cut and use Funtime pretty much only to do PnCs. Funtime isn't a bad software but I prefer MTC. If all this wasn't enough, Boss Kut customer support has always been there for me. All around excellent machine with fantastic service and support.
Have anyone tried cutting natural rubber with it? Please let me know thanks!
ReplyDeleteHello, I need some help, my husband bought me the Gazelle as a surprise from someone on ebay. It came with a cd that is giving me problems with installing it. Can anyone direct me as what to do next. Is there a website that I can just order the cd.
ReplyDeleteI bought my Bosskut and was surprised that there were no instructions about the full functions of the machine and the forum has instructions that are haphazard and spotty. The machine cuts great except for tight curly Qs. It will either cut them and you have to use scissors to release some of the cuts, or it twists the paper trying to make the cut and ruins the curly Q. Intricate details are not so great with my machine anyway, even if I use a new blade it makes no difference. Then there are times it will cut the first 5 good but still the piece gets ruined before the whole image is produced with the curly Q getting misformed. I have had questions on the forum for months now still unanswered. The lack of instructions with this machine makes the machine very frustrating as there is a giant learning curve if you have never owned a cutter before. Besides that, it sometimes does not cut through cleanly all the time, and times it does, using the same paper so I cannot figure out why.
ReplyDeleteI have this same problem with the curly Q's. I've also been having problems with the USB port on my computer being disabled when the machine is plugged in saying it's drawing too much power. The gazelle definitely works better with Sure cuts a lot imo too.
DeleteI have a hard time with most fonts. There always seems to be letters where the cut didn't connect. When trying to cut smaller fonts, they get twisted up and mess up my cut. I have had for a few years and it has always done this.
Deletewhat software is the bosskut compatible with other than Funtime. What is the difference with Funtime vs the others?
ReplyDeleteCan someone please guide me which machine to buy... I want to be able to cut , draw and cut and cut any design I want .. on paper, card stock heavy water colour paper, cardboard, wood metal ,,, there is too much available on the market. Silver bullet seems good but the price is steep.
ReplyDelete