Silhouette America has recently released their Silhouette Curio machine while Cricut has been trying to get folks to buy their Circut Explore Air. If you are in the market for a cutting machine, you may like to know that there are other options available or coming soon.
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| image from HSN website |
My friend, Gale (Stamps & Stitches), is my favorite crafty enabler. I was really excited when she told me about the new Brother Scan-N-Cut 2. The recently launched electronic cutter is an updated and improved version of their original Scan-N-Cut machine. While I like that the in-built scanner makes it easy to scan images and cut around them with an offset (Think rubberstamps!), I really love that it can also reduce paper wastage by cutting on paper scraps after scanning for the cuttable area. (Yes, yes, I know that the feature is like the Silhouette's PixScan but this looks so much easier! ). The new machine is wireless and you can also use SVG files with it.
Brother has launched two models of the Scan-N-Cut2. The CM350 costs around $300 and you can buy it (and watch the HSN presentation) HERE. The CM650 is priced around $500 and comes with a few more features. Currently it is only available from authorized Brother dealers.
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| image from KNK |
Klick-N-Kut will also be releasing a new cutting machine by the end of the year. Unfortunately, there isn't a whole lot of information on their website at the time of this post but it did mention that the KNK Force cutter will come with a dual carriage head. The machine can also do wood engraving. You can find a preview HERE.
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| image from Silhouette America |
The Silhouette Mint is not a cutting machine but I am equally excited about it, if not more. We had initially heard about the stamp maker back in May but I own and love the Casio Pomrie and I strongly suspect that the Mint is the same thing, rebranded. You can find more information about the Silhouette Mint on the Silhouette website. The stamp maker is set to be released in the Fall and you can pre-order it HERE.
What do you think of these new machines? Will you be getting one? Share your thoughts in the comments below.
Dang it. Now I want that brother machine. May need to spend a little more time with the Silhouette PixScan before I make the jump. Have you done a tutorial on that one yet? Thoughts?
ReplyDeleteI'm waiting for my Cricut to die (still using it with an old version of MTC) so I can get a new cutter! But I still use cartridges on occasion too. These machines look fun, but not sure what I'll want to spend when it's time for a new one. I have not had as much time to craft lately and am not sure how much I should invest in a new cutter. That said, maybe getting a new cutter will inspire me to scrap more, so it could be the answer! LOL
ReplyDeleteJen, I must have missed a post or two because I did not see any stamps you made with the Casio Pomrie or hear any further comments about this machine. Now that you have owned it for a while, can you list the pros and cons of this machine. Are the refill stamp kits expensive?
ReplyDeleteI always love looking at the BSNC, but the proprietary blades/pen housing turn me off. If Silhouette didn't come out with the PixScan, I may have purchased it to add to my die cutter fleet. It also kinda sucks that it doesn't work with MTC.
ReplyDeleteThe KNK machines have always caught my eye despite the price tag and the Force is no different (haha - enter geeky Star Wars laugh, I did!). My only issue is this whole dual carriage revolution. The guys over at PC must be giving themsleves high-fives thinking they started a trend when in fact they were not the first to introduce it (E-Craft anyoe? I got that one, too...). I'll be looking for more info on that in the future!
So what happened to the E-Clips 2??? Did I miss it? It had some cool features, but I haven't heard much about it in a while.
I am a fairly new addicted shilouette owner, had one for Christmas this year. It was not my first digi cutting machine, I have the Cricut Expression 2 and the Cricut Imagin, now off the market. My crafting friend has had the Silhouette version since the Craft Robo came out years ago but as a surprise her daughters bought her the Brother Scan and cut when it first came out. Here in the UK the only place you could get it was Create and Craft TV so I too have seen MANY demos of it over the past year or so. My friend has now sold her Brother Scan n cut as it was just too complicated to do a simple thing and it was taking her twice as long to do it on the Brother as on the Shilouette and so she would just chose to use her Silhouette plus she hardly ever used the scan part of it in the end. I agree with her, watching the shows and watching her use it there seems to be lots of steps to just cut a shape. Also the screen is quite small on the machine and having all the extra bother of having to put stuff on to USB then on the machine seems silly. That will hopefully be easier once it's wireless. I thought about the Brother when I had my Silhouette at Christmas but again the small screen to work on and also having to convert very SVG to their format too, plus the price at the time just pushed me towards the Silhouette Cameo, which I love and I am so pleased I chose the Cameo. If you do want demos on the Brother Scan and Cut they are always selling it on www.createandcraft.tv and you can watch demos and old shows on their website. Sorry it's such a long comment but I hope it helps x
ReplyDeleteI love the Silhouette software. It works on all their machines and most likely they will update it for any new machines like they did for the etching and embossing on the curio. I also have a Zing, which uses MTC software. I am not impressed with MTC at all and as far as th Zing goes, I never used or use it because you have to figure out how far out the blade needs to come out manually and then test it. When I saw that the Cameo did it for you, I bought it and have never looked back...
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