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SILHOUETTE
CAMEO CONS
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No
‘cartridges’ necessary – thousands of single images available online at
reasonable prices. Free shape and
loads of images ‘on sale’ every week as well as new shapes by well-known
designers.
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Although
lightweight and easy to transport, you need your computer to run Silhouette
Software to operate the machine.
Apparently images can
be saved to an SD card which can be plugged into a slot on the Cameo, but I
have not tried this option yet. If
this works, you may be able to cut images without a computer (I will report
back on this issue)
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Customers
outside the USA have same access to all images/designs – very important.
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Handbook
provided with software is not adequate
for someone who is not computer literate.
I had to sit through hours of YouTube clips to understand some basic
principles (no teacher available in my area). Silhouette does have a
dedicated help site, but I found some individual sites more informative.
Thank you to all those wonderful
people who posted the tutorials.
To use the Cameo
extensively, additional software has to be purchased (Designer Edition),
but well worth the extra cost.
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Can
use any image = png, jpg, svg etc.
Images
can also be created from scratch. Some talented users create cutfiles and
share it online (thank you!)
Colours
of images can be changed according to a palette available or touched up with
the help of a dropper (Photoshop type feature)
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No
deep cut blade for cutting really thick materials.
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My
favourite feature: you can download any image, trace it, print the
image with a setting to print registration marks at the same time. The silhouette recognises the registration
marks, synchronizes and aligns the cutting exactly with the pre-printed
image.
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Negative: your Silhouette Machine must be calibrated
to the printer you are using, and
as this is a precision setting it would be best to choose a dedicated printer
(so no printing at work on that lovely laser printer and then taking it home
to cut – images won’t line up)
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Can
print and cut any True Type Font available on your computer.
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Machine
is lightweight but will cut paper, cardstock, vinyl and fabric (latter with
special blade) with ease.
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Can
accurately cut very intricate and lacy patterns and smaller images like
lettering.
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Machine
reasonably quiet when cutting.
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Once
you understand software, possibilities are limitless. Do not need to be connected to the internet
to work in the program.
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Cutting
Mats 12x12 or 12x24 and can cut certain media (vinyl) without a cutting mat
(up to 10feet)
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Starter Kits available:
Stamping; Heat
Transfer; Rhinestone; Fabric Ink, Vinyl; Double Side Adhesive and Glass
Etching.
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Works with
specialised Silhouette pens or a pen holder in which a ‘normal’ pen can be
inserted.
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Silhouette specific
printable media available:
Magnetic Paper;
Cotton Canvas; Adhesive Cardstock;
Tattoo Paper and Silver and Gold Foil.
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Important!
Silhouette does not
have an Angel Policy in place whereby an individual is allowed to make
limited items for sale. If you are
planning to make cards for your local charity, think again, you have to pay a
hefty Commercial Use Licencing Fee per image!
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CRICUT EXPRESSION CONS
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You
do not have to be connected to a computer to operate the Cricut unless you
are working in Cricut Craft Room.
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Cartridges
are expensive, especially if you are not a USA/Canadian Citizen. Customers outside USA cannot buy from
Cricut Shop or redeem their rewards – a BIG
negative.
Single
images/cartridges through Cricut Craft Room are also not available outside USA
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Machine
very sturdy.
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Cartridges
take up space (especially if you have limited storing space like my ‘little
scraproom” – see my post below) – but I think you would agree this is not a
‘serious’ con.
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Can
cut heavier/thicker materials like chipboard, poster board and thin magnets
with deep set blade – additional cost:
deep cut housing and blade.
This option is one of
the main reasons why I have kept my Cricut.
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Cannot
cut small intricate lacy patterns (even though they are available on the
cartridges), no matter what speed, different pressures or types of paper I
have tried.
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Do
not need a computer to cut images.
Gypsy handheld device is available (like a mini computer) – costly but worth it. Owned Cartridges can be linked to the
gypsy, which means you don’t have to keep on changing cartridges. Gypsy or
CCR software allows you to weld, tilt or flip images as well as a few very
basic editing features.
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Cannot
custom or create any images other that what is predetermined on your
cartridges.
Third
party software used to be available, but class action lawsuits have made
these illegal.
Cricut
Craft Room free software is limited and very slow – often almost to a point
of freezing up. Need to be connected
to internet to do anything in CCR
(data expensive in a country like South Africa)
Let us all hope that
Provo Craft will move with the times
and develop the Cricut Craft Room software extensively to cater for the
serious crafter.
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I
do love the multi-layering option.
While available on Silhouette, the Cricut handbooks make this feature
visually easier to complete.
To
be fair, while cartridges are expensive if you only want one image, $ for $
it is probably cheaper if you have a specific project and you are going to
use in excess of 20 images. I am sure
someone can give me feedback on this.
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Machine
quite noisy when cutting. (I have added this ‘con’, as I do a lot of work in
the evenings when my family have gone to bed already!)
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Cutting
Mats 12x12 or 12x24 – not sure if you cut vinyl without a cutting mat.
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Additional
Accessories:
Embossing Kits
Specialised colour pens
Scoring Housing &
Blade
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Additional Cricut Machine Options:
Cricut Imagine (not to be confused with the Expression) can print and cut images,
but only those available on the imagine cartridges.
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Negative: Cricut Imagine printer ink cartridges very expensive.
On the positive side, you don’t need a
to be connected to a general printer.
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Cricut Cake available for cake decorators
(selective market).
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Other:
Provo Craft has an
Angel Policy, which grants limited permission to private individuals to incorporate
Copyright Materials and Third Party Rights into Finished Products that may be
offered and sold to others, but only in the quantities and in the manner
expressly permitted in the Angel Policy (excluding Disney, Sesame Street,
Martha Stewart © etc.) This basically means that you can make cards for your
local charity’s annual market.
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