Digital Cutting Systems????

[sodell]

Just wondering what digital cutting systems folks have, and what they like/dislike about them. It is a major investment (I sold my Cricut, as I never used it), but now I find more and more digital images I would like to download and cut out. So the machine I want is one I can use images they have but also download my own. I have done a little research on the Silhouette SD (can you download images for this from the internet?) and the Pazzles Inspiration, which is awesome but very expensive (I would love to hear fron anyone who has it). I mostly do cards, home decor projects and specialty scrapbooks, like mini books, but do not do traditional scrapbooking anymore.
I see when I look at the digital images they talk about the Sure Cuts Alot Program (anybody know what this is and what machines use this?) and SVG files.
Thanks much in advance for any help you can provide. Stacy

[myluco]

SCAL (Sure Cuts A Lot) is a software to be used with the Cricut. There is also another program called Make the cut (MTC). MTC is also for the Cricut (may be other too...).

luiza

Creative Busy Hands Digital Cutters Freebies Search
Creative Busy Hands Digital Scrapbooking Freebies Search

[scrap_candles]

The silhouette has tons of downloads available from the quickqutz website. I think I have downloaded over 100 and even with computer crashes they know what you purchased and stay in your image library. I do not have the "sd" would be nicer but have the original silhouette

[lylacfey]

I have the:

Silhouette
Gazelle
Cricut Expressions
Cricut Create

For digital images I would go for the Silhouette. It has the most dot on placement for Print & Cut. None of the other machines will beat it. I meant digital stamps. Sorry. I am very tired.

Gazelle & Pazzles are great for cutting out digital images. The problem is trying to import SVG's you really have to jump through hoops and do a lot of converting. With the Gazelle you can buy MTC to cut out the SVG's but there is another software purchase on top of the machine purchase. I do have MTC but I bought it way after I had the Gazelle.

Cricut will cut out any digital cut files but it's not that accurate so you won't get results like you would with one of the higher end machines. I am not saying anything bad about the Cricut. Nobody flame me. The Cricut was not made for the kind of files out now. It's all math, chipsets, grams per pressure and a lot of other techy geek things to explain it. It's not a bad thing with the Cricut. I heard Cricut is releasing a new machine soon because even PC knows the machine can not handle intricate files as well as the other cutter's.

I have wrote on several threads about the pros and cons on the different variety of die cutter's. If you do a search for my name I am sure a bunch will pop up. They are really long posts, lol. I don't want to subject everyone here to any more torture.

[sodell]

Thank you for the info. I appreciate it! Every little bit of info. is helpful. -Stacy

[sodell]

Thanks very much for your reply and all the info. I will do a search for your name and see if I can find your other posts. All the tech/geeky stuff is so foreign to me, its hard to know if I would be getting in way over my head to get a digital cutter (don't want to not use it, like I did my Cricut). thanks again -Stacy

[ScrappinMoments]

With the new SCAL I'm really enjoying my Cricut more then ever. I have found that I can search anything using the 'image' tab in goggle and if it is a JPG I can cut it out with the Cricut.

My grandson is obsessed with pirates (he's almost 5 and been obsessed since 3). I found a skull and crossbones jpg by goggle'ing and with the new Sure Cuts A Lot 2 was able to import the jpg. Made him a great sign for his birthday with it.

Some of the images will have a double cut line, but ungroup and delete one of them and you're good to go.

I haven't tried the Cricut with anything intricate so can't speak on that. Most of my cutting is for grandkids (large simple items).