I haven’t bought a USB stick but most of my paper crafting is printables. Back in the late 90’s and early 2000’s I was a designer.
Printables give you a lot of options. I know it seems expensive but it really is not that expensive. I am going to be blunt so I know this might receive some debate. I think stamping is more expensive than printables.
Up front costs of printables tools and supplies can be expensive if you want to be advanced or have higher end items. I spend less than $100 a year on printables. That is on the high side.
Printables I have lots of reuse, even more so than my stamps. I can manipulate, resize, layer, incorporate, colorize, etc with printables.
You don’t need heavy paper to print. The majority of the time I use 65 lb cardstock or printer paper. I also print on vellum, acetate, paper towels, sticker variety of cardstock, glossy, index cards. Paper choice the limit is pretty much unlimited if you have a decent printer. My main printer is a $30 Canon wired printer that is a little workhorse.
If you don’t want to cut by hand you can use a Cricut, Silhouette or Scanncut.
Modern graphics are mainly PNG or PDF format. If die cutting from a machine the designer will include an SVG. Some designers also include the formats that is your machines native file extension. For example Silhouette dog.studio3.
I will give my setup for when I was literally poor and just starting. Now, this setup was for the 90’s but I will update for 2022. When I started I printed from the computer library. Yes, these were paid designs. 2022 you can buy your designs, use a free graphic’s program like Gimp to fix your designs the way want them. Then you can send to your libraries web site. The next time you are in the library you retrieve your file and print. Larger libraries have this program but do check at the smaller libraries too. I know this is long but I want to add a couple more tips for those who do not have a home computer. You can buy your graphics using the library computer. Use an online graphics program, you can save your purchased graphics on a cloud sever. You can also buy USB sticks from your library to save your file or bring your own USB in, if the library will allow you to do that, If you have a sucky library an office supply store you can use their printer services.
This is my set up now. I want to add a disclaimer. I do freelance design work for the gaming industry so my setup is more unique and complicated. In no way you will need to do this.
I have three printers. My cheapie Canon. HP Office Jet & an old Samsung laser printer. Canon Printer I pay about $100 a year for ink. I print a lot on high/best quality. HP OfficeJet I use their Printer program that I get to print out a certain number of pages per month. I am doing 100 pages now for around $7 a month. HP ink program replaces your ink as part of the subscription. You must have good Internet for this program. Canon has a similar program for their higher end printers. Epsom has the eco tank that you can refill.
Die cutters I have the Porttrait 3, Cricut Maker & Brother Snc SDX85M. I mainly use my Portrait for Printables because it gives me more options for my skill level. As of 2022 all three machines are excellent printable die cutters. Really the choice comes down to your skill level and what you feel most comfortable with.
I use my Portrait and my Canon the most for crafting printables. If I had to update or pare down I would choose the Portrait, Wired printer and a photo printer. Ladies I just realized I was able to pare down more for the move when typing this, lol.
The last thing you will need are scissors. This is both beginner and advanced. You will want multiple scissors. Detail for fine details. Simple scissors just for simple cutting and microtip for intricate work. If you can afford it then you might want to add a paper trimmer, craft knife, self healing mat, metal ruler. Those items are not really needed. I cut for years only using scissors. I still do to this day.
I think I covered the basics. I am on my iPad so not my best typing. I have storm alerts in my ear, so I am distracted. If you have any questions don’t be afraid to ask or need clarification.
USB sticks
