I've used this a few times to cut vinyl and have been very impressed with how well it cuts. I made a replica of the LA skyline but replaced the buildings with my friends names and stuck it around a glass candle bowl as a gift to a friend who was leaving town and I couldn't believe it managed to cut palm trees on the skyline which had trunks which were literally the same size as this letter I. BTW transfer paper allows you to take off and place stickers perfectly. I'm new to the cutting world and super excited as I also found a color printer for $60 on ebay so now I can laser print in color and cut on all kinds of materials! I can't talk about the previous versions, however this one is very good. I'd guess the version 2 would also be very good if you are on a budget as the quality of this model suggests the previous one would also be great. Walmart has a bunch of materials you can browse too if you want stuff today. TIP: In the software, use the Pin function to stick everything on the visual board - I learned this in a YouTube and so glad I saw it because then it prints exactly where and how you imagine (it's bottom right on the icons). I'm attaching some of my recent projects - use your imagination and have fun! DavidRead full review
Verified purchase: Yes | Condition: New
I received this Cricut and ordered a bunch of blades and mats to go with it. I did the setup and successfully produced the test piece, so I chucked the boxes and left it all set up on my desk. The next time I tried to use it, to print 2 labels using the same vinyl sheet as the test cut, it printed one and when I tried to print the second the power light started blinking red. I have soft- and hard-reset the device, forced a firmware upgrade, and of course checked for any mechanical defects. Nothing. Same thing with a calibration of the knife blade using printer paper on the mat. Just a blinking red power light for every job. Now, here's what I don't like about the *working* Cricut. The software is awful. The software must connect to the internet on startup, and whenever you perform arbitrary tasks. The software downloads updates on startup, without allowing the option to defer them - this may not sound like a big deal, but it takes time, and what if it happens while you are on the last 1GB of your data allowance? All designs MUST be saved to the cloud, or they cannot be saved at all - the "local" save option is actually "local and cloud". The software constantly nags you to buy a subscription for their silly club, and to pay right the right to use simple features that any other software would include. We're not talking clip art here; more like basic shapes and fonts. They'll be charging by line thickness soon. Everything about using this machine is slow. Connecting to the network is slow. Downloading the app every time is slow. Communicating with the machine is slow. The software communicates with the machine a few times during the setup of a "print job", instead of doing a simple handshake and then sending the discrete job for the device to handle. There is no message display on the machine, and the buttons on the machine do nothing until the software enables them as part of a workflow in the software - go ahead, try to feed the material/mat when the software hasn't asked you to. Despite all of this micromanagement of the device by the software, there is no indication of what the error causing the blinking red light on the machine is - in fact the software does not even seem to be aware the machine has an error! If my team made this product, they would be fired, the lot of them. There is not one aspect of this device that I can recommend. If I could get back the money I spent on this machine and the accessories and spend it on a competitor's product, I would do so in a heartbeat.Read full review
Verified purchase: Yes | Condition: New
Yes there's some frustration and learning but oh the possibilities and hours of fun crafting, it's totally worth it. There are plenty of very good tutorials to help you, check out Jennifer Maker and others plus support from FB groups such as Dreaming Tree (3dSVG) and Leo provides excellent assembly videos for each of their amazing SVG available to purchase as well as many free ones to choose from. Overall it is very good value although I do think, like most things, it is overpriced and that's why I checked out other options other than buying directly from a store. If your on the fence or considering to purchase a Cricut I would go for it but research which one would be best for you. From personal experience, I purchased the Explore Air 2 a year ago and shortly afterward the Maker 3 came out, the Maker definitely gives you more freedom to try differences projects a little easier. Read full review
Verified purchase: Yes | Condition: New
There is a steep learning curve. There are NO instructions included. They direct you to a website for setup. And, your computer must have Bluetooth. I had to buy a dongle. Uploading svg files is not simple. They can't have pictures or fonts. Had to find that out, and many other things, with internet searches. That being said, after a week of frustration, I can now do most of the things I want to do and it works well.
Verified purchase: Yes | Condition: New
I love this product. Pretty easy to use and navigate. Cuts well. My only negative review is ability to do complex graphics and getting graphics from other sources are hard to navigate.
Verified purchase: Yes | Condition: New
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