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 Sizzix Personal Die Cutting Machine |
| I recieved a Sizzix machine several years ago as a gift. I had been hesitant to buy one myself knowing the cost of dies, and given that I am a student and don't have a permanent scrap space but I really like having it around. I don't have a lot of dies, I only buy them when I have huge coupons or there is a big sale happenning but you can also get used dies on Ebay, or order them directly off the Sizzix website www.sizzix.com (if you live in the US). They frequently have sales to get rid of the end of discontinued lines and a random sale each week. The sizzix is completely idiotproof to use; put a piece of paper on the mat, put die facedown on paper, slide under press, then push handle down several times. It will cut vellum, paper, cardstock, felt, thin foam, cork and fabric easily which is excellent to have that sort of versatility. The drawbacks of the machine is that it is heavy, and storage of dies can require a fair bit of space. The really nice thing is that if you use a lot of one particular shape you get a die and just cut it almost instantly, such as tags. Having alphabets is also nice because you can get the look of handcutting without spending the time. |
| Quickutz Die Cutter This one's a favorite of mine. The Quickutz is lightweight, comes with a great carrying case that makes it easy to take to scraps, and is remarkably easy to use. Compared to the Sissex and the digital Cricut, the Quickutz is definitely affordable. I have aVideo Review of the Quickutz on my blog. |
| Cricut Expression I got a Cricut Expression for Christmas last year and I don't know how I lived without it. I also have a Sizzix, the Xyron PCS, Cuttlebug that I used before I got my Expression and they haven't been touched since I got my Expression. The greatest thing about the Expression is the size choices. You can cut as small as 1/8 of an inch or as large as 24 inches and everything in between! A lot of people have a hard time deciding whether to buy a die-cutting machine that is used with a computer or one that doesn't. Well, with this machine, you don't have to choose! You can use the cartridges made for the machine without a computer or you can use a computer program designed for your Expression. I use a combination of both. There are 2 programs available to use with the Expression on your computer. One is Design Studio made by Provocraft, which still must be accompanied by the cartridges. It allows you to explore and cut the entire cartridge library from your computer and makes it easier to correctly cut the exact size image you want. What you see on your screen is what you cut. The drawback to this program is you still must have the cartridge to actually cut the image. You can see all the images from every cartridge, but you must have the correct cartridge inserted to make the cuts. The other program is Sure Cuts A Lot, also called SCAL, by Craftedge. This is the coolest program ever invented! SCAL can cut any TrueType Font that is already on your computer or there are millions available for download all over the internet. You can cut any image you can put on your computer without any additional cost whatsever! The program itself is around $60, so for the price of one cartridge, you will have unlimited images and fonts! This program works very simply. Your Expression cuts only .svg files. All TTF's and dingbats(images) are already in this form and require no additional steps to cut with your Expression. There is a free program called Inkscape will convert your jpeg(or bmp's or any other type) images into svg format with a few clicks of the mouse. Its sounds more complicated than it is. Its really quite simple. There are many free tutorials that walk you through step-by-step how to convert any images for cutting. The fonts alone make this program worth buying! All fonts and dingbats already on your computer can be cut with SCAL, and there are millions of free fonts available for download on many different sites. If you are intimidated by Inkscape, thats not a problem,either. There are many,many free svg files available all over the Internet and there are many Yahoo groups that share these free files. I haven't came across one image yet that I haven't been able to find for free! SCAL is the way to go if you don't want to spend a lot of money on dies and cartridges. The cartridges available are also very nice.The prices seem high compared to a single die ($30-$80) but, there are about hundreds of images on each cartridge! If you were to buy each image separately, like some die systems, it would run into hundreds of dollars, and with these you get hundreds for around $40! I have bought many on ebay for less than $20 each. There are licensed images, fonts, paperdolls, just about any image you can imagine, there is a cartridge with it. Although I use SCAL mostly, I do buy some cartridges still for the portability of not taking my computer with me. That's the great thing about the Expression, you can use it with a computer or without! The Expression also does more than just cutting paper. It also cuts cardstock, vinyl, chipboard, fabric, plastic, and many others. It has inks available to use instead of the cutting blade to print images,too. I have also used mine for glass etchings, its so easy with this machine. I've used it to make a quilt, cutting perfect appliques! There are acrylic stamp cutting kits available to make your own clear stamps! This machine does so much, you will never need another. With all the extra options available for every image cut, you get so many different possibilities. Options such as weld, flip, mirror images, cut to length, mix and match, blackout, shadow, portrait or landscape and many more enable you to really get what you want. You cannot go wrong with an Expression. |
| I have to say the Wizard fromSpellbinders is the machine to own. It will cut ALL the dies on the consumer market, without a lot of confusing mats to figure out how to stack. And it comes with all the mats you will need, and directions on how to cut all those dies. Additionally it will emboss Spellbinder's own dies (beautiful images) and the so popular Nestabilities, and the embossing folders and stencils and other things from the other companies. Really it's a workhorse of a machine, with great customer service. Check out my blog for videos of how to do it all with one machine! I'll have sneak peaks of the newest CHA releases soon! Beth's Blog |
| I did purchase a Sizzix when they first came out, but once I tried a Spellbinders Wizard in 2004, I was sold! My friends call me the queen of roadtrash as I am constantly finding items literally on the road, at DIY stores or in my house that I can use in the Wizard to create interesting background textures. I then figured out that I could do my flower pounding with my Wizard and that my light box could go in the closet as I could emboss with my brass stencils in the Wizard. In 2005, when Spellbinders came out with their die that can be used to cut, emboss and stencil I was really blown away. I love the detail I can get with their die. Sure, I have die from other companies, which all work great in my Wizard, but the Spellbinders die are my favorite. Like I said, I have a Sizzix and a friend even gave me a Cuttlebug, but for size, ease of travel (and I do love to travel!), weight of the machine, you can't beat the Wizard! Come to my blog to see lots of Wizardry!!! http://todayscreations.blogspot.com/ |
| I am another person that has a Wizard and would not consider owning any other machine. If you have a Wizard there is no need to own another machine. The Wizard is compatible with all of the consumer dies on the market and does a wonderful job with it's own Spellbinders dies, the only patented embossing die on the market. I am very hard on my tools and the fact that the Wizard is all metal construction making it very durable is important to me. An added plus is that it is very lightweight at only 4 lbs. I've taken it on trips and not had to worry that my suitcase was going to be over the limit. Since I not only dabble in scrapbooks and make cards, I love to do altered art. Because of the versatility of the Wizard, I can do things like smash bottle caps, pound flowers, create textures from all sorts of found objects, apply rub ons and do photo transfers. I also use the Wizard to emboss brass stencils into metal foil, a task you can't accomplish with a light box. I could go on and on about the Wizard, but I think you get the picture. |
 I have a sixxiz, Big Shot, Cricut Expression, and Wishblade. I love them all for different reasons. The sizzix is the one I use the most for multi use dies. |
| I have recently purchased a Sizzix Big Shot. It was a big struggle between the Provo Craft Cuttlebug and the Big Shot. Eventually, I went with the Big Shot for a few reasons. For one thing, the Cuttlebug's warranty is allegedly void if you damage the machine using any die or folder other than the Cuttlebug's own. I sent a message to Provo Craft's customer service asking them to confirm or clarify this, but they did not answer my message. I have made a video tutorial showing the Big Shot in action. In the video, I use it with Cuttlebug folders and dies, a QuicKutz die and a brass template. The Video Demo of Sizzix Big Shot is at my blog at the link given, should you be interested. I also own the QuicKutz and the Cricut. I have never really warmed up to the Cricut for some reason. |
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krystalstamps |
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, Jul 21 2009, 11:26 AM EDT
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| Started By | Thread Subject | Replies | Last Post | ||
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| kj'smummum | The Slice by Making Memories | 2 | Dec 1 2009, 2:05 AM EST by Scrapia | ||
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Thread started: May 8 2009, 9:44 PM EDT
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Anyone got it? And how is it going? I've had some problems, doesn't always cut everytime, for no known reason. When it works right, its just great, but then it randomly decides to not work right. I've added several cards by now, and got the update calibration card in the mail from tech support, and done all that, but still having problems occasionally.
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| chinajo | Sizzix Original Red Machine | 1 | Jun 28 2008, 5:13 PM EDT by siempre2 | ||
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Thread started: Jun 12 2008, 10:18 PM EDT
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Hi
There are two light weight Sizzix machines that cutthe same dies plus more. Its the Bigkick and the BigShot Sizzix Diecutting machines. They are the newer models I own all 3. And love all three. There is the little sizzlit sizzix machine which cuts the little dies and border dies only. I own that as well. I am a big Sizzix user and love the machine. |
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