Crafts
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Our tech team has launched updates to The Nest today. As a result of these updates, members of the Nest Community will need to change their password in order to continue participating in the community. In addition, The Nest community member's avatars will be replaced with generic default avatars. If you wish to revert to your original avatar, you will need to re-upload it via The Nest.
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Silhouette vs Cricut ? EDITED
in Crafts
I have read the FAQ's but I am wondering why people would choose the Cricut over the Silhouette when you don't have to buy cartridges for the Silhouette. Is there a draw to the Cricut I am missing?
Thank you!
Re: Silhouette vs Cricut ? EDITED
(Cameo is the newest "Silhouette" so based on your question, I think you are asking more about Silhouette vs. Cricut so that is how I am responding).
I think Cricut gained early popularity because they were one of, if not the, first personal cutting devices marketed for the everyday crafter. They did a lot of advertising (and still do) on tv and other markets. Silhouette (and other cutters) are not necessarily "out there" when it comes to name recognition--and do most of there advertising through blogs and other non-tv markets.
I have to give a bit of a disclaimer, I won a Silhouette, so I never did any research about which one was best. However, after reading a lot on this board and others, I think investing in a device that does not require carts is your best bet. Not only that, Silhouette and some of the others actually cut better.
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Justinlove was referring to the title of your post, which says "Silhouette vs Cameo" rather than "Silhouette vs. Cricut."
I know nothing about die cutters besides what I put in the FAQ (and, honestly, I don't even really know what those posts say, hahaha!), but from what I've read on this board over the last couple of years, people seem to love their Silhouettes.
Provocraft is bright when it comes to advertising and marketing. They got in the market early- and had a great hook- expensive proprietary cartridges. There are plenty of people hugging their expensive cartridge collection tight, unable to let go and move forward because of all the money they've sunk in over the years- it's really a little sad. And I guess I understand- it's hard, particularly for a sector of their customer base that feel intimidated by new technoloy- they don't want to learn a whole new system and are by their nature, resistant to change.
And there is a really odd type of consumer that is particularly attracted to the Cricut/PC brand. They call their machines by pet names; own multiple back-ups that never get used; buy machines they already own because they come out in a limited edition color; sit watching HSN so that they can get in on the very first order for a new machine that will drop in price in a matter of weeks, even though it does nothing that their other 5 Cricuts can't do, simply because they just must own every stupid POAS the company can produce. Barfity barf barf.
My gut tells me that these are the same people that were knocking kids over and stalking me in the parking lot to buy the newest beanie babies back in my Hallmark retail days- LOL.
I chose my Cricut over the Silhouette for two reasons. At the time, there was literally NOTHING about cutting fabric on the Sil out there. I am a Googling title holder- I know my way around- and there was just NOTHING reliable on it anywhere. I knew it could be done on the Cricut- it was well documented- blog land and the Sil hadn't exploded yet. A few months later, Silhouette America really started to advertise via craft blogs and fabric projects became commonplace- boo.
And then there was the limits with the original Sil's cutting mat- I knew some of the things I wanted to cut might need a larger cut size. And I have used the full 12x12 mat several times (but, have yet to need the 12x24).
Of course, I'm not a typical Cricut customer- I bought it knowing I would not be buying into the cartridge system, and purchased my Make the Cut license the same weekend. To date, I've never purchased a cart, and only used a cut on the one that came with my E to test it out- I honestly wouldn't know how to use it the right way- I'd have to find the manual or youtube it or something.
If I were shopping for an electronic die cutter today for the first time- the choice would be a lot more obvious. And when my Cricut goes kaput, I don't think I'll even bother opening it up to fix it- there's no more Provocraft in my future.
I chose the Cricut over the Silhouette because the accessories were readily available to me. I also chose it because of the 12"x12" cutting ability. I went into the purchase knowing I would never buy cartridges and use MTC exclusively. I did know about the Silhouette going into this but at the time there wasn't much out there on it.
Fast forward a few months, Silhouette and all these other die cutting machines blew up (mainly after the law suit PC put out there), and people I knew started buying and reviewing these other machines. I ended up dumping my Cricut for a Silhouette based on the reviews I read and how much better it actually cuts. Before the lawsuit I was actually thinking of trashing my Cricut because it cut like crap. I still have it but it's just collecting dust. I keep it around for the rare time I need a 12"x12" cut. When I get another big machine Cricut will be a gone.
So...there's my story. I recently went to a scrapbook store with a friend to demo her SVG files and was talking to one of the ladies that work there. She was saying most of her customers only know about Cricut and that's what they own. I was part of the demo, showing them MTC and they had no clue about any third party software or other cutting machines. Cricut did an amazing job of marketing.
CRAFTY ME
my read shelf:
I chose the Silhouette (I only have the SD, the original one) because I didn't want to have to buy expensive cartridges and I have a ton of fonts on my computer that I wanted to use.
I would choose the Silhouette again, though, after dealing with their customer service about some faulty cutting mats that were sent to me with the machine. They gave me suggestions on how to fix it, and when none of those worked, I received a package in the mail with new mats (that work MUCH better!) and a new blade. The only thing I don't like about the Silhouette SD is that I have to cut all of my paper to 8.5x11.
Guess I'll need to buy a Silhouette Cameo next
I have a Cricut simply because it was the only one I had heard of 5 years ago. In total, I have about 10 cartridges, but a couple of years ago, my husband bought me a 3rd party software for the machine (I am a Mac owner and the Cricut software is unavailable for Mac thus far). I've been using that in conjunction with my cartridges.
I haven't bought a cartridge in well over 2 years; they are too expensive. I've researched the silhouette but have never seen it in person. Maybe when I have a little more money I will invest in the Cameo as everyone talks about how great it is. I would be a little sad to give up on the investments I've made with the Cricut cartridges, but I feel that I am making my money's worth since I've just been using my current cartridges and not investing in any more.
2 years of TTC, Seeing RE Feb 09, 2 medicated TI cycles - BFNs, 3 medicated IUIs - BFNs, back to medicated TI cycles until IVF approval, IVF approved in March 2010.
BFP on last medicated TI cycle.
I too was an original cricut owner. At the time I purchased a few years ago, there wasn't much information on the other systems and the ones out there were more expensive. Like a previous poster, I purchased software for my Mac (Sure Cuts A Lot) and I have used it for everything, without ever buying a cart.
Fast-forward, and Provocraft has put the kibosh on Sure Cuts A Lot- blocking it from working on their new machines and from being sold for use on old machines (at least that's how I understand it).
I love my Cricut with the software, but when friends ask, I tell them to find something else, because the Carts are crazy expensive and very limiting (IMHO)- although perfect for some one who doesn't want to venture onto the computer with their scrapbooking. I personally would never have bought a Cricut without the capability of computer software.