Which Is The Best Cricut Machine To Buy
Regardless of which machine you choose, you will need to buy additional materials for your projects. Out of the box, each machine typically comes with a fine-point blade, welcome card, free trial of Cricut Access (see more below) and a few materials for a practice cut.
which is the best cricut machine to buy
Enabling you to deliver precision cuts from more than 300 materials from fabric and paper to tougher materials such as matboard and leather. Packed with 13 tools that let you cut, write, deboss or add other decorative elements with ease. With a rotary blade for fabrics, and a knife blade for thicker materials, the Cricut Maker is the best machine overall.
Cricut machines are electronic devices for cutting which allow you to cut all sorts of design materials like vinyl, cardstock, papers, and iron-on transfers. There are machines that can also cut leather, fabrics, and wood.
Some cutting machines, like the Cricut Easypress or Cricut Easypress Mini, are designed to specifically make apparel such as t-shirts as well as other fabric accessories like hats and totes. The Cricut Hat Press is an accessory that we cover in our article here which can be used with the Cricut Easypress.
So, what is the best Cricut machine? It totally depends on your needs! Use our list above to help you decide which to purchase. I will say that you are going to love your new machine no matter which one you buy.
So what IS the best machine to buy? As you can tell it totally depends on what exactly you are looking for. If you sew and want to cut fabric frequently then hands down you have to get the Cricut Maker. Check out my tips for the Cricut Maker for sewing HERE. If you are looking for tips on which Cricut Accessories to go with your Cricut Machine check HERE.
We hope you have found this article helpful and now have a better idea of which Cricut machine is right for you, but if you're still undecided, we've worked with John Lewis to offer a concise video to compare our machines.
Every Cricut machine can cut and write (or draw.) No matter which machine you buy, it will come with the standard Fine-Point Blade for cutting a wide variety of popular crafting materials, and all of the machines are compatible with Cricut pens and markers.
All of the Cricut machines use Design Space software to allow you to design and create projects to make with your machine. Design Space is free for anyone to use and can be used on a Windows or Mac computer, or as an iOS or Android app. No matter which machine you have, Design Space works the same way, and you always use it to send projects to your machine for cutting or writing.
The Cricut Joy can also cut Smart materials, which are rolls of material designed to be fed directly into the machine and cut without a mat. Currently Cricut makes Smart Vinyl, Smart Iron-On, and Smart Labels (a writable vinyl.)
The Cricut Maker uses the brand new Adaptive Tool System, which allows for more precise control over the tools, including rotating, lifting, and varying pressure throughout the entire cut. The Adaptive Tool System also allows the machine to utilize new types of tools later on as Cricut expands their tool offerings.
The original Cricut machines used physical cartridges with designs and fonts contained within them; there was no Design Space software where you could design whatever you wanted. The Explore machines have a cartridge slot still so that you can use those older designs that can be found on the cartridges (which is great for people who had older Cricut machines and want to upgrade to a new machine without losing all of the designs they previously purchased), but the Maker does not have a slot for a physical cartridge. If you have physical cartridges that you want to use with a Maker you will have to purchase a small adapter that allows you to plug the cartridge into your computer via USB.
Just curious as to which Cricut machine would be good for cutting thinner leather. I have a fair few little circles and blanks that are only 3-5mm thick that I want to start making and painting things with. Cheers!
The Maker is the best for cutting leather because it can use the knife blade. But the Maker is limited because only materials 2.4mm or thinner will fit under the rollers so it can be rolled into the machine. But it can certainly cut leather that is 2.4mm or thinner, like tooling leather!
Thanks for the review. Very helpful. Do you have any recommendations on which bundle is the best for the Maker? And if I am buying this as a gift, is there any other tools, materials, storage systems you would recommend purchasing at the same time?
Topping off our list of best Cricut machines to create T-shirts is the Cricut EasyPress 2, an amazing product that can be used for pretty much any type of heat-transfer project that you can think of.
The next entry on our list is the Cricut Explore Air 2, a consumer-grade cutting machine from Cricut, and currently one of the best computer-controlled cutting machines designed specifically for home crafters.
All five Cricut machines can also use the optional Cricut Access service, which offers over 150,000 images and 500+ fonts for a low monthly cost. This is entirely optional, but many crafters find Cricut Access very convenient. It can also be a money-saver, as Cricut Access subscribers can save 10% on machines and materials on the Cricut website, meaning they get some of the best discounts available.
If you want a really sturdy and reliable cutting machine that will last for a long time (my original Maker I bought four years ago is still going strong), one that will grow and expand with you, then the Cricut Maker 3 will be your best bet.
But we think the very best accessory for all the Cricut machines is a Cricut Access monthly membership. This opens up a whole world of ready-to-craft projects for you to explore! You get month's free trial. Then it costs 7.49 per month, or 71.88 per year.
Chris Butler has helped thousands of crafters learn how to use their Cricut machine without feeling overwhelmed. She is a best selling author and an up and coming designer. For fun Chris enjoys designing SVG Files, hanging out with her family (preferably at the lake), traveling, and volunteering at her church. She is a wife and mom of two crazy fun kids.
Thank you so much for this post!! It was (BY FAR) the best description and comparison of the different machines, and an EXCELLENT tutorial of the basics of them. This post really helped me alot! Thank you!!
With two new Cricut machines and several other Cricut machines currently on the market, you may be hemming and hawing about which Cricut machine is right for you. This post breaks down the differences between Cricut machines, their capabilities, and the type of crafter that might get the most benefit from each machine!
PRINTED PROJECTS: You can also use Print then Cut with the Maker, which allows you to print images on your home printer and then your Cricut will cut around the edge. One benefit of the Cricut Maker line over the Cricut Explore line is that the sensor in the Cricut Maker machines can read light-colored and printed materials, whereas it will only read white materials on the Explore machines.
PRINTED PROJECTS: You can also use Print then Cut with the Explore machines, which allows you to print images on your home printer and then your Cricut will cut around the edge. Cricut Explore machines can only read materials printed on a white background.
Hello I am looking to buy a cricut for my husband and myself. We do alot of different hobbies. I am wondering which would be best for t-shirts, wood, stencils, etc. Any suggestions would be appreciated. Thanks
I have a cricut expression and a gypsy and got a cricut explore air 2. I had linked all my cartridge to the gypsy and I want to use the cricut air 2. Am I able to link all my cartilages to the design space and or use in the machine only like cricut expression.
I have a small craft business and do lots of different things. Mainly wood. Which would be the best machines for a variety. Mainly will be used for using it for stencil to put on wood for potential customers to place on a piece of wood to paint.
I am wondering which machine would be best and what additional tools I would need if I was looking to make paper flowers for my daughters upcoming wedding? I would also like to use it to put decals on wine bottles too. Any help would be appreciated .
The Cricut maker machine is the Machine to do the new projects and cut them into shapes. The setting up of Cricut.com/setup is a critical process. We can connect the Cricut maker machine to Windows devices, Mac, iOS, and Android devices. The Cricut machine can cut various materials like fabric, vinyl, wood, card stock, iron-on transfer, etc. The setup of the Cricut machine with Windows, Mac, and Android devices is given below. -cricut.com/setup/
This question is similar to which cutting machine is best for a beginner. They are all made to cut vinyl. The best cutting machine is the one that you will use. Each of these machines has a list of pros and cons. That list varies based on who you are as a crafter and what you want the machine for.
Pros of Sizzix Big Shot-The biggest pro to owning a manual die cutter is the ease of use -there is no tricky technology to learn and even your kindergartener can help! -Steel rule dies are heavy duty can cut several layers of felt at a time which really increases productivity! There is nothing quicker then a manual die cut machine and a steel rule die!-Utilizes both steel rule dies and wafer thin dies. -Great price point for the beginner! -All cuts are clean and crisp, every time. 041b061a72