I have the original Cricut, a gypsy and an Expression. I intended to sell my baby bug when I got the E but then thought I'd keep it to use for crops. I can't get my Gypsy to work with it for the life of me.
The think I love about the E that I didn't like about the original machine is the variation in sizes you can cut. The original has a wheel that lets you dial your size. You can't cut any smaller than a half inch and the sizes go up in half inch increments to 5.5". It's pretty limiting.
With SCAL, I don't have it but I want it. Do you need DS for it to work? Also, it means you can cut any true type font you have installed on your PC, right?
you do not need to have a paid version of DS. You only need the free trial version of DS to update your Cricut's firmware, if your Cricut is out of date with the SCAL versions. You can cut any true type of font, plus most any image you find on line can be converted (some images are easier than others). And there are lots of sites for free svg files. And the forum at SCAL is the best and the members are willing to share all their talents.
With the cost of SCAL being $60-75, it sure beats buying carts that have images I don't even want.