Cricut Personal vs. Expression and SCAL vs. Design Studio

[duchess_tisha]

Hello all!

I am about to venture into my own Cricut purchase! With all my swaps, I really need my own. I know Disney_Barlans will be thrilled that I won't be at her house until all hours cutting anymore!!

Here are my questions....

1. Would you recommend the extra money to go with the Cricut Expression?
2. What do feel is a better add-on, Design Studio or SCAL??

Thanks for all your help ladies!

 

[mycutiepatooties]

I have the smaller Cricut and if I were going to buy again I would go with the larger machine. I have a Disney Tinkerbelle cartridge that I tried on my smaller machine and at the largest size the designs are just too detailed to cut it without shredding the paper. Some of the more detailed princess ones probably won't cut for me either from what I've heard from other owners.

I also hate having to cut my paper down for the smaller machine. It would be nice to just slap a 12x12 sheet of cardstock on there and get lots of cuts done.

I don't have Design Studio or SCAL. I think most people like SCAL better though.

Traci

 

[morgansmom2000]

Since you're buying, I say to go for the Expression. You can download trials of both CDS and SCAL. I like SCAL for the versatility (you can use any True Type Font on your computer), but I like CDS too.

 

[PamCo88]

I would go with the expression, I started with the bug and did upgrade. I wanted to make fonts smaller than 1" which cannot be done on the bug. As far as software I only have CDS right now. I like to be able to meld stuff together and see it first. I do plan to get DS soon though, especially since my warranty is over.

 

[duchess_tisha]

Is the Design Studio fairly easy to use? And with it, do you get access to all Cricut cartridges or only some?

MM ~ how about SCAL, is it easy to use? I have heard that it is a little trickier than DS.

Thanks all for your advice ....this is a big $$ purchase so I want it to be right!

 

[morgansmom2000]

You can only cut items from the cartridges you have. There are TONS of sites and blogs and free files out there though. I've got a great site at home, I'll post it when I get home later today or tomorrow.

SCAL *is* tricky and there is a learning curve, but to do "basic" things, it's easy. If you look in the Card Swap progress thread (I'm being lazy), in the slide show, there is a card I made shaped like a take out cup with SCAL. It took a little time to get the sizing just right, but seriously, it was easy!

There is a new upgrade of SCAL (Version 2), that came out last week. I would highly recommend playing with the free trials, to get a feel for them.

HTH,

 

[morgansmom2000]

Go to www.craftedge.com to download the SCAL trial, CDS is at www.cricut.com.

 

[AlexWyattMommy]

With the Design Studio, you can only cut from the carts you already own. You can design and play with the others [I think] but if you want to make the crab from Beach, you need the Beach cart.

I have both the little bug and Expressions. I like the Expressions better. Just slapping on that piece of paper does make things go faster.

I have SCAL but don't use it as much as I should. I can weld words pretty easily now, but I haven't used the Inkscape to make paper piecings yet.

 

[labdogs42]

I'd go with the Expressions and then the Gypsy when the price comes down a little!

 

[Iris]

I started with the Baby Bug, regretted it and talked my DH into the Expression as last year's Christmas Gift. I would definitely go with the Expression, it is worth the extra money for all you can do with it. I still use both machines but I use the expression a lot more.

I also have both CDS and SCAL and could NOT LIVE without both. I love my cricut shape cartridges and I use them quite a bit. I like being able to see what I am going to cut before I cut them. I like welding my stuff together, it just makes my life easier.

I LOVE LOVE LOVE SCAL! I love that I can pick any true type font I want for my pages. I really don't think Provo Craft could ever make that many font cartridges. I love using dingbats - I just downloaded some Big Thunder Mountain dingbats that were so cool. I love using SCAL along with inkscape to create my own personalized cuts/images/etc. It took me a while to learn SCAL and I am still learning, but it is worth it.

 

[bcinohio]

I have a baby bug and am looking to purchase SCAL 2 this weekend. Where did you find the most help on learning to use it? Does the download come with instructions? I have only used it a few times at a friends house and I loved it.

Also where is the best place to find free fonts or picture downloads?

Thanks

 

[morgansmom2000]

Here is the link for the CDS titles. Titles.