Tell me about Wishblades and the like

[mcgrawfan]

I have just learned about the Wishblade and others like it. From the way I understand it can cut any font in your Microsoft Word fonts. How does it work. What are some other products that are similar? If I am understanding this correctly, in the long run it would be way less expensive than purchasing a die cut machine because you have to purchase the individual alphabets for $100-$200 in addition to the die cut machine. Am I understanding this correctly? Where is the best place to purchase these?

 

[Amyg]

This has a comparision on three similar machines and has all the info you might want:

http://boards.diynetwork.com/eve/forums/a/tpc/f/8811916776/m/7981052282?r=7981052282#7981052282

 

[crazy*about*mickey]

Sorry I still don't understand. Is this a program you buy or a machine? Where do you buy it? How does it work?

 

[Amyg]

Sorry I still don't understand. Is this a program you buy or a machine? Where do you buy it? How does it work?

I don't have either but from my research the Wishblade and CraftRobo are VERY similar machines that hook up to your PC and if you know Word the learning curve is easy. You can program fonts and shapes from a 1/2" to I think around 8". The machine will then cut the words or shapes for you. So from what I understand you can make single letters, words, shapes in a huge assortment of sizes. I've read that fonts and shapes are downloadable free.

The link I gave above has comparisons of the machines and also individual lists of what each can do.

I also googled "Wishblade" and found some chat about it and the CraftRobo as well as a couple of other cutters.

Some craft stores probably have it but you can also mail order. They are a bit pricy ($300-$400) but apparently from what others have written it's worth it. They don't sell these anywhere in Hawaii so I'm hoping to save up and buy one online in the near future.

Hope this helps!

 

[rlovew]

I have a craftrobo Pro, which is a step up from the regular craftrobo or wishblade. I got this because I wanted to make cuts in actual 12 x 12 pages when I get good enough at it for now I cut library pockets, shaped tags, and letters out of it. To cut letters I choose text and outline and the installed font I want (it just has to be installed in your computers font file) and then I type in what I want to print out. I resize any item to the size I want it to be. You can use guidelines to get you size right. I put paper in the machine and send the cut to the machine and it cuts it out. It doesn't cut out whole words unless you trace them and connect them.

 

[huge mickey fan]

Now my question is where does a person buy one of these wonderful toys? I am seriously looking harder at the Wishblade I have seen the Cricut at my LSS but never anything this cool. I also wonder does it use 12 x 12 paper or only 8.5 x 11? Any suggestions would be great.

Huge Mickey Fan

 

[rlovew]

The wishblade and craftrobo only use 8.5 x 11. That's why I got the bigger and more expensive machine. I ordered mine online. If you do a search you will come up with a number of stores that carry them. Just for your knowledge the difference between the wishblade and the craftrobo ius not the actual machine but the softare that comes with it.

 

[huge mickey fan]

Thanks that helps out quite a bit. I think I definately need to save up some money but I do hear my credit card calling to me before then. Any other thoughts on the software that come with would be very helpful.

Thanks
Huge Mickey Fan

 

[graygables]

The Wishblade does NOT cut any fonts but the ones that come on the disks within its own software. There was a glitch that was sent out in some awhile back, but it has been fixed. To cut without the disks, you have to download and use inkscape, save as a .DXF file, then use the robocraft software to open the file and save it in a type that Wishblade can use. It is not very straightforward and if I had to do it all over again (and if my DD didn't sell me my wishblade with her instructor discount ), I would have gone with the Robo. I also find that they cause the machine to work too hard, where the ones on the disks are much faster (fewer plot points, I'm guessing)

 

[all4disney98]

The Wishblade does NOT cut any fonts but the ones that come on the disks within its own software. There was a glitch that was sent out in some awhile back, but it has been fixed. To cut without the disks, you have to download and use inkscape, save as a .DXF file, then use the robocraft software to open the file and save it in a type that Wishblade can use. It is not very straightforward and if I had to do it all over again (and if my DD didn't sell me my wishblade with her instructor discount ), I would have gone with the Robo. I also find that they cause the machine to work too hard, where the ones on the disks are much faster (fewer plot points, I'm guessing)

Hi Graygables!
I just purchased the Wishblade a few weeks ago and the Wishblade does cut fonts that are not on its disks, even without all of the steps you mentioned. This is why I purchased the Wishblade over the Cricut - you don't need to purchase any additional software. So far I have downloaded hundreds of fonts from the internet and cut some just last night. It just has to be a TTF file, which is the format used by Microsoft Word. I have not had to use Inkscape or any other software to cut any of my fonts that were not included on the disk.

I had heard about that bug from when they were originally released, but I thought the fix they sent out corrected this. Did you receive their fix?

I have had to use the steps you mentioned for clipart not included on the disks but definitely not for fonts. Hope this helps?

 

[jennyL]

So far I love my Wishblade. I to can cut any TTF without using Inkscape. I have been recently mostly cutting my words as one piece so then I have to use Inkscape but its pretty easy. Of course I only know how to do linked words and not much else yet. LOL when I get back from my cruise I'll have to print another tutorial and learn something else.

 

[Carolc]

I just bought the Craft Robo (was delivered to me on Tuesday). I felt like a kid getting a new toy! I'm still learning how to use it... there is so much that can be done! I suggest signing up for both Wishblade and CraftRobo Yahoo groups.

Now that I have this machine, though, I've discovered a NEW problem... there are so many fonts I can use, I am having a tough time deciding which one to use on which page!! (in addition, you can stretch the letters vertically or horizontally, you could cut with different paper, you could combine more than one font, you could use the negative cut (throw out the letter itself))... so many options!!

Oh, and did anyone mention, you can cut out fonts that are of the wing-ding type? I saw a cool photo of a pirate ship that was just an enlarged font. Very cool. I could have done something like that on my POTC page and eliminated the need to buy embellishments!

HTH
Carol