For anyone who enjoys scrapbooking and paper craft making, the Cricut machines are an excellent addition to your craft supplies. Rather than cutting out letters and shapes yourself, simply choose a design from the Cricut cartridges and have the machine cut them out perfectly to your specified size. Using the Cricut Cutter or Cricut Expression allows for easier cutting, saving both time and effort.
Function
With just the touch of a button, both the Cricut Cutter and Cricut Expression machines cut out shapes, letters, words and pictures from your choice of Cricut papers. These machines are great for homemade card making, scrapbooking and various paper crafts. Because of its larger size, the Cricut Expression allows you to create larger designs to be used for bigger projects, such as classroom decorations or signage.
Features
Neither machine requires the use of a computer; simply plug the machine into a power outlet and begin working. Simply choose a pattern cartridge with the design you want to cut, plug it into the machine and print out your specified design. Dozens of interchangeable pattern cartridges are available, which allows for endless cutting possibilities. The blades typically last from 1 to 3 months. Both the Cricut Cutter and Cricut Expression use the same cartridges and blades.
Additionally, Cricut offers a wide variety of papers and materials made specifically for the Cricut machines. These papers come in a variety of sizes and thicknesses, from 0.5 millimeters up. The materials range from vellum to card stock. The Cricut Expression is powerful enough to cut through vinyl and thin chipboard, which are also available for purchase from Cricut.
The most advantageous features of the Cricut Expression is that it has an LCD viewing screen, which allows you to preview each cut before it is actually made.
Size
The Cricut Cutter weighs only 7 lb., making it a lightweight and easy accessory for anyone who takes their crafting hobby outside of the home. All of the accessories can easily be stored in a small tote bag. The Cricut Cutter will cut out designs in 12 different sizes, ranging from 1 inch to 5 1/2 inches.
The Cricut Expression is a much larger machine and is meant to stay in one place. With the Expression, you can print in portrait or landscape formats using either a 12-inch by 24-inch mat or a 12-inch by 12-inch mat. Customize your designs to the specific size you need; the Cricut Expression will cut shapes from 0.25 inch to 12 inches by 24 inches.
Accessories
Cricut offers several accessories and tools to enhance the user's experience with the Cricut machines. The Cricut Jukebox allows for six different cartridges to be plugged into the printer at the same time, allowing for easier selection. A wide variety of print cartridges are available, including letters, shapes, holidays and licensed cartoons. Papers, cutting mats and blades are also available through the Cricut website.
Cost
If you're purchasing directly from the Cricut website, the Cricut Cutter costs about $300 as of 2009, while the Cricut Expression costs about $500. The printer cartridges range from $50 to $100. Blades range from $4 to $15.
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