WHAT TO BUY? MANUAL DIECUTTING OR ELECTRONIC CUTTING MACHINE
ESPECIALLY FOR BEGINNERS.........
When I started my paper crafting I used paper punches and pattern scissors for making cards and scrapbook. An electronic cutting machine is a gift from my hubby. He thought buying an electronic machine would be way better than buying paper punches every month so that I can cut different pattern I need and of different dimensions. So he searched for advanced cutting machines. But I had my eyes on manual die cutting machines already.
One day after his return from the office he had an electronic cutting machine as a gift for me. At first, I felt sad coz I needed a manual one, but after thinking we can cut any pattern of any size and shape iIstarted loving it.
But after a few days, the cutting became unprecise and it started tearing off the paper, the reason was stickiness of the paper was gone. 2 weeks after our intro package free subs were gone. We need to subscribe patterns. Freebies are also there but they look cheap. After 3 weeks the cutting mat became useless.
I had a chance to test a manual cutter which my friend owned, to my surprise worked better than the electronic one. Now I regret having this as a gift. I hope I will replace this with a manual one in the nearby future
The following is a quick comparison of these two
MANUAL DIE CUTTING
Pros
- laser cut like finish
- crisp cut
- precision is always perfect
- perfect embossing
- good for interactive cards
- perfect for coordinating stamps and dies
Cons:
- We cannot get dimensions of our like [dimension here means size]
ELECTRONIC CUTTING MACHINE
Pros:
- size of the cut can be altered
- we can upload image and cut
Cons:
- no precise cut
- no crisp cut
- embossing is a bad idea
- no use for making interactive cards [ slider, peekaboo, gatefold cards ]
- no use for template creating [ for treat box, etc ]
- need to change cutting mat regularly
- can print and cut image after calibration but the print out image outline will be scattered by default ]
So its better go for a manual cutting machine than electronic one if you are a beginner.
The price of the cutting mat for the electronic ones can be saved for buying dies
Image of an electronic cut pattern, you can see the frayed torn edges in the first image and unfinished cut in the second image
image of a manual die cut pattern see the perfect crisp cut edges
Thank you for visiting my page.
Disclaimer: This is my personal generalised opinion
