MANUAL DIE CUTTING OR ELECTRONIC CUTTING MACHINE FOR BEGINNERS

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

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Disclaimer: This is my personal generalised opinion