KLIC N KUT OR CRAFT ROBO MACHINE! Which Die cutter do I need, want?

Hello this is Crystal Hendrix of CRAFTASAURUS, I have been a distributor of the CRAFT ROBO computerized die cutters and KLIC N KUT die cutter machines for about 2 years now and the thing I get asked the most by my customers is which machine is better and which one do you like the best? So I decided to write this guide for the people thinking about buying a computerized die cutter for SCRAP BOOKING, CRAFTING, FUND RAISERS, SMALL BUSINESS, DECAL MAKING, DOG TAG ENGRAVING and the many other things that can be done with these wonderful machines.

• First of all a  little background on me...I have been an artist crafts person for my whole life and have been making my living off it for over 25 years. I have had a successful T-shirt and decal business and  have created thousands of designs over the years specializing in animal art especially DOGS, CATS, HORSES and have also created designs that I sell at TRACTOR SHOWS, AGILITY DOG SHOWS, FLYBALL TRIALS, LIVESTOCK SHOWS, FESTIVALS AND ARTS AND CRAFT SHOWS ALL OVER THE COUNTRY. I have a line of SPOILED ROTTEN PETS designs which I personalize with the pet's name and apply to T-shirts, Tote bags, framed art and other items that can be personalized and sold right at the show usually while the customer waits.
• I got interested in the Scrap booking world because it combines my love of drawing and painting along with paper crafts, embellishments, card making and allows total freedom of imagination but most of all because of all the neat stuff such as the tools, dies, papers, paints, eyelets and all the eye catching stuff the scrap book world has come up with... I ADMIT I AM A TOOL AND SUPPLY JUNKIE! And just ask my husband there is NOTHING  I can do to quit SO WHY TRY! Instead I decided to buy all the new things that come out and sell them in order to keep getting more, I only sell what I truly enjoy myself and have found to be really FUN & CREATIVE to use...so that's how I got hooked on the COMPUTERIZED DIE CUTTERS, I thought it was a dream come true and once I got my first little Craft robo I NEW IT WAS A DREAM COME TRUE! Mainly because there is NO LIMIT to what you can create with these great inventions! Ok enough about me and now let's get to the machines!

First  I am going to describe to you what and how these machines work. The Craft Robo machines and the Klic N Kut machines are both machines which you connect to your computer via USB port, the machines are as easy to install as you would a  printer, each machine comes with it's own software and you are able to access the software thru your computer and then import JPG., BMP files into it and create cut lines around the item. The software allows you to create your project then send any printable information to whatever printer you have attached to you computer already. Within the software there are different tools and ways to trace around the imported item then you can send it to the cutter to cut  around the image using crop marks or other parameters depending on the machine. This may sound difficult but it's really not it just take getting used to the individual software program and getting comfortable with it and you can create projects in a very short amount of time.
When you are deciding which machine to purchase here are few things to ask yourself

1. What are you computer skills? Beginner, Intermediate or advanced?
2. What type of project do you want to be able to create the most? Scrap book shapes, frames, Alphabets, boxes, decals, engrave, emboss?
3. What material do you want to be able to cut? Paper, card stock, chipboard, craft foam, thin metal, stencils, vellum, etc.?
4. Do you want to be able to carry it around a lot or mainly use it at home?
5. Do you want to be able to make money with the machine or mainly for your own part time use?
6. Do you want to use it mainly for FUN or PROFIT?

These questions are good to ask yourself because it will make deciding the machine much easier all the machines are capable of doing a lot of the same things but some are more capable of doing bigger and more extensive projects.
I think the best way to start comparing the machines is to compile a list of the features of each machine so here goes...

• CRAFT ROBO MACHINE THE SMALL VERSION
• Super easy to set up and VERY easy USER friendly software
• Can cut up to a full 7 inch width and 24-36 inch cutting length (but can also cut rolls of vinyl)
• USB connection
• Has a optical eye which will read the crop marks which are automatically printed on any project that is created within the Craft robo software so it knows exactly where to cut around your items when it's sent to the cutter.
• Carrier sheet is used to stick your card stock or paper on in order to send thru the machine mainly it holds it in place while cutting is being done
• You can use any FONT that is already installed on you computer so you can create and cut any letter in any size from 1/2 inch to as 12 inches tall for example
• Software has an Auto trace feature now which allows super fast creation of cut lines on your imported files
• Many shapes come with the program, stars, circle, square, flower etc. and you can create your own shapes using the installed drawing tools which allows you to create free form shapes and more intricate designs and you can also import any shapes from clip art etc. to cut
• The craft robo software is very easy to use and is a beginner can learn it very quickly it also come with an ADOBE ILLUSTRATOR plug in which allows you to cut directly from that program if you wish and by pass the Craft robo software altogether
• The blade holder comes with 3 different blade caps and the software will tell you which one to use depending on the thickness of the material you are cutting (paper, sticker, cardstock etc.)
• A really cool feature is that the machine can do perf lines and cut lines so you can create folded items such as pop up cards and boxes etc. this is a real easy feature to use in that you just tell it what colored lines you want to be cut lines and what to be a perforated line.
• You can also cut sticker material or vinyl material for stickers and not cut thru the backing sheet this is done with the blade level which the machine will tell you on your set up.
• This machine is really easy to carry around I put it in my laptop bag
• The thickest stuff you can cut with this version is card stock although you can cut any really thin material too.
• The software is easy but kind of limited for example word welding and shadows etc. but there are free downloads that will let you do that with the craft robo software.
• This machine is great for someone who wants to do a lot of there own stuff or take to crops, it's pretty fast but not near as fast as the larger machines, but for a small easy to use die cutter you can 't go wrong it comes with a full year warranty and is made by a professional company named GRAPHTEC out of California
• I have heard the newer version the this machine is not as good, it's louder and slower so I would say BUY NOW since they are on sale and will be gone entirely once the new version takes over, when you purchase thru us at CRAFTASAURUS we include a FREE sports kit, suprise downloads, links to forums and our template of the month club. I love my little machine. Now onto the BIG GUYS!...

CRAFT ROBO PRO 2

• This is the larger version of the Craft robo machine the main differences being this
• You have a full 12 inch cut width and unlimited cut length, you can put a whole sheet of scrapbook paper in or cut rolls of vinyl for example
• You can control the speed and depth of the blade from the software and the machine itself
• You have a 300 downforce which allows you to cut thicker materials (you can also get the heavy duty blade holder which allows you to cut chipboard, craft foam, thin metal etc. costs $119.00 but I recommend it highly because the blades are much less expensive to replace than the blade holder which comes with machine) I cut chipboard all the time and craft foam too, you can always cut twice with a click of the button if you need to cut thru thicker items.
• Craft robo master software is just as easy to use as with the little machine and also has the Adobe Illustrator plug in, I have used the Klic N Kut software with my machine and am very pleased because it lets you do all the neat stuff such as arch type, welded words etc. that software is $250.00 but well worth it unless you are going to use Adobe Illustrator which allows you to do all those things too, the Craft Robo software is fine for simple things and you can still create any shape and import any shape into it but for the fancy stuff I like the KNK software hands down!
• Machine is a little more complicated but it just take a little more practice than the smaller version but with this machine you can have a high volume of vinyl stickers, die cuts, stickers, decals with no problem at all I have made thousands of dollars with my machine using very inexpensive vinyl rolls, craft foam, poster board, metal and creating many sellable items.
  
• This machine is SUPER FAST, QUIET AND RELIABLE!
• Easy to carry around light weight plastic body
• Year warranty from Graphtec
• I have had NO trouble with mine and I have taken it into some pretty tough environments, livestock barns and outside shows..
• The 2 things I do recommend though is buy the heavy duty blade holder $119.00 and the KNK software for $250.00 and perhaps the $59.00 engraver attachment if you want to engrave tags etc. If you have all those things this machine is a SUPER GREAT INVESTMENT and will make you money back in NO time
• We include the sports kit, free downloads, template club, forum links and email support with this package

KLIC N KUT MACHINE BY ACCUGRAPHIC

• The Klic N Kut is yet another great machine the main differences being this
• Metal body, heavier machine (but still easy to carry with the handle on top)
• Much better software package since it comes with the KNK software which is $250.00 seperately
  
• Comes with all the tools (BLADE HOLDER, PEN HOLDER, ENGRAVER EMBOSSER)
  
• Comes with FLATBED attachment which comes in handy if you are going to large chipboard boxes etc. it keeps your carrier sheet nice and flat coming out to the machine so the pieces stay stuck on the sheet better for larger projects.
• You can cut CHIPBOARD, CRAFT FOAM, THIN METAL, STENCIL PLASTIC, MAGNETIC SHEETS, THIN WOOD, you have a 500 downforce with this machine.
• It also comes with more adjustment on the pressure rollers which is very useful for thicker items
• The engraver works wonderful and I have sold hundreds of dollars worth of dog tags using it
• The software is a bit more to learn but has an excellent manual on the disc which will walk you thru it, but do allow a little more learning curve and time with it. Great for Intermediate or advanced users
• With this machine you will be able to create tons of sellable items very quickly it's very fast and reliable, it's a little louder than the CR Pro machine but is as fast and you have many levels of speed and blade depth to adjust according to material used.
• It does not have an optical eye but you can still print and cut with just a little set up work and save it to use over and over again for repeat jobs
• This machine has a 13 inch cut width and unlimited length and you can also get the XL version which has a 15 inch cut width, they are also coming out with a smaller version which will have a 8 1/2 cut width
• I wouldn't say it's super easy to learn but if you gave yourself a couple of days to practice and follow the tutorials you can be creating projects for FUN or PROFIT in no time!

SO HERE IS THE WRAP UP

• If you are looking for a small machine that will be FUN and easy to use and are mostly going to cut out things for yourself or smaller jobs and are a beginner in computer skills then the CRAFT ROBO MACHINE SMALL VERSION is for you we have it on sale in our Ebay store now

NEXT

• If you are looking to do larger jobs that will pay for themselves such as decals for teams, fund raisers, clubs, cutting vinyl for T-shirts, making boxes and cutting thicker materials
• Have a Mac computer or PC windows computer
• Use Adobe Illustrator
• Want to be able to cut decals, stencils, cardstock, chipboard, craft foam, metal, magnetic sheets, stickers, cork (with the heavy duty blade holder attachment $119.00 extra)
• Want a very reliable machine that you can count on everyday
• Want a very QUIET running machine
• Want a very RELIABLE machine
• Want an optical eye automatic registration system
• Want to be able to engrave or emboss ($59.00 extra tool)
• Are Intermediate or advanced computer user
• Want to be able to cut a whole sheet of scrap book paper
• Want to be able to cut rolls of vinyl for decals or signs or Tshirts
• Then the CRAFT ROBO PRO 2 machine is for you
• We have it on sale in our Ebay store right now

AND LAST BUT NOT LEAST

• If you want to do all the above and not have to buy extra tools or software
• If you'd like a heavier duty metal machine
• If you want the BEST software for cutting and creating included with your machine
• If you want to be able to do lots of cutting for BIG jobs
• If you are intermediate or advanced computer skills
• If you don't mind a little louder cutting operation
• If you want to cut thin wood, craft foam, chipboard, heavy duty cardstock, stencil plastic, paper, cork, magnetic sheets and more
• If you want to cut signs, decals, cards, boxes, display boards, fold lines, cut lines, stickers
• If you want a full one year warranty
• downloads to forums, tutorials, manuals etc.
• Need a professional grade machine
• Need a flat bed attachment included
• Have a little more time to learn up front for practicing

then the KLIC N KUT DIE CUTTER MACHINE IS FOR YOU!
I hope you find this guide helpful email me with any further questions at crystal@craftasaurus.com and check out all these items and more in our Ebay store CRAFTASAURUS