Variety of Materials - The Sizzix Originals dies have the advantage of being able to cut a wide variety of materials:

• Cardstock, Paper, Vellum
• Fabric, Felt, Foil, Funky Fur
• Magnet, PaperWood
• Poly Foam, Pop-Up Sponge
• RuffleBoard
• Self-Adhesive Rubber
• Shrink Plastic, Static Cling Vinyl
• Thin Cork, Thin Leather
• Thin Metal

Sizes of Die Cuts - Because there are three sizes of dies, you can create dies that range from quite small (2 3/8" X 2 3/4"), to those that are very large (4 3/4" X 5 1/2"). So, for example, if you like tags, there is a large variety of tag dies available, with the smallest at a die cut of 1/2" x 1 1/4" or largest of 3 1/8" x 4 3/4"- large enough for a mini-album or journalling block.

Cost - The Originals system are still quite costly. Because they are more robust than the Sizzlit system, they cost more to make and therefore more to buy.

Size and Portability - The Originals also take up a fair bit of room. They are also heavy, so if you want to take them with you to crops, it is a major comittment.

Portability - Because the dies are so much smaller, it is possible to carry several alphabets and over 60 Sizzlits dies on a smaller tote bag, including the Sidekick machine. If you are looking for a system to take to crops, this is the most suitable.

Cost - Sizzlits dies come in sets of four, for about $30AU. So you get four dies for the cost of one large original die.

Variety of Dies - I love alphabets, at this stage there are 21 alphabets for the Sizzlit system, and 3 for the Original system.

Useable with Sizzix Machine - You can use the Sizzlit dies with the Original machine, if you also purchase the Converter. (Note: from personal experience, while this works in theory, you get a much better cut with Sizzlit dies if you use the Sidekick).

Suitable Materials - Because the Sizzlits dies are so much thinner, the cutting blade is much smaller. The result of this is that you can only really cut paper and thin cardstock using the Sizzlit dies.

Size of Die Cuts - Again, because of the size of the dies, you only ever get fairly smaller die cuts using the Sizzlits dies. This is not a problem most of the time, but an important issue to consider.