Electronic vs Manual Diecutting Machines

You will love your vagabond!!!!

Thank you so much for your feedback. I think I will get the Vagabond since it can cut and emboss (which I really really like). It's a little more than I wanted to spend, but having carpal tunnel, the electric feature will definitely be worth it. Maybe in the future, I will get an electronic machine too, so that I can vary the size of my diecuts. Baby steps... LOL. I'm super excited to finally get something after 5+ years of scrapping without.

You need both an electronic machine and a roller machine. Electronic machines such as the cricut cut various size images that can be manipulated, but need cartridges or digital images (connected to a computer) to work. They cannot emboss.

If you want to emboss, then you need a roller machine such as the cuttlebug or Big Shot. They work with embossing folders. They can also cut shapes using separate dies (such as Spellbinders) that come in fixed sizes. The electronic machines don't use these dies.

Most of the roller machines are manual, but if you have trouble with your hands, you may want to consider the Vagabond, which is electric. However, it's much larger and more expensive than the manual machines.

I have a Cricut and a Cuttlebug. With the Cricut you can alter the size of your cuts and each cartridge has tons of images to cut, they can be expensive but I always try to buy them on sale. However I love my Cuttlebug and use it much more than the Cricut. It folds up, you can use it anywhere...no need to plug in, no sticky or no longer sticky mats to deal with or dull blades, I love to emboss with it and if you buy Spellbinders Nestabillities dies you get a variety of sizes to work with. Personally I feel my Cuttlebug is the best crafting tool I ever bought. Anyway I'm not sure if this is helpful to you but I really love my Cuttlebug.

Tia; I just bought a Vagabond that is electric (I loooove it). It folds up to a small size when not using. My manual Big Shot has gotten to hard for me to crank...bad hands. I gave it to my daughter. Die cutting machines can only cut what size a die is. Electronic ones like Cricuts, Silhouettes (etc.) can cut an image any size from 1/2" to 12". Research them if you don't have one. Cricuts need cartridges which get expenisve; the Silhouette types use images off the internet.

Hi Everyone - after 5+ years without a diecutting machine, I think I'm ready to take the plunge. I particularly like diecuts that are embossed (i.e. Spellbinders). My limited research tells me that only manual diecutters can emboss - is that true? Can a shape be resized (i.e. bigger or smaller) when using an electronic cutter? It appears the manual ones can only cut a certain size.

It looks like the Big Shot Pro can do it all, but I don't really want to spend a fortune, nor do I have a lot of room to store it. Any suggestions on a diecutting machine. What do you like about it?

Oh one more thing - I have carpal tunnel, so wondering if the manual machines will be too hard on my hands?

TIA!!