Sure Cuts a lot....do you own this softare?

I am very interested in buying this but it seems I have more questions than answers...

I know I need to update the firmware on my cricut but can anyone give me the in's and out's of what sounds like a too good to be true product?

thanks

If you go to the Cricut forum, there are lots of threads about this ... hth!

I have it. It's not bad. I like to use it for the shapes, but I have had problems with knowing if the fonts will come out like I could like it too. There is also a group on Yahoo, that shares files. So check it out.

Hi Kat. Basically, Sure Cuts A Lot is software that installs on your PC and allows you to cut any TrueType font and any SVG image with your Cricut machine. You design your project/layout/pattern on the SCAL screen (by selecting a font or importing an image you downloaded from the internet or created yourself). The whole process works very much like Design Studio, Provo Craft's software, but the main difference is that you supply your own fonts and images instead of plugging in a Cricut cartridge. This is the software's strongest feature, as you are no longer limited to those Cricut cartridges anymore. Another benefit is that there is a one time cost for the software (you don't have to continue to buy $80 cartridges), and all software updates are free. Design Studio and Sure Cuts A Lot have a very similar look and feel, so if you've used Design Studio, you will be comfortable with Sure Cuts A Lot.

We've posted some rumors about Sure Cuts A Lot that you may have read about on the message boards, and give you the truth about these rumors, which should make you feel at ease. You can read those here:

http://www.mycricutbuddy.com/index.php?main_page=page&id=11

It really is a great product, and we have thousands of happy customers who are glad they decided to give this software a shot. Since it's not as simple as plugging in a cartridge and selecting an image, it is slightly more involved than Design Studio (or using the Cricut by itself for that matter)...

- To cut with a font of your choice, you install it on your computer (right click and select Install), then when you launch Sure Cuts A Lot, the font is automatically available for use.

- To cut with an SVG image, you simply select File > Import SVG from the main menu and select the image you want to use.

- To cut with a image other than SVG (GIF, JPG, etc), you have two options. If it is a simple design, you can open it in Sure Cuts A Lot and use the auto trace feature which will trace the image so the Cricut knows where to cut. For more complex designs, it is best to convert your image to the SVG format before opening it in Sure Cuts A Lot. There are free programs available that will do this for you, and they are quite simple to use.

So while there are on or two extra steps you have to do to perform a cut (when compared to Design Studio), those extra steps are very simple. I think from the power and wealth of options Sure Cuts A Lot opens up for you, it becomes apparent that it's worth the $75 price.

Feel free to ask if you have any other questions!

Ms Jackie, with the What-You-See-Is-What-You- Get feature (the project on screen is how it will look when cut), are you saying your fonts do not cut like you see them on screen before you have your Cricut cut them? In other words, your end results are different than what you see in Sure Cuts A Lot?

I have SCAL (Sure Cuts A Lot) and I would be lost without it. I rarely even use my cartridges with my Expression any longer.

I can take any picture, bring it into my picture editing software (I use Adobe, but there are free ones that work really well too), convert it to an svg, and I'm able to cut it via SCAL.

I will admit the conversion process does take a while to catch on but if you are at all used to photo editing, it is not that bad.

HOWEVER, there are so many svg photo's and objects already available for free by doing a google search or on forums, it isn't funny. CraftEdge even has their own forum where people create designs and share it. Early on, I had a picture I wanted converted and didn't know how to do it yet. I posted to see if anyone would help me with it and had like 4 responses of people helping me with the file.

Very easy program and very good customer service as well as very nice people on their forums to help.

I would suggest it to anyone considering it.