Sunday, October 13, 2013

The Scan N Cut, Do I Love It?

Hi Everyone,
I am not one for reviews because I know from experience that what works for one rarely works for all.  I am not a professional artist but let's face it, I am pretty darn crafty.  No, really I have a whole room dedicated to the art of not just awesome crafty goodness but the art of draining the family checking account! And I practice both on a daily basis.  So here is what I can tell you.  I do love the Brother SnC. Yes I do, but don't be fooled by that fact because I also love my KnK xl, my KnK ZING, my 2 Wishblades, 3 Crickets (no, I will not include the Imagine in the count 'cause that is just a door stop) So with that said you can tell I just love digital die cutters and I love all the software that goes along with them.  But in this case, at this time there is no software.  Brother has a website set up for an online editing program however it is not live yet.  The name of it will be www.scanNcutcanvas.brother.com. Here is a picture of the Scan n Cut, yes it is pretty:
I spent the extra $$ on it to get the blue.  That I will tell you was a mistake because it is my understanding that the only difference between the blue and the red were the few extras that came with the blue.  So I spent about $100.00 to get the pens, pen holder, a CD with some art (which I didn't need), an extra mat. 200  extra built in patterns, 40 extra quilt patterns and the "Cut up this book" book that was not in the box.  I don't know how I am suppose to get the book but I will call the dealer and hope to get it.  So given the choice for a do-over I would get the red.  It scans great and traces outlines pretty good too.  Here is a picture of some rubber stamp die cuts:
The picture might not be great but the SnC did a great job on the cutouts.  You can adjust the border offset from zero going up but unfortunately there is no negative offset.  Which is something I really needed. For example if I had printed a sheet of tags (let's say 25 tags) and I printed a shape around each one so that the scanner would create the line I would then want to reduce the line via a negative offset.  As it is right now I have to scan in the page of tags with no outline and drop a tag shape on each one.  Which is doable but on the tiny screen is rather tedious.  Here is a picture of a little Hershey nugget holder I made.  I saw this on Inking Idaho.  Becky Roberts blog.  Visit her for great Stampin' Up! Ideas.  Here is how my version came out:
The SnC did a great job.
So being me, I had to explore a bit. Why what's this? Look hiding under the usb port. UMMMMMM,
Why it's a computer connection! Awesome, Let's plug in and see what happens.  Yup, my VAIO read it.  Even set up the connection.  Showed up as Brother Scan N Cut in my device menu. Not that I can do anything with it yet, but it is good to know that for sure Brother is going to HOOK ME UP!!
I love the SnC and my only complaint is that I can't see the screen.  I do notice that my 10 year old grand daughter doesn't seem to be having that problem. I also know in a matter of weeks I will be complaining that I can't get blades locally.  I have a feeling I will be trying to retro fit one of my other blade holder into the SnC.  This is why I love my ZING so much.  That baby seems to hold any blade holder.  Off to play and if the family is lucky I may even do some laundry.  But really who would want to walk away from the pretty blue machine.  Enjoy your day,
Lysa

8 comments:

  1. Lysa, can't wait to see what other projects you come up with.

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  2. Hey Lysa...been watching closely to see what your impressions, comments, etc. about the SnC are!! Thanks for posting...keep us updated on what you do with it!

    Hugs!

    Liz

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  3. Oh Lysa...did you try sending a cut from MTC using the Wirefram option??? That would something I would try, ie, File => Print => choose the SnC, before that make sure the option File => Print Options => Print Wireframe only are set....:)

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  4. I'm sitting here laughing my head off! I was digging at the little plugged-up spot under the usb port this morning, but I didn't dare (void my warranty)! You are brave, but I, too, would like to hook this baby up to my computer. I hope it happens!

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  5. No, Anonymous, I am Not Brave, just curious and as my Mother (who I miss dearly) would tell me Curiosity killed the cat and I always responded "Yes, but satisfaction brought him back!" LOL, I sure miss her!! I also tried to send a cut to the machine via a few software packs but sadly none worked. Oh well, let's just keep hoping for the upgrade. Thanks for visiting,
    Lysa

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  6. Looks like you are well on your way with the Scan N' Cut! I love the nugget holder and can't wait to see what all you make with this new machine!

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  7. What ink do you use? It doesn't seem to recognize my stamped images. Very disappointed.

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  8. Hi Mary, The crow, cat and witches hat were stamped with black stazon. The treat holder was printed on Stampin Up old olive cardstock with my HP printer. The SnC has lots of issues. I have had it a while and only use it to fussy cut stamped images. Not all images work well.

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