The Cricut Imagine was a hot seller on the Home Shopping Network (HSN) during its debut release launch on September 14, 2010. Those who did not get to see this machine on HSN may wonder what the buzz is all about. Here is the scoop…
The Imagine is an invention of the Provo Craft company. If that name sounds familiar, there is a good reason. Provo Craft has brought us innovative crafting products such as the Expression die cut machine, Yudu screen printing system, CuttleBug embossing and manual die cutter, and the Knifty Knitter, just to name a few. It is a well-known brand, popular with scrapbookers, paper crafters, and artists.
This new item from them is innovative in that it combines the power of a wide format printer with their electronic die cutting technology. No longer do crafters need piles of multicolored card stock and paper to make colorful cutouts. Instead, this machine can transform white cardstock into colorful die cuts. These can either be printed and cut as flat images, or the pieces can be printed individually, allowing users to add dimension to their cutouts with glue dots, embossing, and other paper piecing techniques.
No computer is needed to operate the Cricut Imagine. Instead, die cuts can be cut from their original cartridge series. Their original cartridges can be used simultaneously with the new Imagine-only cartridges. These contain patterns and images for printing, similar to the digital papers that many scrapbook artists use in their layouts.
This machine can be used on a wide variety of materials, including not only paper and cardstock, but printable vinyl, thin wood veneer, iron on fabric, canvas and more. It can print and cut up to 11-1/2″ x 11-1/2″. The inks used in this system are nearly acid-free, with pH levels ranging from 6.5 to 7. Not only is it compatible with the original cartridges from Cricut, but it can also be used with the Gypsy handheld design studio and the Jukebox.
It is also simple to operate. It has an LCD touchscreen which allows users to scroll through and select the different designs on the cartridges. It also includes a color picker, which has eighteen pre-defined colors as well as a color wheel, so that owners can print cardstock of any color using this machine. They can also input the RGB code to print custom-colored paper.
Will the Cricut Imagine become the die cut machine of choice among crafters? Only time will tell, but it does offer a lot of versatility that is sure to be not only useful, but also a timesaver as well.