Welcome back to another Thursday Tutorial with yours truly, the Pink Dalmatian Scrapper!
I'm not sure how many of you crafters are like me but I have stuck with my Baby Bug, love my Gyspy & now have a new love of my Expression!
While I watched the release of the Imagine with avid interest, the price point kept me grounded.
I honestly know very little about this machine & have yet to mention it in my Tutorials.
till now...
till now...
I went searching on YouTube & found some informative & honest videos about the Imagine, so I thought I would share.
The first is in 2 parts & it's from Above Ruby Studios.
Keep in mind this video is a little old so I know there have been updates.
It's more informative regarding pros & cons for having an Imagine if you already own an Expression.
This is a link to the Imagine videos on the Cricut website.
Here is an actual tutorial on the Imagine basics
I still don't know that I'm going to run out & buy an Imagine.
Mostly because my wallet is empty! LOL
But...someday!
I'd love to hear which Cricut(s) you are using!
I'm with you on this...it's not something I want to run out and buy....why b/c my expression and gypsy are all I need....now cartridges ....who ever has enough.....LOL....
ReplyDeleteI started off with the Baby Bug, quickly moved up to the Expression and then the Imagine. I waited a few months to see how it worked. When I bought mine I understood it's limitations on some areas of flood filling images especially with the images on Imagine cartridges.
ReplyDeleteI am very happy with my Imagine, it works very well with CCR on build 132. The accuracy on cutting around the image is very good. It can be off sometimes if I don't insert the mat correctly. Also when I did the setup for the cutting I used a magnifying glass to look at each of the cut marks to ensure I picked the most accurate.
Yvonne, thank you for the info. I really appreciate the comment about not inserting the mat correctly. good to know.
DeleteThe Imagine is a wonderfule idea but in my opinion not well executed or supported. I have one and it prints just fine, but getting it to cut with CCR is hit or miss, mostly miss. I kinda feel that at this point it is an oversized printer and my money would have been better spent in purchasing photoshop. My Imagine actually drove me crazy last night and I finally ended up just printing my design on the Imagine and then switching over to the Expression to cut my project. Just wanted to give you an honest account of my experience.
ReplyDeleteThank you Rebecca, good to know. Did you catch the commment above about her Imagine working on build 132. maybee that makes a difference right now. I have learned not to do the updates from PC until I see that everyone else is not having an issue. Especially as they seem to release them on Fridays!
DeleteI have an Imagine (and an expression and a baby bug). I love my Imagine. I saw on the Cricut website that they have really come down in price since I purchased mine and most of the cartridges have been on sale lately. The Imagine is pretty darn awesome!
ReplyDeleteThanks Tianna!
DeleteMy first Cricut was a gift from my wonderful sister...a baby bug. I used the wheels off that little bug and still have it in my craftroom. Then when WalMart had the black Friday sale a few years ago, I had to have one of the red ones and was lucky enough to score one as they were flying off the pallet. I totally wore that one out--lugging it EVERYWHERE and it finally developed some sort of short in the on and off button and was retired. DH is going to take it apart and try to fix it someday (it's out of warranty). In the meantime, a great crafting buddy sold me her gently used E for a great price and I am currently wearing that one out.
ReplyDeleteThen when WM had the Imagine on sale for Black Friday 2011, DH knew I had been wanting and wanting one so he paid for half and I paid for half and I FINALLY had my Imagine. I used it like it was the only machine in the world (except for crops and crafting weekends with my sisters). Then a belt broke and it wouldn't feed the paper back through to cut after it printed. It took only about 7 days to get my return slip, ship it back and get my replacement. It's now being used again and I still love it. I like that I can use the regular cartridges, flood fill them and cut all on the Imagine.
I think the Imagine is a great and fun printing/cutting machine but it's too bulky for me to carry to crops. The cartridge prices are WAY down and PC recently had a great rebate where you bought 2 Imagine cartridges and got one free (got to chose from 8 different pattern cartridges) and a free black and a free color ink cartridge. That was a fantastic deal as I didn't pay over $15 for the cartridges I bought. So for less than $30 I got the two cartridges I purchased, a free pattern cartridge and two free ink cartridges. I know the ink has an expiration date on it but not worried about that. I intend to use them all up soon and know that the expiration date isn't like the one on milk...it will still work way beyond that date.
The Imagine is fairly hard to find right now. Several online dealers have great buys for refurbished machines and a lot of those dealers are giving a one year warranty...but buyers should check that out before purchasing. I know a lot of people are afraid it is being discontinued and I would not be surprised if that is true SIMPLY because technology advances at such a fast rate these days. Any machine that is almost 3 years old (think that's how long the Imagine has been around) is ancient so far as technology is concerned and I have enough cartridges and inks to supply me for a long, long time.
I never thought I'd be able to afford the Imagine and the cartridges so even if it is revamped and redone, I will get my money's worth in crafting and entertainment from this machine.
Thanks for all the info. I really appreciate hearing everyone's experiences. It sounds like you are a very happy & satisfied customer. & what a great deal!
DeleteCicly,
ReplyDeleteI have a baby bug and a original expression as well as a gypsy and I like you have not purchased the Imagine due to the cost. At almost $500 you can buy a lot of paper and what I've seen on the Imagine cartridges I haven't like all that much. Thanks for sharing these videos. God Bless
I am so excited that I am gettng a Cricut Expression. I have a Cricuit Create (the first and smaller Cricuit) so I am so excited to be able to get the Expression and I got it at a great sale price $149.99. Could not pass that up even though money is tight. I have no desire to get the IImagine or the Cricuit Expression 2. I do not own a gypsy just a few cartridges. So I am good with that!
ReplyDeleteAudrey, I'm with you. I got the origional Expression after reading some of the reviews on the E2. Don't spend your money on the G, CCR is free & just as good! If you start using that you will love your cricut even more as it will expand all the possibilites. Happy crafting!
DeleteI'm still rocking the baby bug. But I was late to the cricut game. I started scrapping in 2000 and for most of that was strictly a manual diecutter gal. First Sizzix and then Cuttlebug. I didn't get my cricut until 2011 when a kick-booty black friday sale finally persuaded me to give it a try. Of course now I'm hooked and really wish I'd have splurged on the bigger model. But for less than $50 how could I pass it up?!?!
ReplyDeletethat is an awesome deal. & hey, better late than never! I am loving my Expression, which took me quite a while to convince myself to buy. I bought mine used from a trustworthy source for a deal I couldn't pass up. The booty kicken black friday will be here before we know it!
DeleteI love my Expression and I just got an Imagine! So far I love it! I do have a gypsy but I rarely use it.
ReplyDeleteCandy
Candy I abolutely love me G! however I'm really liking the CCR, just wish I could link my carts to fully use it.
DeleteI actually have a Cricut Expression and enjoy it mostly because I am a SCAL user along with my cartridges. It's opened up the world for me and since I have owned my SCAL I have bought 2 more cricuts so I actually own 3 - 2 expressions and one baby bug! I still use my cartridges (one expression for cartridges and one for SCAL) and I still buy the new cartridges I like, but I also like making my own images and buying images that are not on a cartridge. The best of all worlds. Because of not being able to update my program anymore, I'm actually thinking of switching to a Cameo. I've read such awesome reviews on it and it cuts so nice, but like you, money is keeping me from doing so just yet although I'm getting close! With the Cameo I can do print and cut and not need the Imagine! Talk about the best of ALL worlds!
ReplyDeleteI have an Expression and I love it. I've used the Expression 2 and I don't think it is very user friendly. There are so many steps to go through before you can even cut anything. I think the machine is a good idea, but it just wasn't very well thought out.
ReplyDeleteI started with the baby bug a few years ago, sold that and got an Expression and used the heck out of it! I also have a Gypsy that I LOVE. Last year on Black Friday I bought the Imagine and I've been VERY happy with it, even sold my well used Expression so my Imagine ended up being really cheap. I struggled with the mats not being sticky enough until I learned about preheating them to "activate" the glue. My only issue now is the Imagine program on my Gypsy doesn't have nearly the flexibility that the regular program has. I use my Gypsy a lot with the regular cartridges and can do anything I want with them. It works great with the Imagine. I hope PC will one day update the Gypsy program to allow the same abilities with the Imagine cartridges.
ReplyDeleteGreat Post! I found my Imagine via Ebay saying it was damaged. I researched the boards and found that all it most likely needed was an update, so I placed a bid of $125 including shipping and won. I assumed that the seller may have found it in one of those "Storage Wars" situations. When I got it was sent to me in a very poor packaging job (the machine was hanging outside the box and scrapped up a tad. It was shoved in a box with little padding and was shipped cross country via UPS. I was so worried, so I started taking pictures. When I lugged the brut up stairs fired it up and did a "good faith" update, it WORKED. I beleive in that big bruiser of a bug. I really lucked out and truly believe in the product and if you can find it for a good deal, go for it!
ReplyDelete