This is the first die-cut machine I have ever owned so I am by no means an expert but so far I absolutely adore my Slice Machine!
I am a frugal and practical shopper and I like to do my homework before I invest a chuck of money into something. So when I arrived at a point in my scrapbooking when I realized I would love to have a die-cutter I did some research. All die-cut machines are costly but the electronic ones are outrageously so. The affordable ones seem to have so many drawbacks that they are just not worth it. I looked at the Xyron cutter for a while but it got alot of bad reviews for the cutting mat which wore out too fast and had to be replaced alot. Cricuts and Pazzles are crazy expensive and their designs are costly as well.
Then one day in my research I saw an ad for the Slice. I checked it out and knew this was it. In a nut shell here are its strengths:
-Price. At $150 MSRP it is affordable. I actually got mine brand new on Ebay for $110. The design cards hold 100-150 images and some have 2 to 3 different alphabets and retail for $40 MSRP. Once again, I have found them as low as $27 online.
-Cutting Mat is infinitely reuseable. The Slice comes with a 6X6 glass mat but you can purchase a 12X12 for around $20. You simply paint on a tacky adhesive to keep the paper in place while you cut and wash it off the mat when your done. The adhesive comes with the product and when you run out just buy some more at around $6. One application of adhesive has lasted me 3 sessions of scrabooking and I've cut about 50 things so a little goes a long way.
-Portability. If you are into scrapping away from home you can easily transport it. Its very light weight and compact and they make a carrying case especially for it as well.
-Large screen. Its easy to choose what you need to cut and the menus are so simple a child could use this.
-Fully Self Contained. This product does not need to be hooked to a computer. It is fully rechargeable and a charge lasts for 1 1/2 to 2 hrs of cutting. Plus, if the charge runs out when you are cutting, you can plug the charger back in and continue.
-Range of designs and sizes. The Slice cuts most designs on the design cards from 1/2 inch to 4 inches giving you 8 sizes in most images. Currently there are 8 different design cards available but Making Memories is planning more. They also offer a orginizer bag for the design cards that matched the carrying case.
-It will cut Bazzil and photos and anything thinner than that.
Weaknesses:
-It only cuts up to 4 inches. This is not a problem for me but it could be for some people.
-It will not cut chipboard or anything thick like that. I don't think most cutters do though.
-I honestly cannot think of anymore drawbacks!
I LOVE MY SLICE!!!
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1. Each letter must be cut individually. If you are cutting out a phrase, you won't be getting up to work on your page while it cuts the phrase. You will be setting up each letter individually, and holding the Slice while it cuts each letter, I-N-D-I-V-I-D-U-A-L-L-Y.
2. If you use the Cricut, you know how the mat is reusable, but needs to be replaced after the mat loses it's stickiness. The Slice has a glass mat that you spread a small amount of glue over with a sponge brush, to give it it's stickiness. Sounds great, until you try it. There was always too much or too little glue. Too much glue and you'll tear your paper trying to get it off. Then you'll have to scrub and wash the glass mat to remove the residue and paper. Too little, and the paper moves around. You'll ruin your design.
3. You have to hold down the Slice while it's cutting. Remember, you'll do this for each individual letter or design. It needs to be "homed" when you first use it. It adjusts the blade height. The directions say to "hold down the Slice lightly" while it cuts. I had to hold mine down forcefully. Actually, sometimes mine jumped around wildly and made grinding noises; it sometimes cut, sometimes didn't, and there were some letters that did not cut at all, even with the same cartridge, same paper, same setting. Sometimes it shredded the paper. The customer service line told me it needed to be "homed" again, and that I was doing it improperly. What? Do you really want it to be this complicated to cut out a letter? I followed the instructions exactly. When it worked, it cut nicely; when it didn't it, was very frustrating. I did the same thing each time. And again, it was always with the same thickness of paper, same font, same setting--sometimes it worked, sometimes it didn't.
4. I charged the battery for half a day when I first got it. They said it needed a couple of hours. It had a low battery after not more than 12 cuts.
5. You are not sure where the cutter will cut within it's 6 inch block. It may be in the upper left corner, or the lower right corner. Therefore, you'll find yourself wasting a lot of paper. If you're still interested in getting the Slice, get the 12" mat so you won't have to continually have to cut quarter sheets of paper to fit the 6" mat. You'll still waste a good bit of paper, but you'll have less work.
6. They tout it as "portable". Not really that useful of a feature. With all the other scrapbooking stuff we have, who cares if there's one more box? Not having to hold down the Cricut for each cut more than makes up for it's lack of portability. I know that they say you can cut a page, with it's lack of predictability, I'd be scared to try it.
All in all, I worked with the Slice for about 4 hours. When I talked to Customer Service, they said my complaints were probably user error. They may be right, but given all of the other drawbacks, I returned mine. The only reason they were willing to return the unit was for "low batery life". I'm not sure I agree, but at least be aware that there might be a large learning curve if you are still interested in purchasing the Slice.
Best Deals for Making Memories Slice Cordless Design Cutter Machine Starter Set
I read about a million reviews on this product before I bought it so I had a pretty good idea about the pros and cons of the Slice. So far, I like itit does pretty much what I thought it would docut die cuts quickly and (usually) accurately. From the bulk of my research, I decided to purchase the 12x12 cutting mat, tool kit and extra glue. I also purchased 2 cartridgesbasics 2 and Mistletoe. I bought Mistletoe because it has the boost on it that makes your machine go faster.
What I like about the Slice:
1. It's cute and small making the machine very portable.
2. It's quick (meaning it's quicker than cutting it by handthere are other machines that cut faster but there's no comparison to when I was doing all of my shapes by hand).
3. The price! For $150 and $25-$35 for design cartridges, it's the best deal on die cutters period.
4. Innovative. As far as I know, this is the first portable cordless die cut machine. I'm sure there will be more to come but I like that Making Memories got here first.
What's no so great:
1. Glue. I hate the glue. It's runny, messy and the dinky tube they give you with the starter kit is certainly not enough to get very far. I understand that the glue is what makes the paper not move but it's a royal pain.
2. Clean up throughout the cut process. Although the machine itself is portable, I'm not sure how it's going to work when I go to a crop and I need to wash my cutting mat with soap and water. My first instinct would be to pack some bleach wipes for a quick fix but it says not to use harsh chemicals.
3. Holding it down while it cuts. Maybe I'm just a wimp or something but I find I have to hold the machine pretty hard while it's cutting. It's to the point where my arms are a little sore. Maybe I just need to work out more but I certainly have to hold it more than "just resting your hands on it" like it states in the directions.
All in all, this is a great little cutter. Just a few quick tips from my own trial and error:
-wait until the glue is COMPLETELY clear. If you don't, you get left with a stuck on mess
-when the directions state to remove the blade protector, they mean the plastic cover right when it comes out of the box, not the rubber stripping that lines the bottom. If you remove the rubber stripping, it's impossible to hold while it cuts. And, the rubber stripping is VERY hard to get back on. I might be a dumb @ss, but I wanted to share my mistake so you don't have to repeat it.
Honest reviews on Making Memories Slice Cordless Design Cutter Machine Starter Set
I am not a scrapbooker so this product isn't going to be used 24/7. I got this product with the intention of making tags there's an additional accessory tagmaker which will be my next purchase
Thoughts before I purchased this product: is it worth paying $$$$ for this? Will I get my return on investment?? Will I regret buying it? I did ALOT of research through online forums/customer ratings before making the ultimate decision that this was it.
Why did I choose Slice over Cricut? What I wanted was for a product that does tags the slice comes with the shapes that I want. It's also wireless (some reviewers have complained that they can't use it for over an hour, but I don't plan on doing that, and I also don't mind using it plugged in). Significantly less than the Cricut. Slice cartridges are 1/2 the cost of Cricut. I don't intend on doing large projects. It only prints from 0.5" to 4" (in 1/2" increments).
What I've done so far? I've made a few cut outs and tags I still need to get the "tagmaker" which will make the metal rings around my tags really excited for that. I just got an embosser so I have cut outs of 2" circles emboss, and will use the tagmaker to attach the metal portion and BAM instant glam.
Thoughts on the machine: Yes it's annoying to have to hold the machine steady during a cut but it's not "physically demanding" and it's a fair tradeoff in getting some nice/snazzy tags for our gifts (especially with the holidays around the corner, and I don't have to manually cut each individual tag). The cuts are surprisingly fast it takes a few blinks of an eye to cut out an intricate "love" or a letter. I have to get use to the cutting layout so I don't waste paper. Seems like once I have that figured out, I'll be getting maximum usage of the overpriced scrap booking stock paper. I like that is SMALL (it's about the size of my p-touch label maker) which makes it portable and I can leave it on my desk without being annoyed with wasting valuable real estate.
Future: I can see many other projects evolving from this making little "saying" banners (spell words out and connect them with yarn or metal rings) intricate and more personalized gift tags school projects for my kiddo. I also like making cards so this will be a great project to make our monogramed cards.
KEEP IN MIND:
Read instructions the power button is small and in the back of the machine you have to push a few buttons before the cut starts you have to push the menu button to "home" the blade there is also a "protocol" to selecting shapes, then selecting the size you want and then cutting it (I wanted/expected something like a single push)
DO NOT use the glass cutting mat without the "adhesive on it" place a thin line (like the line of the grid on the mat) of glue from 1"-4" markers, and then use the sponge to spread it on the glass it seems like that's the right amount without making it overly sticky do let the glue dry takes only a few minutes
Keep the bottom plastic packaging piece it helps to have that be the home for the machine when not in use I don't worry about the machine getting dusty
Get the tools if you want really don't need it. You can get by with a nice pair of tweezers I have the 15pc tool kit I like the way it all looks and is contained in 1 package but it's not necessary the accessories are inexpensive I also got the embossing kit really looking forward to that
I have read reviews that this product doesn't cut well not sure I agree, I used some thick texture card stock and it was fine.
I have no regret on buying this product. I think I'm getting my money's worth. It's saving me time and keeping my tags looking uniform. I'm really excited about using this product in the future and creating some more personalized and unique items. Well worth the money.
UPDATE: Shortly after I got the SLICE, I went and got the Cricut Expression as well. I think the Cricut is way better!! (Read my other review). But if you have limited space and need something occassionaly the Slice is great! The glass cutting board it uses is amazing (while the Cricut, the mats are expensive and you go through them easily). I did end up getting the tag maker and it's AMAZING! I've got an embosser with our name and address, and we make personalized tags to go with our gifts. Beautiful and classy.
Find helpful customer reviews and review ratings for Making Memories Slice Cordless Design Cutter Machine Starter Set
I decided to write this review because I completely disagree with the only negative review on Amazon. That review seems not to be true.
I have my Slice for about a month now. When I used it first time I got very excited but the next day I thought I got a defective machine and was ready to call for assistance. My recommendation is that you read reviews and forums on scrapbook websites. It helped my problem a lot.
What I would change is the glue. You use some amount for one session and the next day you have to apply new glue. But suppose you only had to cut one or two designs, then the glue is wasted, anyway you would have to wash the mat either you used the glue for 50 cuts or only for one cut per session. I tried to use the same unwashed mat the following day and the paper was sliding around and I could not get any cuts at all. Consider this was my first experience with this type of machine. I also own Cuttlebug by Provo Craft which I adore.
The best advice I could get from the forums-buy yourself KRYLON Easy-tack repositionable adhesive which is sold in a spray can. You just spray once and you are ready to go. Much better and much less expensive than slice glue. I also heard about using Cricut mats but I did not try it.
You definitely don't have to hold the machine forcefully while it's cutting, just slightly, otherwise it's something really bad with your machine.
Yes, the machine has to be charged or plugged in. If it's not fully charged after cutting for a while it may start running out of power while cutting and then you damage you design. So from other people I learned to charge it the same way as I would do with the cell phone, plug it in overnight. If you don't scrap a lot just charge it for an hour or so before starting. Definitely it does not take half of a day.
The machine is light and looks nice. I got mine in a package with 12x12 cutting mat, additional glue, spatula, extra blades and 2 extra design cards for just $150 in an online store with %10 off coupon. I am trying to buy new cards on Ebay for about $20 each. Only newly released cards are impossible to buy less than $30. Each card has so many designs that having just one card you would be able to make hundreds of different projects.
I am very happy with my SLICE and I would recommend it to anyone but please take your time and read additional information and reviews from other crafters and you would not have to call for assistance or replacing your SLICE!!!
