Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

I'm not new to craft cutting machines. I've had theCricut Mini Cutting Machine, Cricut Expression Electronic Cutting Machine, and Silhouette Cameo Starter Kit Bundle Cutter. I thought that since this machine is Brother brand and advertises it's ability to cut appliques, that it would work with my Brother embroidery machine, but it won't. I had even seen a machine in my local sewing shop and they said that it could cut appliques with the PES software, but after contacting Brother, they said that is false. The embroidery machine and the Scan N Cut use completely different files and there was no way to use them together. So, that was a big let down. I have software for craft cutting machines that works on my Silhouette Cameo and my original Cricut Expression, but won't work on the Scan N Cut because all the other machines take SVG files, but this one takes FMC files. I read on the website that Brother is working on cloud based software that will allow me to convert all of my SVG files into FMC files, but I wonder how much that will set me back? I like the scanning feature, but don't like that 99% of the things I want to cut I can't find a clear image for. Even when I do find a clear enough image, I have to waste ink printing it out on my printer, then scan it in and try to edit, size, and move the image on the tiny screen. I much prefer using a computer screen with the virtual mat, then just positioning the paper to be cut on the mat and pushing cut. I did attempt to cut Oracle 651 vinyl on the machine following the settings recommended in the little start up guide. It recommended cutting on a blade setting of 4 on the turquoise blade. That cut way too deep. When you cut vinyl, you only want the machine to cut through the top vinyl part, not all the way through the backing, so I tried it on 3 and it was still too deep, so eventually I set it on 1 and that was perfect. It cut through only the top layer leaving the sticker backing so I could peel away the negative space and use transfer tape to apply my vinyl to my project. I cut card stock successfully using their recommended blade setting of 4, but it left deep cut marks in my mat, so I reduced it to 3 and that worked fine without such a deep cut on the mat. I would definitely recommend playing with it to see what your preferences are. Cutting that deep all the time will wear your mat out in a hurry and they are pretty costly. Which leads to my next issue with this machine. The replacement mats and blades are more expensive than the replacement items for the Cameo. The tools that this machine comes with look like toys in comparison to the Cricut and Silhouette brand tools. The edges aren't sharp enough to really get under things and there's no hook tool at all for weeding vinyl. My overall thoughts on this machine are that they should have waited until they had the SVG software to release it. They really jumped the gun. As is, it doesn't even compare to the Silhouette Cameo's design capabilities. They should also be very clear in their advertising that this machine doesn't work along side the embroidery machine to applique designs. I'm learning that many other people thought they'd work hand in hand as well. If they release some amazing software that makes this thing great, I'll update my review, but as of right now, I say go for the Cameo instead. The scanner is very nice on this and it would be a great machine if it had the design capabilities that other machines have, but it just doesn't. My fingers are crossed that they get it figured out and release something. It has so much potential. *Update* Since writing this review, Brother Released the Canvas program on 11/08/13 that allows you to design projects on your computer to cut on the Scan N Cut in an online program. It works ok, but doesn't allow you to download svg's as of yet. The Brother website say's it's coming, but it the ability to cut or convert your SVG files is not available yet, and my biggest gripe about the software is that I still have to put my design on a flash drive and plug it into the machine. I wish it was like other cutter programs that allow you to use a printer cord to plug your computer directly into your machine, then do everything on your computer, but feed the mat and change the blade depth. This still has a long way to go to compare to those programs. I would still recommend the Silhouette Cameo and software over this.