Brother ScanNCut CM900

Brother ScanNCut CM900 – I'm a very satisfied customer. I bought the machine in December 2017 and wish I'd bought it two years earlier. It cuts beautifully, and obtaining royalty free vector illustrations means it saves me from needing to buy stamps and dies, which can be a considerable expense. It's introduced me to hobbies that I never considered before, and to a community on Facebook in Australia and New Zealand, not to mention the USA and United Kingdom, of fellow users. I wholeheartedly recommend this machine. Also its free cloud based software, Canvas, is straightforward and much easier to work with than another cutting machine company's Studio software.

It doesn't cut fabric cleanly and has too many expensive consumables – I thought this machine would save me a lot of time cutting pattern pieces for sewing because I could scan in the pattern then cut out the fabric pieces. The huge number of expensive consumables that need to be purchased just to get started is a major issue. These mats don't last long as they become scored and gather lint very quickly. Be prepared to outlay at least $200 extra for a larger cutting mat (12x24"), iron-on applique sheets and High Tack adhesive sheets with your initial purchase. Cleaning lint and threads off of the mats is difficult and next to impossible. These threads cause bumps in the cutting of future pieces so you need your fine bladed, sharp embroidery scissors handy to snip the fabric where it didn't cut cleanly. Its a great idea but has a lot of faults when it comes to cutting fabric. I still spend too much time at the computer adjusting and cleaning up scans, and I had to purchase new software, SCAL (Sure Cuts a Lot) as I found the 3" x 3" work area on Brothers SnC-Canvas too small and too user unfriendly. So, add another $40 to your initial outlay. This turned out to be THE most expensive pair of scissors I have ever bought. It made life easier, but I remain unsure that it was worth all the on-going expense.