The Mad Cropper - All About Scrapbooking

Wishblade - Reviews

by Christine on February 11th, 2006

Visiting the Wishblade website (you’re a bad influence, Mrs!4 haha) and featuring it in my blog yesterday made me crave for more information about the product. I’ve scoured the net for reviews about the die cutter and here are 3 reviews I have lifted from Scrapjazz.com so far:

Shellkimble says

The Wishblade is an incredible tool for die cut-a-holics! You can cut ANY TRUE TYPE FONT ON YOUR COMPUTER if you have Microsoft Word!!! You heard me right, ANY TRUE TYPE FONT! The possibilites are endless - I’ve cut 1/4″ high letters! And you can size anything up to 8″ tall and 39″ long. So I invested $655 to purchase the “advanced” version of the WB, but I NEVER, EVER need to buy another die set again! Plus it saves SOOOO much time! No more punching out all those letters. It is easier on your hands too LOL. This product will change the die cutting industry. Anyone can learn more about this amazing tool at the Yahoo Group, Wishblade Cafe. You will be drooling before you know it For those that are a little confused, the Wishblade is the size of a small personal printer. It acts like a printer, except that instead of INK to print, it has a BLADE to cut!

Most ladies on the yahoo group say their blades last about 6 months to a year. Replacement blades are $40. You also use a “cutting mat” that is around $20, but you can actually “wash” it and use it for a very long time.

This machine is good for the long term - no follow up investment required! Plus the technical support at Wishblade Corporate is EXCELLENT!

Pros - versatility, easy of use, time of use
Cons - price

10/10 rating

Suziephipps says:

I bought the Wishblade when it was $695, and STILL say that it is worth every penny I paid for it. Now the price has dropped and the functionality is ten fold what it was. You can cut any TTF (True Type Font) installed on your computer, along with any image that you can find anywhere. I drag mine to longer crops with my laptop, but it sits on my desk in between. It is very easy to use and not that difficult to get to know. You must have a computer hooked up to it and an SD card reader, but I’d highly recommend this to anyone who wants a good solid die cutting system that is infinitely flexible. It is a bit loud, but once you get used to it, it’s not a big drawback.

Pros - Can cut out any TTF, price competitive, easy to use

Cons - loud, must have computer

10/10 rating

Marcibun says: 

I originally pre-ordered the new Xyron Personal Cutter, but then they went into production delays and after 4 months of waiting I decided to cancel it and try the Wishblade. What a find! I was able to purchase it from shopathometv.com for $499, and it included a free card reader, exclusive greeting card studio software, 2 font sets, a shape set, and a zippered container to hold the software discs. As if that wasn’t already enough, they sweetened the pot by offering free shipping, and also made it payable in 5 monthly installments. How could anyone turn THAT down?

It was pretty easy to set up, though required some clearance space as the paper feeds through front to back while cutting. I found there was a bit of a learning curve when it came to printing my own True Type Fonts and graphics, but once I figured it out it was fairly simple. I recommend downnloading the updated user manual pages from the Xyron website for cutting your own fonts, as the manual that comes in the box doesn’t talk about that. Using the fonts that came with the machine was extremely simple and very intuitive and I was able to do that within a few minutes of setting it up. The manual is easy to understand and very user friendly.

The fact that I don’t have to buy any additional fonts is a huge selling feature of this machine. It was slightly more expensive up front than the smaller Personal Cutting System from Xyron, but I think far more cost effective in the long run. It does have to be hooked up to your PC, but since most of us have our computers in our craft rooms anyway that isn’t a negative point. The machine is a little bit louder then I expected, which is why I gave it a 9 instead of a perfect score of 10.

My favorite feature of this machine is that you can cut out shadows for your titles, which makes a really dramatic impact on your page. You can cut your title in one type of paper, cut the shadow in another type of paper, attach it with pop dots and you have a really professional looking 3-D title that just leaps off your page.

Pros - must have for the serious scrapper

Cons - takes a little reading to master it, a little loud

10/10 rating

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