Cricut Joy Xtra Cutting Machine

This is a great little machine. It cuts my Encore paper so well & I have been using it for months now. The only thing that disappoints me is that it doesn't come with the scoring capabilities. I'm actually thinking about getting a second one.

As someone just getting started, I couldn’t have picked a better machine. The size is ideal—not bulky at all—and it’s incredibly easy to use right out of the box. It’s been great for small DIY projects, labels, and party decorations. Handy, reliable, and surprisingly powerful for its size!

I have been using the Cricut Xtra for a few years now, and am truly impressed with it's versatility. It's compact, with removable power cable, and the housing and components are very sturdy. It's an affordable product that produces accurate and remarkable cuts quickly. Great for any medium with a width of 9.5in (for smaller sizes, I recommend the name brand mat). Cutting tips are easy to change and are available on Amazon from third-party at very reasonable price. Bluetooth connection is stable most of the time - if there's a problem, unplug and reconnect power and it works, with no risk of losing your project.

I'm seriously impressed with this device. Cutting random material with accuracy is difficult for most machines at this price point. Doing is 50 times in a row without a single issue? Not many complaints. The software is a little odd at times, it can separate your cuts into multiple layers unless you "attach" them together. Lack of a usb cable is odd, but the bluetooth connection works fine on my macbook pro. very happy.

Pros- It cuts vinylCons- The Cricut software and machine are insanely locked down.- Must sign in. Requires an Internet connection.- Machine is registered to your account.- All designs must be saved to the cloud.- If they close your account, you lose your designs. They can also permanently disable the physical hardware.- Unable to save designs outside of Cricut to edit them with other software.- There is NO export feature. Cannot run designs from Cricut on any other brand of machine.- Cannot open a SVG file from your computer and hit cut. Must log in, then go through several additional steps to save to the cloud.- Third party software improvements are prohibited.- Not compatible with alternative "apps".- They can brick the machine and account for trying to use software besides Cricut.- They can force the machine to update at any time. Materials or features that worked fine yesterday are not guaranteed to work the same tomorrow.- The machine has no physical buttons. No start, pause, reset, load, eject, bluetooth pairing, etc.None of this was clear when purchasing the product. This is being returned in exchange for a Silhouette.

I really love the size of this machine. I’ve had many different Cricut machines but wanted a smaller option for my office and this is absolutely perfect!

Muy buena maquina cortes precisos

So I have always wanted a Cricut cutting machine, but I don't really have the space in my house, they're fairly expensive and the original Cricut Joy was too small for my tastes. Enter the Cricut Joy Xtra machine...I'm loving this thing. I found it on sale on Amazon and it was small enough to be stored away when not in use, but big enough to be useful. So far I've cut some vinyl decals for a friend to sell to raise money for her nonprofit, I've cut some vinyl decals for myself, for my family, and I've made a few T-Shirts with heat transfer vinyl. I also have some printable vinyl sticker paper to try out soon. This machine cuts up to 8.5 inches wide and 12in long on a mat, but up to 4ft long with smart materials. That said I don't like the Cricut smart materials. There aren't enough colors/variety and the vinyl is difficult to handle due to the thick paper backing. I cut a vinyl decal of lettering for my Dad's truck using a mat and carefully aligning the letters and words to make it long enough. Is that convenient, no not at all, but it's doable and for my needs it worked well. Most of what I cut (so far) are small decals and hopefully small stickers soon, so this machine is excellent for my needs. It does officially support print then cut which is wonderful and one of the main reasons I ordered it. I also ordered sublimation markers that fit in the Cricut Joy Xtra and can be used like the infusible ink markers and I haven't had a chance to use them, but I'm looking forward to it.The downsides in my opinion are the smaller cutting width (not too big an issue if plan ahead carefully), the lack of official tools (like engraving tools or different cutting blades, etc), and there are no buttons on the machine so no off button (it must be unplugged to turn it off), and then there is the software...Cricut Design Space is designed to be intuitive and easy to use and for the most part it is...however too many features are behind the subscription/paywall and I don't think the subscription is worth $10 a month. It is easy enough to manipulate your own images and import them into Design Space though. I have been using GIMP to edit photos like PNG and JPG files as well as InkScape for vector graphics like SVG files. It's easy to create a vector graphic importing a JPG into Inkscape and tracing the bitmap. However this is easy for me as I have a bit of graphic design experience and a degree in Information Technology. Design Space might be easier to use for people without that background. Another downside that I absolutely despise is the need for internet in order to not only use Design Space, but to cut an image. Why do I need internet to cut something on a cutting machine. That's just dumb in my opinion.Overall, for a first time Cricut user and a first Cricut machine, I love this thing. If Cricut would improve Design Space and eliminate the need for internet connectivity to cut files, I would give it 5 stars.