Customer Reviews

Simplicity SMC_BOX Smart Box Embroidery Transfer System

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

Forget the SmartBox and the Amazing Box. Been there done that. Both have been totally unreliable for me with Windows XP. After much frustration and no real technical support, I went with the Vikant Ultimate Box. It works like a dream and writes to both the Smart Box Blank Card and the Amazing Box Blank Card. It is fabulous! If you have never purchased a box before, start with this one. If you have any other box, and its giving you fits, buy this one. You will be glad you did.

After researching 5 different products, I bypassed deals on used transfer systems because I wanted to have a new card and the latest software. I was so excited when the pristine, factory-sealed box arrived! Thanks to reviews I'd read about problems with the Smart Box, I carefully followed the instruction book so I'd do everything in the proper order and wouldn't have to reinstall. Was I grossed out to find brown stains and black fingerprints in my "new" book. The installation CD was scratched, dirty and smudged. The reader/writer box was missing one of the pads on the bottom and the remaining lopsided three showed hard wear. Determined to embroider, I installed the software, anyway. The dropdown box choices were different from the ones listed in the owner's manual, so I wonder if the book and CD are from different versions of the Smart Box. I was never able to get the software to launch, despite several "successful" installations, uninstalls and reinstalls on both a system running Windows 98 and another running XP. . I was willing to be patient about software conflicts even after spending $180. But I never expected to shipped such a worn and abused product from the Simplicity factory.

I am pleased with the Smart Box. I now am able to download over 6,000 patterns on the internet and don't have to buy all those little cards. There are several sites that have free downloads. The greatest on is "AnnTheGran Designes". I did not have any problem with it working (especially, when you read the directions correctly). I haven't tried copying designs off the CD's you can buy but I've just had it for about two weeks. Will do that soon.

This system is great! The only drawback is that I had to go to Simplicity's website to get an update before the thing would work (It would have been great if the update had been included as a disk or if, at least, there had been a slip of paper in the box to let me know to download the update. Fortunately, I had read other reviews, and when the machine wouldn't work properly, I thought to go to the website). I love the flexibility the system provides: I'm no longer limited to the cards with pre-set designs. I was able to embroider my son a Classic Pooh shirt for his one-year birthday. It was adorable!

The simplicity smart box is wonderful. The only down side was in order to use the product you had to jump through some downloading hoops online before the product was up and running that took me a couple of days and a number of phone calls before I got it up and running. Once it was running it was GREAT!

I have a Brother PE150 and the smart box at first I had problems with it recognizing design done with PE Design 3.0 and up . I wentto the amaxing box upgrades and did the usb upgrade and problem solved I love my smartbox its easier to use than a friend of mine that has PE Design. I use it with windows Me and xp with no problems after the upgrade