I received my Explore Air a few days ago. I am upgrading from the original Expression. I was lured by the iPad app, more precise cutting ability, improved writing ability, and the awesome print and cut feature (so you don't have to always cut 127 layers and glue all the pieces together). I have been using it quite a lot, along with my 11 year old and 8 year old, who have been enjoying it just as much. There is a definite learning curve, but I am really getting the hang of the basics (as well as some more advanced features). The print and cut feature works incredibly well, as does write and cut (and with fine pens, you can write small font very precisely). Note that there are some pens other than cricut (including the thin non-washable crayolas) you can use, plus there is a company that makes an adapter for various pens and markers (Chomas Creations) that has received good reviews, but I have not tried them yet. I am amazed at the detail it can cut, and how much smaller I can make my images than I could on the Expression and still have them come out perfectly.
I had no trouble with my free two-week subscription to the Cricut image library (many, many of the images are free, but some exclusive cartridges and licensed images are not free unless you already own those cartridges and have them linked to your account). I don't mind the "rental" fee, although many do. You will not own any of the images you use with the subscription, so if you cancel it, you will no longer have access to any of the images unless you own the cartridge or digital image set. I own about 20 cartridges, all of which were linked to my Craft Room account, and they all transitioned to Design Space automatically (the ones I own say "purchased" rather than "subscription"). Just be sure to use your same user name and pw when you create your Design Space account if you have linked cartridges. Be aware that if you have cartridges that were linked to another account (for example, you purchased a used cartridge that someone else linked to their Gypsy or CR account), you may not be able to use them, because the only way to use the cartridges on the Explore is if they are linked. NOTE: The cartridge port is ONLY for linking cartridges to your account. There is no way to cut from them. I have no problem with this, since I have not used a physical cartridge in ages. When creating, you can place any image you want on your canvas, regardless of whether you have access to it either by ownership or subscription. You will only be required to pay for it if you choose to cut the image. That is great, because you can try out an image and see how it looks in your project before paying for it. And just to clarify, you must have internet access to design and cut. That is a slight negative for me, but not a deal breaker. I have been using my personal hotspot on my iPhone to design from my iPad on the go (like while my kids are in music lessons). I will have to see how much of my data plan that eats up...
The initial setup of the Explore Air was a breeze. I has mine set up with the iPad app AND my laptop, with the first project done (sample materials are included to create a project which is part of the setup process) in less than 10 minutes.
Note that there are some minimum system requirements. Be sure your PC/Mac or iPad meet the requirements before you purchase. You can find this at us.cricut.com. Just go to shop, machines, Explore Air, and at the bottom of the description there is a blue link to the requirements.
My favorite features: "make it now" and the lack of guesswork in layered images. There are thousands of pre-designed "make it now" projects to choose from. You can customize them or simply send them to the mat and start cutting. When searching for and importing layered images, they are displayed as they should look when finished. Then you can resize and change colors as you wish. Being able to designate what color you want each layer is very helpful when cutting...no guesswork! It is so much easier than trying to decipher the cartridge handbooks. You can also cut svg, bmp, png, gif, and jpg files. I imported a free svg file I found on the Internet with no problem at all...and before getting the Explore I didn't even know what an svg file was.
I think Cricut is making great strides in trying to improve their product and the software. They will likely be updating the software frequently to make Design Space even better. If you are willing to deal with a little frustration while learning a new machine and design program, you will likely really enjoy the Explore Air. I know some people are having difficulties and are frustrated, but I haven't had any major issues. I just sometimes need to research how to do something either in the manual (which is available online...you wil not receive a paper copy with your machine), on the Cricut forums or YouTube videos. Again, I REALLY recommend watching some of these. Cricut has some of their own, and I also recommend the videos by Kens Kreations. I watched several before I even received my machine and I think that made the transition a bit easier for me.
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From the manufacturer
Cricut Explore Air
Make more, every day
Say goodbye to unnecessary cords and create more space to work on your projects. With the Cricut Design Space software system, send your projects wirelessly to the Cricut Explore Air machine for cutting.
There are so many ways you can create with Cricut Explore Air. Design with the 50,000+ images, projects, and fonts in the Cricut Image Library, or upload your own images and fonts for free. You’ll be amazed at how often you can use this incredible tool. Make party invitations, decorations, and favors. Create seasonal home décor or personalize wedding gifts. Add embellishments to your favorite photo memories. Turn ordinary items into beautiful, personalized pieces that let you say, "I made it."
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What can I cut?The Cricut Explore Air cuts a wide variety of materials, including paper, cardstock, vinyl, iron-on, poster board and fabric for DIY projects. Upload your own images or choose from the Cricut Image Library—the only limit is your imagination! |
No settings requiredForget the complicated materials settings. Now you can get the perfect cut on nearly any material, just turn the Smart Set dial. You can even create custom settings for different materials. |
Clean cuts, big or smallThe Cricut Explore Air features patent-pending Cut Smart technology. Cut all sorts of shapes with exceptional precision in sizes ranging from ¼ to 11½ inch wide x 23½ inches tall. |
Cut and write in just one stepThe Cricut Explore Air machine can cut a card and then write a personalized message exactly where you want. It can also cut a box and score the fold lines in one step. |
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Cricut Explore Air Wireless Cutting Machine
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Customer Review: You'd like a quick action
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DIY Valentine’s Ideas
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super fast cutting speed!
Should I Get It Reviews
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Cricut Explore Air 2 Review
Pure Wyoming Productions LLC
I have had my Cricut less than a month. I purposefully waited before I posted a review. I like and I dislike this machine. I think my dislike comes from the manner in which this machine is promoted. Let me explain.When you get the Cricut, you have an introductory membership to their library of images you can cut. I was in the middle of scrapping some Christmas photos and when I saw the cuts available for me, I got excited. I was particularly drawn to the images that had words, like a stencil effect that would say something like "Merry and Bright". So, I follow the instructions on how to cut the image. I enlarge the image to fit the space I wanted it to have on my page and the machine did its thing. Its thing was to chew up the paper at those places that had sharp curves. If the curve was gentle, things were OK. Sharp curves seemed out of the realm of possibilities. I next studied up on how to use my own fonts with the machine so I could create titles for my pages. Again, I would create the image, upload it to the machine per the instructions of a YouTube video I watched. There was my title, ready to be cut. And, once again, the machine could not handle the sharp curves. After a week of having this difficulty, I emailed Customer Service. The representative that replied was most responsive to my dilemma. He asked if I could email a picture of a cut that messed up so he could see what was happening. I did so. In a timely fashion, he replied back. He thought that maybe the blade housing was at fault. So, he ordered me a new blade housing, two new mats and a new blade. The replacements were free. I was very impressed by the service I got.Now, the upside of the machine is that for those images that are not quite so intricate, it does quite a good job. And, if you are willing to sacrifice paper and are very patient, sometimes you will get lucky and can eventually get an image to cut correctly. If I am doing words for a title, it is not that unusual that I have to cut it out more than once in order to get all the letters cut as they should be. The trick to getting a good cut is to make sure your paper is solidly adhered to the mat. If it loosens its grip, the paper will slide and the result will be all messed up. Lower case "e"s prove to be very problematic for the Cricut.Another downside to the company is when you purchase images. I am used to sites - like Amazon - where, when you purchase a file that is downloaded to your computer, it is instantaneous. Not so with the Cricut company. When I purchased images, my experience has been that it takes anywhere from a few hours to a few days before the image shows up in my library as being one I own. This is very frustrating. When you are working on a scrapbook page, you do not want to have to put it on hold in order to wait for the image to become available for use. I've never run across this situation with any other company I download purchases from.Another problem, I encountered when I set up my Cricut is that my security software warned me not to proceed with the installation because the Provo site had a history of being an unsafe site. I had to override my security software in order to install their software on my computer. I trust that I did not make a mistake when I did this. But, it is very unnerving when you attempt to install software from an established company and you get security warnings that the software is not safe.I've had my Cricut almost a month. I have developed a love hate relationship to it. When it works, I love it. When it doesn't work, I hate it. It is far from being the machine it is advertised as being. At this point, I wish I had investigated other die cutting machines. But, at least I can use the Cricut for some things. I just have to be less exuberant in what I want to decorate my pages with. I now realize that all that glitters is not gold. And, for those wondering, I did get the replacement parts and, yes, the same problems with intricate cuts still occur with the same frequency as before. Why did I rate it a four with all these negatives? Well, customer service is positive. And, like I said, when it works, you really have something to be excited about. I just wish that the company was more realistic in their claims for the Cricut Explore Air.I am including two photos for this review. One is of a chewed up cut, the Merry and Bright photo. The other is of a layered star die cut that worked well. This will illustrate what I am talking about with the Cricut machine.
Images in this review
Top reviews from the United States
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Reviewed in the United States on April 10, 2015
Reviewed in the United States on January 3, 2016
I have had my Cricut less than a month. I purposefully waited before I posted a review. I like and I dislike this machine. I think my dislike comes from the manner in which this machine is promoted. Let me explain.
When you get the Cricut, you have an introductory membership to their library of images you can cut. I was in the middle of scrapping some Christmas photos and when I saw the cuts available for me, I got excited. I was particularly drawn to the images that had words, like a stencil effect that would say something like "Merry and Bright". So, I follow the instructions on how to cut the image. I enlarge the image to fit the space I wanted it to have on my page and the machine did its thing. Its thing was to chew up the paper at those places that had sharp curves. If the curve was gentle, things were OK. Sharp curves seemed out of the realm of possibilities. I next studied up on how to use my own fonts with the machine so I could create titles for my pages. Again, I would create the image, upload it to the machine per the instructions of a YouTube video I watched. There was my title, ready to be cut. And, once again, the machine could not handle the sharp curves.
After a week of having this difficulty, I emailed Customer Service. The representative that replied was most responsive to my dilemma. He asked if I could email a picture of a cut that messed up so he could see what was happening. I did so. In a timely fashion, he replied back. He thought that maybe the blade housing was at fault. So, he ordered me a new blade housing, two new mats and a new blade. The replacements were free. I was very impressed by the service I got.
Now, the upside of the machine is that for those images that are not quite so intricate, it does quite a good job. And, if you are willing to sacrifice paper and are very patient, sometimes you will get lucky and can eventually get an image to cut correctly. If I am doing words for a title, it is not that unusual that I have to cut it out more than once in order to get all the letters cut as they should be. The trick to getting a good cut is to make sure your paper is solidly adhered to the mat. If it loosens its grip, the paper will slide and the result will be all messed up. Lower case "e"s prove to be very problematic for the Cricut.
Another downside to the company is when you purchase images. I am used to sites - like Amazon - where, when you purchase a file that is downloaded to your computer, it is instantaneous. Not so with the Cricut company. When I purchased images, my experience has been that it takes anywhere from a few hours to a few days before the image shows up in my library as being one I own. This is very frustrating. When you are working on a scrapbook page, you do not want to have to put it on hold in order to wait for the image to become available for use. I've never run across this situation with any other company I download purchases from.
Another problem, I encountered when I set up my Cricut is that my security software warned me not to proceed with the installation because the Provo site had a history of being an unsafe site. I had to override my security software in order to install their software on my computer. I trust that I did not make a mistake when I did this. But, it is very unnerving when you attempt to install software from an established company and you get security warnings that the software is not safe.
I've had my Cricut almost a month. I have developed a love hate relationship to it. When it works, I love it. When it doesn't work, I hate it. It is far from being the machine it is advertised as being. At this point, I wish I had investigated other die cutting machines. But, at least I can use the Cricut for some things. I just have to be less exuberant in what I want to decorate my pages with. I now realize that all that glitters is not gold. And, for those wondering, I did get the replacement parts and, yes, the same problems with intricate cuts still occur with the same frequency as before. Why did I rate it a four with all these negatives? Well, customer service is positive. And, like I said, when it works, you really have something to be excited about. I just wish that the company was more realistic in their claims for the Cricut Explore Air.
I am including two photos for this review. One is of a chewed up cut, the Merry and Bright photo. The other is of a layered star die cut that worked well. This will illustrate what I am talking about with the Cricut machine.
When you get the Cricut, you have an introductory membership to their library of images you can cut. I was in the middle of scrapping some Christmas photos and when I saw the cuts available for me, I got excited. I was particularly drawn to the images that had words, like a stencil effect that would say something like "Merry and Bright". So, I follow the instructions on how to cut the image. I enlarge the image to fit the space I wanted it to have on my page and the machine did its thing. Its thing was to chew up the paper at those places that had sharp curves. If the curve was gentle, things were OK. Sharp curves seemed out of the realm of possibilities. I next studied up on how to use my own fonts with the machine so I could create titles for my pages. Again, I would create the image, upload it to the machine per the instructions of a YouTube video I watched. There was my title, ready to be cut. And, once again, the machine could not handle the sharp curves.
After a week of having this difficulty, I emailed Customer Service. The representative that replied was most responsive to my dilemma. He asked if I could email a picture of a cut that messed up so he could see what was happening. I did so. In a timely fashion, he replied back. He thought that maybe the blade housing was at fault. So, he ordered me a new blade housing, two new mats and a new blade. The replacements were free. I was very impressed by the service I got.
Now, the upside of the machine is that for those images that are not quite so intricate, it does quite a good job. And, if you are willing to sacrifice paper and are very patient, sometimes you will get lucky and can eventually get an image to cut correctly. If I am doing words for a title, it is not that unusual that I have to cut it out more than once in order to get all the letters cut as they should be. The trick to getting a good cut is to make sure your paper is solidly adhered to the mat. If it loosens its grip, the paper will slide and the result will be all messed up. Lower case "e"s prove to be very problematic for the Cricut.
Another downside to the company is when you purchase images. I am used to sites - like Amazon - where, when you purchase a file that is downloaded to your computer, it is instantaneous. Not so with the Cricut company. When I purchased images, my experience has been that it takes anywhere from a few hours to a few days before the image shows up in my library as being one I own. This is very frustrating. When you are working on a scrapbook page, you do not want to have to put it on hold in order to wait for the image to become available for use. I've never run across this situation with any other company I download purchases from.
Another problem, I encountered when I set up my Cricut is that my security software warned me not to proceed with the installation because the Provo site had a history of being an unsafe site. I had to override my security software in order to install their software on my computer. I trust that I did not make a mistake when I did this. But, it is very unnerving when you attempt to install software from an established company and you get security warnings that the software is not safe.
I've had my Cricut almost a month. I have developed a love hate relationship to it. When it works, I love it. When it doesn't work, I hate it. It is far from being the machine it is advertised as being. At this point, I wish I had investigated other die cutting machines. But, at least I can use the Cricut for some things. I just have to be less exuberant in what I want to decorate my pages with. I now realize that all that glitters is not gold. And, for those wondering, I did get the replacement parts and, yes, the same problems with intricate cuts still occur with the same frequency as before. Why did I rate it a four with all these negatives? Well, customer service is positive. And, like I said, when it works, you really have something to be excited about. I just wish that the company was more realistic in their claims for the Cricut Explore Air.
I am including two photos for this review. One is of a chewed up cut, the Merry and Bright photo. The other is of a layered star die cut that worked well. This will illustrate what I am talking about with the Cricut machine.
Images in this review
Top reviews from other countries
Amazon Customer
The machine works well and it was easy to do the set up
Reviewed in Canada on July 14, 2017
Timothy G. Parkinson
Bought this for my wife
Reviewed in Canada on February 28, 2019
