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Xyron PCS vs Cricut
By Jill Costello, 5th July 2006. Copyright © The
Scrap Witch. No part of this article may be reproduced
or otherwise used without prior written permission.
With both the Xyron Personal Cutting System (XPCS) and
the Cricut due to hit Australian shores shortly, I
thought I'd take a quick look at how the two machines
stack up against other.
Price
Comparison
The table below shows a price comparison between the two
machines and their accessories. (Prices are shown in
Australian dollars and are accurate at the time of
writing)
| Item |
XPCS (RRP) |
Cricut
(RRP) |
Comments |
| Machine |
$325 ($349) |
$495 ($550) |
Cricut preorder price
varies ($470-$525). |
| Cartridges |
$59.95 |
$139.95 |
|
| Replacement Blades |
$19.95 (1 in pack) |
$18.95 (2 in pack) |
|
| Replacement Mats |
$5.95 (5 in pack) |
$18.95 (2 in pack) |
|
| Tote |
$29.95 |
$169.95 |
Both totes fit machine &
accessories. |
| Toolkit |
- |
$44.95 |
XPCS starter pack includes
a shape removal tool. |
| Trimmer |
- |
$18.95 |
|
Feature Comparison
As well as a difference in pricing, there is also
significant difference in what the two machines can do.
A summary of the differences is shown in the table
below.
| Features |
XPCS |
Cricut |
Comments |
| Paper size |
4" x 4" |
6" x 12" |
Cricut's mat size is 4.5
times larger than the XPCS. |
| Paper thickness |
Up to 0.3mm |
Up to 0.5mm |
Both machines cut vellum
through to Bazzill. Cricut cuts through thicker
than Bazzill. |
| Font/shapes sizes |
3 sizes
(1.25" - 3.75") |
11 sizes
(1" - 5.5") |
|
| Cartridge Library |
5 fonts
4 shapes
4 designer |
6 fonts
6 shapes |
Cricut cartridges have
1000's of combinations whilst XPCS cartridges
have 100's of combinations. |
| Special Effects |
No |
Yes |
Cricut effects - sign,
slotted, charm, silhouette, tag, shadow, shadow
blackout. Also has paper saving feature. |
| Blade Life |
1000+ cuts |
500-1500 cuts |
Dependent on type of paper
used. |
| Mat Life |
200+ cuts |
25-40 cuts |
Refers to full mat cuts.
Dependent on type of paper used. |
| PC Connectability |
No |
No |
Both machines are
cartridge-based. |
| Weight |
5 lbs (2.2 kg) |
12 lbs (5.4 kg) |
Both machines have totes
available to increase portability. |
Considerations
So which machine should you buy? That probably depends
on a number of factors including:
 |
Initial Cost - If you are highly budget
conscious, the XPCS would certainly catch your
eye. It has a lower initial price but less
functionality than the Cricut. |
|
|
Portability - The XPCS wins in this
department with a weight of 2.2 kgs compared to
the Cricut at 5.4kg. |
|
|
Cartridge Library - This is where the
Cricut excels. The average font book for the
XPCS has 70 base elements. You can cut each
element into 3 sizes, giving 70 x 3 = 210
individual cutting combinations. In comparison,
an average Cricut font cartridge has 90 base
elements which can be cut in 11 sizes. There are
also 6 different special effects which can be
applied. Potentially, this means a whopping 90 x
11 x 6 = 5940 individual cutting combinations.
This is somewhat of an over simplication
however, as some sizes and effects are not
available on all cartridges. Still, the
difference is 1000s of combinations on each
cartridge as opposed to a mere couple of hundred
with the XPCS. |
|
|
Blade Life - The Cricut reportedly
provides up to 1500 cuts per blade compared to
XPCS's 1000+ cuts. The Cricut appears to be more
economical with a cost per 1000 cuts of $6.32
compared to $19.95 per 1000 cuts for the XPCS.
|
|
|
Mat Life - The XPCS mats are relatively
inexpensive and reportedly provide 200+ full mat
cuts. Bear in mind however that the Cricut mats
are 4.5 times bigger in area. Still, the XPCS
provides better economy at $5.36 for 200 cuts
per mat over an equivalent area (ie $1.19 per
mat x 4.5). With the Cricut you need five mats
for 200 cuts (i.e. 40 cuts per mat x 5) which
translates to $47.40 (i.e. $9.48 per mat x 5)
for 200 cuts - a significant cost difference!
|
Conclusion
The XPCS is the least expensive and more portable of the
two cutters. It is also has the least functionality. The
XPCS looks to be cheaper to run over the long term with
Cricut mats being over 8 times more expensive than the
XPCS's. The XPCS is probably the better option for the
more budget conscious scrapbooker who is concerned with
economy and portability over functionality.
The Cricut is the larger and more expensive of the two
cutters . It also has the most functionality of the two
machines. The larger paper size (6" x 12") and its
ability to cut fonts and shapes in 11 sizes weighs
heavily in its favour. Not forgetting also that the
Cricut library includes 1000s of cutting combinations
and the ability to apply 6 special effects. Importantly,
it also has a paper saving feature which the XPCS does
not have. On the down side, the initial outlay and
ongoing costs for the Cricut are considerably more than
for the XPCS. Despite this, the Cricut is probably the
better option for scrapbookers concerned more with
functionality rather than pure cost.
Copyright © The
Scrap Witch 2003-2006
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