General SCAL question from a newbie

[PaperDoiley]

I have just registered on this forum as my wife wants to purchase a cutter and we have an interest on SCAL. We have already discovered that there is no point buying a CriCut.....

The next choice was a Sizzix, but you can't buy then in the Uk anymore.

The third choice is Silhouette Cameo or Curio. As is evident from the download page, SCAL drivers exist for the Cameo, but there is no mention of the Curio (yet?). Will this device be compatible?

I downloaded SCAL (as well as MTC and Silhouette Studio) to have a look at prior to purchase. Of the three, I have to say that my initial (admittedly very brief) impression is that SCAL the least intuitive and rather confusing. This is obviously down to my inexperience with the software and it does takes time to learn how to use a new program. I am familiar in general with image manipulation software such as Paintshop Pro and GIMP although I haven't used vector graphics editors in many years. I'm also investigating Inkscape and was please to discover that there are plugins to export from Inkscape to SCAL. If we do purchase a cutter that SCAL is compatible with then I will, of course, look at the tutorials.

[craftedge]

SCAL4 will work with Silhouette SD, Cameo, Portrait and Curio models

[ScrappyDew]

Play around with the trial editions like you have already. Several plugins exisit for inkscape, AI..etc.

If you do decide to go with SCAL make sure you get the SCAL 4 + Classroom Bundle Tutorials/Lessons to make you successful in understanding the software.

[PaperDoiley]

craftedge, thanks for confirming that SCAL will work with the Curio.

ScrappyDew, I will have a look at those classroom bundle tutorials.

Thanks.

[jendryden]

If you buy a Silhouette, upgrade to Silhouette Studio, it's easy and worth the money.