Cricut Imagine
The merger of the Cricut die cut machine with a full color printer = Cricut Imagine!
The latest offering from Provo Craft lets you print and cut on a single easy to use machine. The Cricut Imagine is fully compatible with all original Cricut cartridges. There will also be special “Imagine” cartridges.
The machine will print out a selected image, and then cut around the image.
The LCD screen interface is very similar to the Gypsy, and uses a stylus for navigating on the screen.
Some features of the Cricut Imagine:
- It works with paper sizes up to 12 x 12 and makes cuts from .25 inches to 11.5 inches, making large-format print and cutting possible
- Uses a touch screen LCD for easy system navigation
- No computer is necessary to use.
- HP makes the inkjet print element and then sends it to PC to install in the Imagine.
- Dual ink cartridges: Black ($34.99 MSRP) and Tricolor ($39.99 MSRP).
- Cartridges should print 150 full pages.
- Machine ships with full-size ink cartridges.
- Imagine uses the same blades as the current Cricuts.
- Weighs 28lbs
- Gypsy update to be released on 9/13 that will let the Gypsy work with the Imagine.
- Works with current Cricut cartridges.
- They will be releasing cartridges if colors and textures that can be used as “fill” in existing shape cartridges.
- Blade and print head do not ride on same carriage like patent filing detailed.
The Imagine will have it’s own special mats with black markings on them, these marking allow the machine to know where it is on the mat, you can use the in the other Cricut machines, but you cannot use regular mats in the Imagine.
Suggested retail for Cricut Imagine is $599.99
Please leave a comment and let us know what you think about the Cricut Imagine!
Watch the video to see the Cricut Imagine in action!
Polls
What do you think of the Cricut Imagine?
- Like it, but too expensive (59%)
- Love it! (27%)
- No way. (11%)
- Maybe. (3%)
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The Cricut Imagine looks like it will be a lot of fun to use… can’t wait!
Just when i was about to buy my first Cricut machine ever (i was going to get the Cricut Expression)…Provo Craft comes up with something even more wonderful!!!
This is GREAT!!! I want one now!!! But i was wondering about a couple of things…
1. Can i use my own designs and creations rather than just depending on the cartridges??? I’m aware that it can be done in the other Cricut machines.
2. Will i still be able to cut fabric/chipboard/foam/metal…etc.???
Hi Meera, I was at the CHA show and asked question #1 to the Cricut representative. He told me very bluntly “no” we could not use our own images/clip art or any other other than the Cricut images/disks. I asked if they would be considering that down the road and again he said very bluntly “no.” So that stopped me in my tracks from spending $500 – I would have purchased the machine in a heart beat otherwise.
Hi Kim,
Thank you for replying. you know you’re right, if i were able to customize my own designs i would get it immediately! but now…hmmmm not so excited as i was at first
Why don’t we just send in our photos and have someone else do all the work for us now? This is impressive, but I still like to be “hands on” with my art. I will pass for now on this. It takes away too much of the creative side for me. Others who are not so creative will be very happy with this new addition to your Cricut line. I still love my new Cricut Expression, and I will be content to add my own color to its intricate cuts! Please don’t stop making cartridges for the parent machines!
Nancy, that is a very good point. Thank you.
What do others think? Does the Cricut Imagine do to much? Lets hear your thoughts!
I love my cricut and when I first saw this I thought this was competing against the Sure Cuts A Lot, but now it doesn’t appear to. I think if you could just down load image off your computer or where ever it would be wonderful. I would have to pass and just keep with all the cartridges.
I know that our cartridges will work in the Imagine, but will the new cartridges work in the older machines??
I already love my cricut expression and gypsy creative tools. If I add the “imagine” to my creative bag of tricks, can it “just cut” images from my original cartridges as my expression machine does and not color them if I choose to? ( say if I wanted something plain white or a design from my colored card stock) Must I always use an imagine cartridge in order to operate this machine?
According to other sites I have been on & the video I watched, it can just cut without the artwork & it should use all of the other cartridges for cricut
WOW this is a “must-have”… it’s really cool
wish I could get one!!
It looks cool, but my concern is printers in general have a short life. What happens when the HP printer gives up the ghost and it will if you use it alot. Three maybe four years is about all a printer lasts these days. I spend 600 dollars for the Imagine and 3 years down the road the printrer dies…what happens to the machine in general. Can the printer be exchanged out simply or is it another entire machine, Think I will pass for now. I have an Expressions and a Gyspy so I am content.
Good point about the life of this product not to mention the how long the inks last! I all depends on the price.
Yes, I do have to agree with Jenny and Kim on the point about the printer.
They are making printers better and better these days, so hopefully it is something that will last, and can be easily fixed if need be.
As for price, they are showing $599 for MSRP, however, I am sure it will probably not sell that high, probably closer to a $400-$500 range.
It comes down to what you want to spend your money on, if it is something you really love using, then a $500 is really not to bad. And if you know you have made a good investment, it will also motivate you to use it and create those scrapbooks and do those projects you’ve been meaning to do
How long will the ink cartridges last? and are they currently availabe on the market, or will they be available only through Cricut? if so, what will the price be to replace them? I love the idea behind the Imagine, but so many questions about replacing inks. Will Cricut be offering an extended warranty on the machine as a whole, or just the cutting part?
I love my Cricut Expression and Gypsy, and I’m sure Cricut has done a lot of research to help protect their customers from being left high and dry should something happen to the Imagine.
I think I will stick with my Expression and Gypsy. My cartridges are already linked to my expression and I don’t want to start over with my library. I’ve done enough investing. I want to create! and add to my cartridge library. Plus the $600 price tag is alot to add to my ever growing investment just to have it cut around my printed picture. Printer and scissors…
have to echo the comments made above.
Ink cost and yield, if water proof or not, if could use as transfers…
Materials on which to cut and print — plastic for overlay and material
replacement how long use before breaks… are all my concerns also.
is too expensive — but I’d consider it IF could use as a 12 x 12 SB page printer and not just for cutting. Would do more printing without the cutting but since PC answer was NO and not in future — I’m NOT interesed! I wouldn’t have the counter space for a 4th machine that wouldn’t be used that often.
Didn’t watch the full 10 mins, but images looked rather flat and basic to me. Also quite a waste of paper with the placement. I will reverse and shrink & move around in software so get really full print page.
I also find the cutting out printed images or coloring the Cricut and assembling the layers and parts and adjusting shadow placement the enjoyable part of my art.
I LOVE IT! If it were on sale now, I’d be ordering it. I can’t wait to get it and start working with it. I think it’s fantastic and I hope we don’t have to wait too long before it’s available to the public. I did see a question above – can we use the imagine carts on the expression? I think as long as I can use my cricut cartridges that I already have in the Imagine, and vice versa, I’d be happy with it. I love my Expression and I support Provo Craft in everything they do! Thanks!
What this did for me was convince me to replace my “Baby Bug” with the Pink Cricut Expression on sale this weekend. I’d been holding off, convinced something new and exciting was on the horizon…and while this is neat, it is not what I need. I don’t want to buy more cartridges simply to get patterns for printing when I have a room full of patterned paper. And I too question the logic of combining a printer, even with HP’s reputation, with the Cricut. Sometimes too many bells and whistles simply isn’t the right thing.
it is a little pricy and the ink is expensive but maybe it will go down a little later!!!!
I am planning to buy one as soon as I can. I LOVE IT!!!! I guess I never realized what Cricut could do but this is more of what I am looking for a machine to do. If I could place a order for when its available I would do it right now to guarantee I could get one. Right now I am looking into the different cartridges available so I can find them on sale. Also plan to sell some of my other machines and stamp sets to help pay for the best machine on the market. I am so excited about it coming out and when it will be available.
It looks very exciting. Can’t wait but hope the price comes down a bit
I really do like this but I do think it is over priced
only the people that have money will be able to afford it
Margie
I’m ready to buy an Expression – and now this? LOL Can I use Imagine for vinyl, chipboard, fabric like for the Expression?
As much as I would love to try one, I will have to pass on this one. This will be a huge investment not to memtion the ink and new cartridges and what do I do with my expressions that I already have? I think Provo Craft needs to slow down. I love all my cartridges and at one point I wanted them all. But now it’s just getting to be too much with new this, new that. Provo Craft is on overload! It’s getting very crazy with–can only get this cartridge at WalMart or this one only through Creative Memories and so on! And the gyspy is very confusing to use!
It looks cool, but way to much money for me.
I’m not interested at all. I think it’ll go through major ink, and the cost of the ink cartridges isn’t cheap. I prefer cutting diecut images and adding ink if necessary. Besides, how does PC figure that we’re going to keep buying every machine they come out with? I can’t afford it anyway and am happy with my Create! Was thinking of getting an Expression, but I don’t have the room for one, and I can’t justify it really, just to make larger cuts. Deb M
I have a Quickutz Silhouette SD that does that already. I print an image out on my ink jet printer then put it in the Silhoueete to cut it out. The printer will put these black corners on the paper for the Silhouette to read so it know exactly where to cut. The Cricut Imagine does just that. I don’t know…I may still need to get the new Imagine…LOL!
If the price were less I would jump on it right away…But I am concerned about the yield of the ink. I am an HP person all the way( have had many of their printers), but they go thru ink like crazy. I don’t like the tri-color ink cartridge at all….In my most recent printer I have 5 different colors and black, the yellow and cyan are the first colors to go, so I replace those individually. With the tri-color when the yellow(or any one color) goes..the cartridge is no good anymore, so for them to say 150 page yield..I’m sorry it can’t be anticipated, each person will get a different yield. I will wait and see what the price point is on HSN Sept.14 when it debutes and how many months they offer to let you pay!!!!
denise
Sounts good, looks good, but TOO TOO expensive.
I have every ProvoCraft/Cricut machine and tool produced to date – but the Imagine is not for me.
I already use workarounds to create and cut my own art.
A machine that limits my ability to create my own images is just too limiting – especially if there are no plans to ever allow for anything other than Cricut image content (although I love the Cricut carts) to be cut on the Imagine.
Sorry ProvoCraft – It’s not a matter of money – it’s a matter of being able to choose tools that give me the freedom to express and enhance my own creative vision.
I would love one… always like new toys… I like my Expression and my Gypsy… why can’t PC have a program that if you donate your old machine to a school or something you can get a discount voucher to buy an upgrade… most PC owners are loyal… we want the newer shiner model too… but the prices are out of reach at times! How about it PC… give the loyal customers a break! Love the new machine!
Trying to suck us all in again now that you’ve run out of steam on the Cricut and the Gypsy…way too expensive for my taste and seems to me it’s a waste to buy. Why would I voluntarily make my new Cricut redundant?
I bought the Cricut (personal). Then I sold it and upgraded to the Expression. Bought accessories, the markers, fonts, etc. With the frequent product changes and ever-increasing prices, I am sticking to other products (Sure Cuts A Lot, for example) and making do. $600!!!
This is very expensive. I wouldn’t buy one because of the cost. I love my Cricut Expression and I use it all of the time for teaching. I do agree with Shonna about donating your old machine. That is about the only way I would buy one, if I could donate by Cricut Expression to a school and get a discount for the Cricut Imagine. It does look like a lot of fun.
This machine is way too expensive for the average crafter.
I am getting tired of Cricut coming up with more expensive ways to get us to spend more money. They could have made a product that would have worked with gypsy or design studio, but no, they come up with a $600.00 machine. I will wait and see if the price drops when they don’t sell as many as they think they will, especially with the cost of the ink, and then new cartridges. I have 4 machines already, including the cake machine and also have the gypsy. This is one cricuter who would like to at least see a trade in offer. I spent $500.00 on the cake machine and at least it does something different and also uses the original cartridges. Even though HSN will have payments, I barely paid off the cake machine and cannot afford to get this one.
I am new to the crafting world, I have been researching and thinking whether I should wait for the new Imagine or not. The bottom line is that I am getting into crafting to be able to use my skills and not to have a “printer” do it for me. I have always owned HP printers and the ink never lasts as long as they claim. I am going to sit back and wait, with gadgets comes new issues. I would spend the $600.00 IF I wouldn’t have to keep buying cartridges, for that matter I refuse to buy it.
Oh I would love to have this thing which has come to pass! I have often wondered why they didn’t come up with something that would cut what you print without going through so much hassle of going from computer to cricut etc. This sounds like it will be awsome! When will it be available?
Please People…have a little mercy! Do you realize how much money we have spent on all the cartridges, paper, machine, embosser, tools on and on it goes. We all love your product but we are not millionaires! But we know you are!!! We are just Moms and people that want to be creative! Love your products and have supported you for years but I had no clue this machine was $600. I had the first cricut and went up to the Expression and would love to have this new one to do bulletin boards etc. for church but just a bit pricy at this point!!!!!!! Thanks for asking though!
Can the cricut imagine just plain cut out things just like the cricut expression?
I have EVERY Cricut cartridge available except for Cake Basics as I was not interested and definitely not interested in purchasing another machine just for the cartridge. I was sooooo ready to jump on the Imagine, BUT after reading more and more about it, I think I will pass. After investing around $15,000 in machines and cartridges, I don’t quite think I am ready to start over with an entire line of cartridges. I will just keep my Golden Cricut and my 177 cartridges. Hopefully, with a whole new line, they will slow down on the cartridges. Aiming for 100 in just one year is a little much.
I feel the Imagine is too costly upfront, you have the upkeep of ink and additional mats, and who knows how many cartridges will come out for just the Imagine. I see it doing little more for me than perhaps adding a border to a page as I like the 3D effect of the layered embellishments.
I am a huge fan of Cricut products and have been very satisfied with the quality, user friendly and versatile use of their products. I purchased my first Cricut the second day it was on the market, then the Cricut Expressions, Design Studio, 4 Jukeboxes (I was able to connect 4 of them), and last but not least the Gypsy. Of course, let’s not forget the 98 cartridges I have, too. I was able to justify the cost of everything do to the fact that I didn’t have to spend a fortune in stickers or die cuts, anymore.
Now as far as the Cricut Imagine, from what I have seen and heard, here are my concerns:
1. HP Printers are very good quality printers but they are very costly for the ink cartridges. I have the newest HP 309 and it consumes ink faster then any of my previous HP Printers have. I don’t even print pictures, just printing articles off the internet, letters, flyers, etc. I go through a black X-L cartridge every other week at the cost of $26.00 and the color cartridges about one every 3 weeks. They claim that a cartridge for the Imagine will print 50 12×12 pages, realistically that means about 40 pages. Of course, it would depend on how much coloring you have on an image too. The average life span for a HP Printer is about 2 years with daily use. I have owned over 11 HP Printers, that;s my experience.
2. I have heard that the Imagine will not work with the Design Studio but will with the Gypsy. I don’t understand that, as they pretty much function about the same and plug into your Cricut using a USB plug. What also is not clear is if I design a page on my Gypsy, which by the way, is my favorite toy, how do instruct the Imagine to color the image, the way you want? Would the page design on your gypsy show up on the Imagine LCD screen, then would you be able to tell the Imagine, what color for each design?
3. I can understand why you would have to use the Cricut cartridges, Provo Craft has to continue to make money. If it allowed you to create any image you designed, then you wouldn’t be buying their cartridges.
4. The biggest problem is the cost of $599, suggested retail price, the Imagine cartridges at $70 and the ink cartridge cost. The real advantage I can see is that instead of using color cardstock, you only need white cardstock. I personally like the layers, dimensional look, so it won’t really be savings me too much time. You can make your own background paper but you would consume a lot more ink, too. I currently use my Cricut Markers if I want to make a background paper.
I am very happy with my Expressions and Gypsy, so unless I can see several more advantages of the Imagine, I think I will have to pass. However, if I didn’t have the Expression, I most definitely would purchase it.
While I’m a techno-gadget person, this last machine has too many functions to make it a wise investment. If one part goes, you wind up with a very, very expensive Cricut. I too have several HP printers and I realize that their profit margin is no longer in the printer itself, but in the consumables that go with. For example, their cartridges now come with expiration dates, so even if the cartridge isn’t empty, the sensor is programmed to give you a ‘replace cartridge’ message and if you don’t, the printer will not work. I purchased the expression, the Gypsy, and a lot of cartridges, only to see the prices fall shortly after my purchase. At least they were for purchases for which additional cash outlays were not mandatory. I think I’ll sit this one out……
The Imagine is just what I have been after — something that will print and cut! But…the pricetag is probably going to be more than I can handle as yet. But, here’s hoping!.
Merna
I think the Imagine has some interesting features, but I don’t see great innovation. I would have liked PC to combine a full format printer with their cutter. Then I would only need one printer/cutter in my scrap room which would save energy and countertop space. I could print my documents/pictures, etc.from my computer and cut all my designes from one machine. Couldn’t you Imagine that!, I would pay for that machine, but not this one.
Oh, I forgot, if Imagine was connected to a computer that would mean that SCAL and MTC would also work if you have the time and want to be a grafic designer. I have tried SCAL and MTC and each of these require investing a great deal of time learning the program and then designing the art work before you can cut anything. I also looked at Pazzel and several other cutters before buying my original Cricut. I chose Cricut because I don’t want to spend my time designing art work. I want to simply pick it out and put it on my cards, my scrapbook pages or my walls. I will continue to buy the carts because they’re darling and give me thousands of options without any of the invested design time.
Ronnel
Just a couple of questions. Does it print on Vinyl or the static cling? i’m think this is a dumb question but just had to ask. I’am a Cricut Vinyl Bug.
I want it but the cost prohibits me from buying it.
Sell it for less and get more buyers.
I know I have encouraged a lot of my friends to buy the cricut and they have after I found them a great deal. This machine looks like something I would love to have. I make cards for my family and friends and I design centerpieces and party stuff from my cricut and printer.I design centerpieces for our square dance club too. Maybe one day when the cost goes down I will be able to buy one.