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Hardware

Hardware Products For Cricut

Do you get confused by all the hardware you see people use with Cricut machine. If you are in Cricut groups you probably see posts about laptop, iPad, heat press, printers, sublimation printers and so on. Is it any wonder that Cricut newbie feel overwhelmed and confused?

Let me start by saying that we all have been there. At one point or another we have all felt some or maybe even a lot of confusion about Cricut machines and all the extras that they seem to require. Let me emphasize the word “seem”. You don’t need all of the expensive extras that you can use with your machine. This post will break most commonly used hardware in the Cricut world.

Let’s begin with a laptop. In order to utilize your Cricut machine, you need an access to its software – Design Space. Read this post to learn all you need to know about how to select best Cricut laptop.
While many of us love our laptops, others prefer mobile devices. One of the most popular devices is iPad. The coin is usually tossed between iPad or iPad Air. What’s difference between the two? Apple’s “iPad” is an entry-level device providing many of the perks of an iPad at a lower cost. Apple’s iPad Air comes with a liquid retina display, offers up to 256GB of RAM, and includes a 12MP wide camera.
If you are going to explore Cricut print and cut feature than printer is a must to have. The key to understand is that inkjet printing way is an old way of printing and the most amount of money will be made on ink, because you will be running out of it all the time. You basically have two options – get a cheaper printer but one that comes with great ink refill program. Your other option is to look for middle price range such as EcoTank Epson which are very popular for variety reasons, one of them is for their economic approach to inks.
If you choose to explore sublimation, you’ll need a sublimation printer. PRO TIP – you can’t have a single printer serve as inkjet printer and sublimation. If you intend to utilize Cricut print and cut feature and sublimation, you will need two separate printers. A printer can be either for print and cut or sublimation. It can’t be both. EcoTank Epson are popular for converting into sublimation printers.
A heat press is used to permanently adhere graphic to a surface, such as fabric. Common transfer types are Heat Transfer Vinyl, aka HTV or sublimation. In Cricut world, a heat press can often mean using a household iron, or Cricut Easy Press and/or heat press machine. Read this excellent Heat Press post to learn the difference between each one.