How to change speed and pressure settings mid cut:

Literally a couple of hours after I put up my last post about the new ScanNCut DX series, my Ipad went bing! and when I checked, I had an e-mail from Brother Europe.

I was 100% right that I thought it would be launched this autumn, and 100% right that the new model is called the DX1200.

Before I post it below, PLEASE make sure you click on the link below and read my original post in FULL about the DX series, as there is some very important information that users and potential new users will need to know about the new DX model machine and the current CM series of machines, mat and accessory compatibility etc.

https://brotherscanncut.wordpress.com/2018/08/25/the-new-scanncut-sdx-in-the-uk/

OK now to that all important e-mail…

Dear Mrs XXXXXXXXXXX

Thank you very much for your interest about our products and  for your enquiry about the ScanNCut SDX1200 machine.

At the moment we do not have an exact date of launch but hope to be able to make it available to the UK market in Autumn 2018.

For this reason we don’t know yet the features of this new model.

Please contact us again at the end of September.

What you are seeing are web pages of USA market.

Best regards / Cordialement / Distinti saluti / Met vriendelijke groet / Mit freundlichen Grüßen

Fausto Tomba
Customers Satisfaction Manager
———————————–­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­——————-
BROTHER SEWING MACHINES EUROPE
Im Rosengarten 11
D-61118 Bad Vilbel

ISO 14001 Certified

service@scanncut.eu

In my last blog post, I talked about how I felt customers and users had been mislead by Create and Craft when the CM800Q Quilters Edition was launched.

https://brotherscanncut.wordpress.com/2018/08/24/cm800q-quilters-edition/

With that information, and what with all the other various untruths that Create and Craft and Mel Heaton have told in the past, for example categorically stating in September 2015 during a CM600 sell off that there would be no new machine launched -when in fact the the CM700 SNC2 was launched shortly afterwards – (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fOqbfIfkJBw&t=2s) –  I wanted to provide my fellow ScanNCut users with information on the upcoming new ScanNCut machine which is due to be launched shortly.  Forewarned is forearmed!

PLEASE NOTE:  THE EXACT SPECIFICATION OF THE NEW DX SERIES MAY HAVE CHANGED WHEN THE PRODUCT IS FINALLY RELEASED, AND AT THE MOMENT, YOU MAY WELL BE SEEING THE PRE-PRODUCTION MODELS DEMONSTRATED.

The bundled accessories will be different depending on the model and location, and there may be a firmware update.

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I have some information from  Craftelier (https://craftelier.com/en-ie/)   Although they are based in Spain, they do ship to the UK.  For users information, Craftelier have informed me that they do not have any affiliation with Create and Craft or Ideal World, and that they buy their ScanNCuts and accessories directly from Brother.

Here is an excerpt from one of the emails from Craftelier:

And another e-mail reads:

PLEASE NOTE: There is no separate AC adaptor for the DX machines, it is built into the machine. The mains lead is plugged directly into the machine (seems to be 2 types of mains lead, a 2-pin and 3-pin).  Craftelier will have the UK model with the right plug available to purchase.

So if you want a ScanNcut from elsewhere than Create and Craft…then Craftelier are happy to ship to the UK!  I am a Craftelier customer and I’ve always been delighted with their service.  As you can see above, Craftelier offer excellent customer service, and I would feel very confident about buying UK model machine with a UK plug from them.

I have written to Craftelier today and asked them what price the new DX will retail at, and once I know, I will let you know. 🙂

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Please note: before I sat down to write the rest of this post, I also made sure I got all my facts 100% completely correct by writing personally to Brother.  I will include their written replies where relevant.

Today’s date is the 24 August 2018 and regular viewers of Create and Craft will already know that the channel have been selling off their stocks of the ScanNCut at hugely reduced prices, no doubt in preparation for the launch of the new ScanNcut launch.  The CM900 is today at being sold at the record low price of £299 for members (£333 for non members).  Also the CM800Q was available for £269.10 to club members, and with some bundled fabric.

Brother are still insisting as of today that they do not have a release date for the UK – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LOW_INpvTKo&t=1s  – scroll down to the comments and see my Mum Crafter reply to that!  It’s a bit small to show here, but you can bet I took a screen shot for future reference!  The CM300 and CM700 have recently been on sale at Create and Craft at very low prices, and now the CM900 is on sale for a rock bottom price…it doesn’t take a genius to work out that a new machine is coming out sooner than Brother and Create and Craft say.

I have a HUNCH that the machine will be in stock at Create and Craft in the first few weeks of NOVEMBER here in the UK AND THAT THE MODEL NUMBER HERE WILL BE SDX1200. 

Once I find out the recommended retail price for Europe, readers of my blog will be the first to know!

USA RELEASE OF DX225 MODEL

As soon as I saw on the 7th August this year that the new SDX series had been launched in America for release in SEPTEMBER this year there, I started seriously researching everything I could about this new ScanNCut.

In America, the new machine is called the ScanNCut DX225. Official launch date is SEPTEMBER 2018.

The top of the range models are sold by authorised Brother Sewing dealers. The lower spec models will be sold on shopping channels such as HSN (The Home Shopping Network).

Here’s a link to the official Brother website.

https://www.brother-usa.com/home/cutting-machines/scanncut/scanncut-dx

In the US the machine is going to retail at $799 US dollars (as of today August 2018 that works out to around £622 dollars) – see the following press release:

https://globenewswire.com/news-release/2018/08/08/1549331/0/en/Brother-Expands-Lineup-of-Cutting-Machines-with-New-Revolutionary-ScanNCut-DX.html

AUSTRALIAN RELEASE OF THE DX SERIES

Please note that the new DX series will be released in Australia in OCTOBER this year – this information is from this sewing machine dealer in Australia.

– https://www.echidnasewing.com.au/brother-sdx1200-scanncut-dx-cutting-machine

The cost of the DX1200 (same spec as USA model DX225) is $799 Australian dollars which currently as of August 2018 works out £456 approximately.

I got the Australian price from both the Echidna Sewing site and these other retailers:

https://hobbysew.com.au/cutting-machines/brother/brother-scanncut-machine—scan-n-cut-dx-sdx1200.aspx

https://blackmoreandroy.com.au/product/scan-n-cut-dx-innov-is-edition/?v=79cba1185463

There will be two different specification models released in Australia  (named the SDX1000 and the SDX 1200) – see Alanda Crafts page – 

– https://www.alandacraft.com/2018/08/09/the-new-brother-scanncut-dx-machine-is-it-worth-the-upgrade/

I haven’t been able to find out any technical specifications for the DX1000 as yet – but going by the model number  I assume (and this is only an assumption) that the DX1000 will have a lesser technical specification than the DX1200.

Bearing in mind there will be a lower and higher specification model released in Australia, I very much hope that Create and Craft will not stitch up their UK customers by releasing the lower spec model here at the higher price.  

THE NEW MACHINE

It looks very similar to the DesignNCut DC range of machines that needed to be connected to a computer to work. Although they are available in Europe (November 2017), the UK (Create and Craft) doesn’t sell them. https://designncut.brother-usa.com/

Here are a few photos to whet your appetite….quite a few people on social media think the new styling looks “clunky” and think the CM series looks more modern…I have to agree…my husband thinks the new DX looks like a bread bin!   I don’t like to judge a book by it’s cover, so as long as it lives up to the hype, I’ll be happy.  It is significantly larger than the CM ranges – not so much in width, but in depth due to the addition of the tool storage tray.

I’m not sure whether this new larger machine will fit into the current range of ScanNCut rolling tote bags or not as of yet.

And the new series has some interesting new features –

• Auto blade adjustment that detects the thickness of the material being cut
• 5-inch LCD screen
• Built-in storage tool trays
• Cuts up to 3mm (0.1 inch) thick material, such as felt and foam
• Quieter than previous ScanNCuts
• Up to 600 DPI for Scan to USB function
• Can take a roll feeder (for cutting vinyl)
• Enhanced PES/PHC file readability

Please see Julie Fei Fan Balzer’s video on the DX’s features here  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GivBV2wqSLo – but be aware that Julie is a paid Brother representative.

FABRIC CUTTING

Personally I am greatly disappointed that the new machine does not have two features that the Cricut maker does have….

1. real rotary blade feature.
2. Dual accessory holder to be able to draw/cut or emboss then cut without the need to change tools.

As the only hobby cutting machine on the market which is both a standalone and needs no computer connection and the only machine which has a scanner, I feel personally Brother have missed out on an opportunity to completely knock out the Cricut maker, particularly while launching a brand new model of machine.

As the ScanNCut DX is also marketed as Innovis and is being sold at dealers in the USA in a bundle with their top of the range sewing/embroidery machines, I really feel a rotary blade feature should have been added.  I would have definitely settled on buying the new model if it had come with a dual accessory holder…as I said, I am very disappointed that it doesn’t have at least a dual accessory holder.

It does however have what seems to be a new style fabric blade (they call it a thin fabric blade – it appears they are referring to quilting cottons) – however this is the old craft knife style of blade.  You are supposed to be able to cut through thin fabric without the need to apply a fabric stiffener such as Terial Magic, or sandwiching between freezer paper.

Brother – if ONLY you had given us a rotary blade!

AUTO BLADE FEATURE

One of the most exciting new features of the new DX series is the auto blade depth feature, which in theory means you will be able to place materials of different thickness on your mat and the machine will automatically adjust the blade setting to the required depth. Using the autoblade feature  would mean testing the depth of the material everytime the blade comes down, which may slow the machine down a bit.   I’ll be interested to see how this does work.

IMPROVED SCANNING

There is what appears to be a somewhat clumsy two position “scanner lever” system on the new DX series – one position is designed for scanning “thin material” and the other for more standard thickness material?  From first glance at the manual it appears they have tried to use this system to improve the quality of the scans.  The DX also has a greatly improved resolution of 600 dpi (up from 300dpi on the CM series).  The 600DPI (Dots Per Inch) is only when scanning in photos etc, to save to an external USB as JPEG files. The conversion of a scanned image to vectors is done at about 100 DPI (based on the recommended setting of Potrace, a Raster to Vector Converter). The preview images of the media are about 20 DPI, very low quality.

MATLESS CUTTING AND HALF CUTS

With regards to cutting vinyl, the new machine does have a setting for half cuts (kiss cuts) which means in theory, that you should be able to cut through your vinyl without cutting through the backing paper or sheet.

It also features MATLESS CUTTING via a roll feeder system (which appears to be an optional accessory in the US so is not included with the machine there)  – it can cut a vinyl roll up to 6 foot in length, although there does seem to be a 2″ discrepancy in the width it can cut on one of the official Brother USA videos..if you look at this video

– at around the 2 min 30 seconds mark where matless cutting is mentioned, you’ll see that there is some text that says “9.9” wide design area, 70.2″ long” but just after that at the 2 min 38 seconds mark, there is more text that says “cut material up to 12 inches wide and almost 6′ in length.”

Obviously 70.2″ is more or less 6 feet – I’m have emailed Brother immediately to double check so I can get an official answer in writing, but my guess at the moment is that the machine can take up to 12 inches of vinyl in width, but will only cut PATTERNS up to  9.9″ in size, so that’s something to watch out that Create and Craft give out the correct information about when the new machine is launched here in the UK. 

Once I get the official answer from Brother, I will let you know..so be sure to check out future blog posts!

There is a lot more…I have added a link at the end of this post to the DX225 model user manual, so you can read for yourself all the new features on the DX series.

Now for some VERY important things to note for current ScanNCut users who are thinking of buying this new machine.

I asked Brother USA the following question on their Youtube video – “Will the existing accessories for the CM series ie MATS, foiling kit, embossing kit, universal pen holder fit in the new SDX225 or will users have to pay out for new mats, kits and accessories etc?

(scroll down to the comments to see my question) – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AZlxEBggSng&t=14s

Brother USA did not reply, but I did have a reply via e-mail from a good online friend of mine with the following information:

“On Brother USA’s Youtube channel, you asked about whether the new ScanNCut DX would take existing accessories.

From the User Guide PDF, these accessories will only work in the new DX: –

• New Cutting Mats
• New Scanning Mats
• New Auto Blade Holder (3mm depth)
• New Auto Blade Holder for Fabric (1mm depth)
• New Auto Blade (3mm depth)
• New Auto Blade (1mm depth)
• New Roll Feed Attachment
• New 600 DPI Scanner
• New 3mm Cutting Depth

These existing accessories *will* work in the new DX: –

• Standard Blade Holder
• Deep Cut Blade Holder
• Pen Holder
• Universal Pen Holder
• Embossing Tool
• Foiling Tool”

The autoblades will only be available for the DX series – there will be no updates allowing the CM series to use this feature.

USERS PLEASE NOTE:  THERE IS A NEW STYLE MAT FOR THE DX SERIES OF MACHINES THAT IS NOT COMPATIBLE WITH THE CM SERIES. THE CURRENT CM SERIES MATS WILL NOT FIT IN THE NEW DX MACHINES.  THERE IS NO NEED TO PANIC ABOUT THIS AS BROTHER WILL STILL BE PRODUCING MATS FOR THE CM SERIES (DETAILS LATER IN THIS POST).  

I asked my friend who is a technical wizard why both the new DX cutting mats AND the new DX scanning mats will not work in the CM series, and vice versa. His reply was the registration dots that the machines use in reading the mats are different to those on the CM series mats.

Here are the photos of the various mats: current CM series mats, registration marks/lack of registration marks are circled in red below..

Current CM series mats:

New DX series mats:

The fact that the new DX mats are not compatible with the old CM series machines did worry me, a lot! I could imagine Create and Craft having a field day with that one, so I thought I would prepare in advance, as it were. 🙂

So I wrote to Brother direct asking them whether they will still be making mats for the CM Series machines.  Here are their replies:

“Dear Mrs XXXXXXX

I don’t think our factory will stop the production of ScanNCut CM600, CM300 , CM900 etc.

I think we will have always on the market a cheaper product for entry level.

Anyway, our factory are providing accessories for some years after the production of last machine.  

Best regards / Cordialement / Distinti saluti / Met vriendelijke groet / Mit freundlichen Grüßen

Fausto Tomba
Customers Satisfaction Manager
———————————–­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­——————-
BROTHER SEWING MACHINES EUROPE
Im Rosengarten 11
D-61118 Bad Vilbel

ISO 14001 Certified

service@scanncut.eu

PLEASE NOTE: THE CM600DX MODEL HAS ALREADY BEEN DISCONTINUED, AND I EXPECT THAT THE CM700/900 WILL ALSO BE DISCONTINUED WHEN THE NEW DX MACHINES ARE AVAILABLE.

Just to double check, I had a friend message Brother USA through Facebook messenger: here’s the conversations:

“please could you let me know if and when the ScanNCut machines are coming out in the UK? Also will the CM series mats fit the new DX machines and will the DX mats with the CM machines?”

“No time frame has been released yet for the UK. The mats are not interchangeable.”

and again she messaged Brother USA with the following:

“.will Brother be continuing to produce mats for the CM series? Thank you

“Yes, the mats will be available for the ScanNCut Machines.”

So excellent news all round, despite the mats not being interchangeable between the CM series and the DX series, CM series users will still be able to get those all important mats…and of course there are always the Artistix mats that everyone loves! 🙂

So just be aware you  won’t need to buy the new machine if we don’t want to/can’t afford to as the CM series mats and accessories will still be produced and I have that IN WRITING FROM BROTHER.  If you want to drop the Brother European team an e-mail yourself, then please do.  Their e-mail address is service@scanncut.eu

So Melanie Heaton,  Jo Foster and Create and Craft, please make sure you tell your customers the correct information on launch day…..anyhow this post will be all over social media for everyone to read… I know Create and Craft will want to ensure customers and all current users to have all the 100% correct information, right from the first day of launch here in the UK ……Amd please note I have it in writing from Brother that mats will still be produced for the CM series and that all the current extras such as foiling kits, embossing kits, universal pen holder, old style blade holders, etc etc will fit into the new DX series.

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SDX 225/SDX1200 USER MANUAL available for download (PDF) –

http://support.brother.com/g/b/manuallist.aspx?c=us&lang=en&prod=hf_sdx225eus&flang=English&type3=626&type2=69

Official links and YouTube videos relating to the launch of the machine in the USA:

https://www.brother-usa.com/home/cutting-machines/scanncut/scanncut-dx

Official Brother USA launch video  🙂  –  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ny4-KNvc_YA&t=23s

Official Brother USA feature video with Julie Fei Fan Balzer with some technical specifications – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AZlxEBggSng

Julie Fei Fan Balzers personal vlog (watch from 1.45 mins to around the 9 minute mark to see the machine in action) – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o-OnoxZCWoI

LindaZssewingcentre – matless cutting with roll feeder in action – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-BGk-HRqLNQ

These are a list of pens that I personally use, that fit in the universal pen holder without the need for any kind of tape. I’m in the UK, so will be talking about UK retailers.

There are a whole range of fabulous pens out there, and you don’t have to buy a big, expensive bundle of Kuretake pens to get fabulous results.

I don’t recommend the bundles of Kuretake pens for ScanNcut users – not all of them have nibs suitable for use with the ScanNCut – I’ll be talking about the Kuretake ones that do give great results with the ScanNCut further below, but please note if you want to use them in the ScanNCut you wll need the Zig Writer pens as they have bullet nibs on both ends.  Brush style nibs are not suitable for using with the ScanNCut.

B&M stores:

I really like the Nibb pack of 8, finepoint 0.44mm pens, I use these all the time for drawing monoline fonts, and for drawing in fine details.  These are just £2.49 a pack and are great quality.  https://www.bmstores.co.uk/products/nibb-finepoint-pens-8pk-assorted-320791

The Works stores (high street and online):

have an excellent range of various style pens that are again of fantastic quality at a brilliant price point. They all last ages, and do not run out quickly.

My favourites are the Scribbalicious pack of 10 Glitter Gel pens (I actually prefer these to the premium, more expensive Wink of Stella pens available elsewhere).  I use them all the time for sentiments and fine detailing.  I’ve found them to have a superior finish and they are just £2 for a pack to boot, can’t be beaten! https://www.theworks.co.uk/p/pens-and-pencils/scribblicious-glitter-gel-pens—pack-of-10/5052089211988

Another favourite of mine from The Works are Scribbalicious metallic gel pens in a pack of four, 2 silver and 2 gold.  They are again great quality pens and priced at just 79p a pack.  These are another favourite of mine for sentiments.  https://www.theworks.co.uk/p/christmas-essentials/scribblicious-metallic-gel-pens—set-of-4/5052089189966

For drawing, then cutting I also am a big fan of Scribblicious pack of 10 double ended markers.  They have a thick bullet nib on one end, and a fine bullet nib on the other.  Again these can’t be beaten at £2 a pack – they last ages and do not bleed or fray! https://www.theworks.co.uk/p/calligraphy-pens/double-ended-colour-markers—pack-of-10/5052089129146

Kuretake:

Wink of Stella pens – a set of 12 can be found for around the £15-£17 mark.  They are premium quality pens, with a more subtle sparkle than the Scribbalicious glitter gel pens.  I do have a set of these, but as I said, I do prefer the Scribbalicious.   I recommend using a search engine to find the best prices.

Zig Writer pens – I buy these in the gold and metallic silver versions.  They are a premium quality pen.  I don’t use them for everyday drawing and cutting but use them on special projects for weddings, special occasions, special birthdays etc.  The Writer pens are double ended, one fine bullet nib, and one thicker bullet nib, fabulous for drawing then cutting out.  You can find them priced from £2 each.  I recommend using a search engine to find the best prices.