Do You Need A Laser Machine? My HONEST Thoughts After Owning A Cricut For 15 Years 😳

do you need a laser machine after you've had a Cricut in today's video I'm going to dive in to a true comparison on if you think it is appropriate for you to upgrade to a laser machine i'm not saying you have to upgrade to this laser machine i just have a laser machine on the table but what I want to do in today's video is share my honest thoughts about these type of machines what you need to look out for and we have three guiding questions that we're going to go over in today's video number one the price point number two could we actually use this machine and is it super confusing and what that looks like and number three how Makers Gonna Learns platform cut files and fonts and everything like that could integrate into another machine like a laser if you're new around here my name is Tanner Bell i teach people how to craft every single day and for the past 7 years I've ran a platform called Makers Can Learn where we teach you how to master your amazing machines and craft like a pro in today's video I am so excited to dive in to this huge conversation if you're anything like me you've been watching the laser industry and you've been seeing them getting more and more affordable and more and more exciting in today's video we're going to dive into what exactly you need to consider when it comes to picking out a laser machine and to see if a laser machine is even right for you this video is going to be a huge resource for many of you on the fence about picking up one of these machines if you're ready to go let's dive in the number one and the biggest objection even for myself is Tanner it's so expensive why why is it so expensive why would I need something like that and boy oh boy yes can I just say for anyone out there that's like this is an investment you're you're right like one thing about this specific machine which is an M1 Ultra by X Tool I'm enjoying it so far the one thing I don't love about it is that there's so many different bundles seriously you can go from spending $1,000 for a 10 watt laser all the way up to the full largest bundle with a 20 W laser at over $3,000 now that sounds like a lot of money but when you start talking about lasers lasers can be as low as $1,000 or as high as $30,000 what you may be more familiar with is something like a Glow Forge which is still coming in right around that $10,000 mark maybe a little bit less maybe a little bit more depending on what add-ons are purchased over there so one thing that really has excited me is about this X tool lineup is that I finally feel like this is a consumer laser so yes it is a lot of money but in comparison to the full laser market what we as consumers have to know is that this is very much on the consumer athome beginner base level because it is a tenth of the price of what super large lasers are going for and what people that do this professionally every single day are spending which is more like $30,000 which I would only spend that much money on something like a car so first of all I want to validate that yes this is for sure an investment whether or not people are spending $30,000 or not we as creatives and crafters are accustomed to spending $3 $400 and even that sometimes feels like a large investment right so what I want to talk about is why you may want to consider saving maybe all year to invest in a laser for Christmas for a business in end endeavor anything like that i know that these machines are super powerful and one story I always like to tell people when they're considering a Cricut is that I watched one of my best friends pay for a full brand new washer and dryer set just from making and selling items with her Cricut 100% that's how she paid for it all from the profits of her craft business so if you're here and you're like Tanner I want to make a laser work i encourage you to start thinking in a way of how you can let the laser pay for itself all right because when you start making this higher level investment you are going to notice that you're able to do a lot more like right out of the gate this thing can do a lot this is a 4 in1 laser machine it is a typical die cutting machine that has all the adaptive tools it has um the rotary blade the adaptive tools the regular blade it has a laser which you can choose do I want a 10 watt or a 20 watt laser and last but not least this right here is a full inkjet printer what a full inkjet printer it's crazy okay so obviously it is going to be an investment it is simplifying and giving you at your fingertips multiple machines in one which is very fascinating when you look at the precision and detail it is going to allow for way more intricate designs and you're going to see that it is able to cut through wood it is able to cut through MDF it is able to cut through acrylic as a base whereas us Cricut crafters have been accustomed to struggling to cut very thin basswood struggling to cut through some of those thicker materials and one or two times out of four almost 25 to 50% of the time ending in a craft fail what I want you to know about these machines is that this is the base no longer is cutting paper heat transfer vinyl or vinyl the expected quality and like what they do really well this is a true level up everything that we have cut on here with MDF wood acrylic it can cut through very detailed it can cut through very very well with ease and that's what I want you to understand is when you are willing to make that higher investment you are unlocking the potential for you to cut through more material with ease and 100% you know accuracy every single time with no sweat to you whereas when you're using a machine that is $300 or $400 and trying to use it at the highest level that highest level is now super easy to do because it is you're upgrading the hardware and you're upgrading to a laser essentially so that's one thing I want you to consider um it has incredibly precise cuts and engraving the engraving on here let's just say we have used the engraving more than almost anything like we have engraved everything and it all looks incredible where my Cricut machine engraving is okay i again I don't feel like it is super easy to engrave are you picking on what I'm putting down like that's it's kind of what I want you to really understand the versatility is awesome the professional and custom products available in this machine is again super super fantastic and I love it um you're going to get high quality and customized products with this that you would just not get in other traditional die cutting machines and that's one thing that is just like across the board like you're just going to notice a higher level available when it comes to this machine if you're serious about crafting if you feel like your regular D cutting machine has been a little boring and you're not getting the highest quality you're ready to take your craft business serious or anything in between one thing I'll tell you is that if you're willing to invest in your creations invest into your crafting you will see the return here and it'll be quite impressive a lot of you may be on the fence nervous about being able to use one of these machines because it seems overwhelming my experience has not been that it's actually been really fun because they have thought about simplifying the process way more whereas I think we've just been for 3 or 4 years using a Cricut and really struggling to cut those thicker materials we just assume that that hardship would be brought over here what I can tell you on the flip side after finally using it is it's actually like oh such a breath of fresh air i'm ready to come up with the next idea the next idea the next idea like it is kind of addicting and I think you'll be up for it so I'm not saying you need to invest in it today i'm thinking it's something you want to consider and see if you were to invest in it how do you want to pay yourself back would that be with um giving everyone in your family handmade gifts for that year um would you sell items to make up the investment or are you just saying you know what I work really hard i want to treat myself whichever one I think is a phenomenal answer but I think just knowing which one fits for you is the most important next question is I don't know how to use a laser machine it's got to be harder than Cricut right well here's the thing i want you to understand that this is a new machine just as starting anything for the first time you need to humble yourself you need to understand that you're not going to get this machine and know everything about it and stop making that a problem right enjoy the learning curve enjoy being humbled enjoy learning and slowing down to learn this process now there are not a ton of videos on the internet about this machine so that can be very alarming here's the deal if you're interested in learning more about this machine and you're a Makers Learn member please chime in in the comments down below because if we get the demand for it we will add a course or two explaining exactly how to use it and bringing the flavor of our teaching style to the industry if that's something you're interested in i'm not sure so you need to chime in and you need to let us know if that is something that you need help with when it comes to some of these machines because there is a learning curve when it comes to any new machine anything new you want to do if you're getting into the gym for the first time there's a learning curve if you're trying to eat really you know healthy there's a learning curve if you're going from a traditional die cutting machine to a laser it's not if there's a learning curve it's that there is a learning curve and that's okay don't make it a problem make it exciting when was the last time that you did something new chances are it's time to do something new i recently learned how to wake surf and it was very humbling to me to continually fall over and over and over again but now that I've mastered something brand new it is so much fun to get out there and to surf off a boat and it's so good i want you to kind of bring childlike energy to whatever new machine you decide to go with um and if you end up wanting one to bring that energy like allow yourself to fail allow yourself to explore and learn and you know play around with it i think you'll be shocked at how much fun it is and that's at least the experience that I have been experiencing with this machine and the decision I've made to experience now next up I want to talk about when it comes to the software i've been making a few videos about this machine and just lasers in general and I haven't dove into the software but if you're someone like me that have used a Cricut for years I will tell you that their creative space which Cricut Design Space is over here and then XTools calls it Creative Space um I believe and inside of that software it mimics Cricut quite a bit like you can definitely tell like not only are their mats similar colored or exactly the same colors as Cricut their software is very much mimicked over Cricut as well so you can rest assured that things are going to be in similarish places one thing that our team shared with me that I totally agree with is that not all the buttons are marked so you do have to familiarize yourself with the buttons and exactly how that works and things like that very very important so it is a new software but it mimics Cricut very very well um if you're using X tool and I think it's something that you can overcome and we're already finding how we're developing our internal process when it comes to utilizing this machine and I think it'll be something fun we can teach you as well to quickly pick up and master too again what I want you to consider when it comes to mastering something new is if you're willing to take on the um uncomfort and the discomfort of being able to learn something new think about what's on the other side of that think about how much more potential you have think about how many more new materials you'll have at your fingertips in your craft room i want to tell you that it's not if it would be worth it it's that it will totally be worth it for you to expand your horizon into a new machine i think it would be a lot of fun i'm having a lot of fun with it and I know you will too the last question I want to address is how would my Makers can learn membership integrate with a laser machine and my friends I am so excited to announce that all of our files all of our fonts all of our items that you've used for years at Makers Golearn easily integrates over into any other laser machines software as well so as easily as it's been to upload fonts to your uh computer start working with them that is now available in those softwares um our files and our downloads whether it's SVG or PNG you can download those and utilize in the software too so I promise you if you decide to go down a new machine route as well it is not as scary as it may sound and here's the thing we are at the pulse of you as the creative telling us what you need as we you know kind of navigate an expanding industry one thing I know about the industry is that when there's competition the number one person who wins is the consumer whether it's getting better priced items whether it's getting more innovation you will benefit when there's more companies competing with one another i love competition and I'm excited to see what all of these different machines can do and who knows it couldn't be a few months maybe less than a year that Cricut my friends brings a laser machine to the market as well but here's what I can promise you whatever you are guiding and wherever the industry is going is where we are headed to so if you need more advanced trainings on mastering the fundamentals and everything like that that is something we are definitely speculating and discussing internally here at Makers Go to Learn because we are an empowered company that believes that we have some of the best files fonts and library of art but we know it takes powerful tools to be able to unlock that true potential so if you have a membership at Makers Learn or if you're considering becoming a member I highly recommend getting plugged into our community if we didn't have any of our over 20,000 pieces of art the membership would still be worth it for the community the education the inspiration and the motivation that we provide so I want to tell you to rest assured no matter where you're at whether you're considering joining whether you're already a member we would love to have you or we'd love for you to use your images art in all of these new machines we'll be sharing how they all integrate together really well as you all share with us that you need it so I am super super excited these have been all of my honest thoughts for me as someone who has pretty much only used a Cricut machine for 15 years been considering expanding my horizon playing with new machines having so much fun with it and I wanted to make this video for maybe someone out there that's been considering it too if you have any questions my friends I'll be in the comment section down below leave me a question let me know what your honest thoughts are too i would love to have a conversation with you down below if you're new around here my name's Tanner Bell and I've been teaching people how to craft on YouTube for 15 years and I would love for you to hit that subscribe button and learn from me and our amazing team of creative professionals here at Makers Golearn where we believe that you are the reason we craft i hope you guys have a fantastic day be sure to check out this video if you're interested in learning more about the X tool Ultra i'll link some of those things down below check out our free training down below as well and we'll see you in the next video bye guys