Cricut announced Cricut Explore, a new product designed to be the world’s easiest design-and-cut system for making polished DIY projects.
Cricut Explore’s industry-first system includes an advanced cutting machine plus easy-to-use online design software, which helps DIY crafters go from inspiration to creation in just a few clicks. From home décor and fashion to crafting and parties and events, Cricut Explore enables DIYers to easily design and cut, write or score a wide range of projects.
The heart of this new DIY experience is Cricut Design Space, free online design software powered by a library of more than 50,000 images and hundreds of ready-to-make projects. Users can browse Cricut-designed projects, click “Make It Now” and follow the step-by-step instructions to create handmade projects in minutes.
Users can also create and visualize their own projects before actually cutting materials. Starting from blank canvas templates for popular items ranging from t-shirts to iPad cases to pillows, DIYers can incorporate images from Cricut’s vast library and personalize and make their own creations. To provide a new level of freedom, users can also import images and fonts from the Web or their computers to “cut what they want.”
The Cricut Explore electronic cutting machine introduces patent-pending Cut Smart technology, which delivers precision cutting of various materials via dual carriage heads: one clamp with a premium German carbide blade for cutting, and a secondary clamp for drawing or writing with a pen or marker. The secondary clamp can also be used for a scoring tip. Cut Smart makes it easy for users to create invitations and cards by cutting and writing in one simple step.
Cricut Explore also features the Smart Set dial, a material selection dial that works in conjunction with Cut Smart technology to eliminate the need to make pressure, depth and speed adjustments. With a turn of the dial, users can easily alternate between multiple cutting materials: paper, vinyl, iron on, light cardstock, cardstock, fabric and poster board. To meet users’ need for flexibility, the dial also offers a custom option that can be preset to a desired material of choice, such as chipboard, craft foil, magnetic materials or Duck Tape Sheets.
“A new generation of DIY crafters want the satisfaction of handmade along with the convenience and immediate gratification of digital. They want to make that beautiful project they find on Pinterest, without needing a PhD in crafting,” said Ashish Arora, president and CEO of Cricut. “With Cricut Explore, users can go from inspiration to creation in just a few clicks, easily creating handmade projects that are both polished and personal.”
Users can buy individual images from Cricut Design Space starting at 99 cents per image or subscribe to the Cricut-branded portion of the library (25,000+ images) on a monthly or yearly basis. Users can also buy digital cartridges or use their existing cartridges to unlock the same artwork through Cricut Design Space.
Out of the box, the initial offering of the Cricut Explore comes with a simple guide and a selection of materials – including cardstock, iron-on, vinyl and two Duck Tape Sheets – to immediately start on one of 50 free projects.
