Brother CM350R Sewing Machines

First off this is a crazy that you have to pay an additional $50 for this activation card. Which i was thankful for reading in time to order it with my unit otherwise i would have been so mad if I couldnt have used the machine with my computer when I got it. Second, believe me i may not be 15 but im in my 30's and still pretty tech savvy enough and this software is soooo boot leg... It is horrible. The one purpose I bought the machine for and the $50 activation card for was for words. The machine comes pre loaded with 7 fonts thats it!!! I did know that when I purchased however... You have no way to upload fonts. If you print them on a computer/printer and then scan them in, FORGET IT!! The scan comes out choppy even with all the image adjustments in the settings. This thing has been a huge disappointment and a time waster. Its going back and im thinking of getting a cricut. Im sure its good for everything else but wording. All the youtube tutorials and google searches have lead me back to square one. 2 days have been wasted. It is such an ordeal to use multiple other programs just to try to get some fonts to work. I mean its 2016 Brother, how is your software so boot leg and how do you not have fonts? Honestly I feel like this is an over priced childs toy to keep them busy and out of moms hair.... lol Its not for me. Sorry to sound a little disgruntle but I just dont get how its lacking so much. The youtube videos for the unit suck you into buying it and then you get it and its like uhhh no!!! Oh and it also came missing the pen and spatula holder in back, so my screen wouldn't stay up...lol I went through the box 3 times and no it was definitely not in the box which was also annoying at this price point. I will say its a pretty unit, I like the aesthetics more than cricut and the display screen but this unit is really lacking.

The Brother ScanNCut2 is a very innovative and genius craft making machine. It claims to scan in designs and cut them out so you saving money on stencils, and time on cutting. However the biggest flaw is that the scanner is horrible. I tried to scan in some cute tag designs that came from a stationary paper set. I was able to see the image on the screen but the machine was not able to detect which lines to cut. I tried many failed attempts and figured out that it only reads dark outlines. The scanner is very picky, it needs to be solid and preferably black ink. Besides this flaw there are ways to get around it, you can hook up the machine wirelessly to your computer where you have to purchase access to the ScanNCutCanvas. On the canvas web software, it gives you access to hundreds of patterns to cut from. Some versions of the machines already come with the access card, but this one does not. The main things that come in the box are a standard blade, a marker, a standard sticky mat, a rhinestone kit, and a stylus. This is a stand alone machine which means you do not need to connect to your computer to have this work. But I find that you might need to print out patterns from the computer to scan it in. Since you need to enhance the patterns to a darker color anyways, it is necessary for you to work side by side with a computer. The first time I used this machine, I thought it was like a printer where it feeds and split out the mat from the same side but it requires at least a 3 feet wide space when it is in use. Overall I think it is still an innovative machine but it just needs some improvement.

Now all I want to do is play with the ScanNcut2 to see what else I can come up with. It's truly fun, and easy to use. Don't let the number of pieces and booklets intimidate you. I was a bit hesitant to start playing thinking I couldn't get it,( I have so wanted one for a long time) but the best way is to take it out of the box, plug it in, follow along and have fun. It is very easy and works fantastically. My first little circles were done first, I saved them and the piece of cardstock, It was easy to put the cardstock down again today and cut some needed pieces for a few cards. Im still amazed at how easy it is, and how cleanly and perfect it cuts, patience with getting the pieces off the mat helps tremendously too. If you gently go across the cut pieces it will all lift off with very little if any residue. I always put the protective sheet over the mat to protect the adhesive surface. There is very little wasted materials as you can pick where it cuts and what it cuts. This is so great. There is the built in scanner, an LCD touch screen which works with the stylus or your finger. Built in files, and you can save your changes to the pattern/file you have used to a flash drive, your computer, or to the cloud. Great for fuzzy cutting, for both paper crafters and quilters. Scan your own design for cutting too. This hobby machine is fabulous. I am so glad I have this. I love making cards and I quilt amoung several other things and this will be utilized a lot. I have lots of kids who are going to love the rhinestone gifts too. It really does come with everything you need to get started right away; including a full set of accessories and supplies: standard cut blade and holder, 12" x 12" standard mat, 2 color pens (black and red), pen holder, stylus, spatula, accessory pouch, and mine also came with the rhinestone kit. It's fun and so pretty too, I love them on the black velvet cardstock they included. This cutting machine does not require cartridges, dies or monthly subscriptions. You can access the free cloud storage at their site, and there are several projects to choose from there. There are tutorials and a wonderful customer service available. I haven't had to use them, but it's nice to know they are there, and I've read comments from others on the ScanNcutcanvas.Brother.com/ site who have obtained more than perfect assistance. There is so much you can do with it. I hope this helps

I haven't had a lot of time to check this machine out yet but what I have I am really loving it. I already have three other machines a Cricut Expression 2, a Cricut Explore, and a Cameo Silhouette, I love them all but have to say so far I like the cut of the Brother Scan N Cut the most. So far I have only had the chance to use it as a stand alone machine and haven't had the chance to hook it up to my computer or to the internet to try out the scan n cut canvas software. I have gotten it set up with my wifi which was a snap and simple to do. I have so far tried cardstock cuts and the pen feature. It cuts wonderful once you have the right settings. I have watched a couple of tutorials so far and I think it will be easier for me to watch the tutorials than use the users guide. I think it could be improved on quite a bit. I love the fact that you can scan in the paper, fabric etc. that you are using and have it as the background so you can see precise placement of what it is you want to draw or cut. This will save on supplies so much and let you use up all of those smaller scraps that you just don't want to waste. There is a wide variety of things you can cut with it. I do wish that all of the cut n scan 2 machines had the same features, you have to watch what model you are getting to make sure you are getting the one that will do all that you want it to so make sure you are reading all of the specifics on each one if you are shopping for something in particular. I can't wait to delve further into this machine and do the rhinestone creations and so much more!

The Brother ScanNCut2 Home and Hobby Cutting Machine with Rhinestone Trial Kit is probably the worst of the crafting machines. In the description of the product it states “does not require cartridges, dies (note this should be dyes, this is directly from the description) or monthly subscriptions. The Brother ScanNCut2 is a stand-alone machine with option of now connecting wirelessly or directly to a PC!”. I thought this was great. I didn't have to plug the machine into the computer. I thought I could design and configure what I wanted on the computer and then send it to the machine. The catch? You have to have a scanncut2 online card. This model does not come with it, you have to purchase it separately. So for grins and giggles I decided to see how much the card was. I went to the home page www.brother.com and looked under accessories for the scanncut2 model CM350R. Their own website could not find the model. After spending several hours and several days trying to work with this machine, the only thing I was able to do was a basic cut from the touch screen. The touch screen is definitely a nice option but it is hard to tell what you are designing. You can design things on the computer , download it onto an sd card, insert the sd card into the machine and the design will come out for you to print. One of the redeeming benefits of this machine is the scan. If you have a design you want, you can scan it to the machine and cut out the area that you specify. The other benefit is that this machine, unlike others, cuts fabric. So if you are a quilter, this is the machine for you. It even has designs ready for quilting. Overall, this thing gave me a headache trying to figure it out. I don't want to spend months trying to master something when I need to get out a quick project or design. I have not tried the pre-designs from the website. I figured it was useless since I really had no way to send it to the machine. If you have time and patience to work with this machine, then it is a good machine. If you are like me and decide at the last minute that you need to craft something, this is not the machine you want. Pros -Cuts fabric -Works wireless (with purchase) -Touchscreen Cons -You have to buy accessories to work wirelessly -Takes time to become familiar with -Confusing -Website doesn't help *I am not including any pictures because a) it looks exactly like the picture and b) I wasn't able to do anything worthy of taking a picture of