• About
    • Contact Me
  • Fonts
  • Sketch/Foil
  • Silhouette
    • Where to find free .studio files
    • File Formats Chart
    • Distress Kit
    • How to Back Up your Library
    • “Chevronizer”
  • Cricut
    • Command cheat sheet
    • Cricut Engraving Resources
    • Online SVG tools for Cricut users
    • Images to Design Space
    • Curve calculator
    • Cricut Print and Cut Methods
  • Resources
    • Vinyl Cost Calc
  • Curio E-Book
  • Maker E-Book
    • Bloglovin
    • Facebook
    • Pinterest
    • Twitter
    • YouTube

Clever Someday

create smart

What we know about the Curio so far

August 15, 2015 by Kay

Here is the official info from Silhouette

2015 Product Rollout Info

Curio FAQ

As always, the most important information is between the lines. To sum up, the Curio lets you load and cut/draw, etc. (but not necessarily cut through) thicker materials, while the Cameo lets you load and cut/draw, etc. much larger materials. The Curio is configured for ease of embossing, etching and stippling (but with the same downforce as Cameo is still underpowered for these tasks), while the Cameo is configured for ease of paper and vinyl cutting. The thing you really want to look at if you are considering a Curio is samples by everyday crafters and compare those to what your Cameo can already do, or what other Cameo owners are doing.
There are some great Curio samples at this German blog and some great Cameo samples at Amy Chomas’s blog to get you started. My initial opinion is that the Curio does a tad better embossing on vellum and card stock, but about the same on metal foil. This makes sense because with the same pressure you will still get a slightly better result with the thicker cushioning the Curio’s extra clearance allows its embossing mat to have. Hopefully we will get some side by side comparison samples soon.

Here’s my comparison of the features, taking into account 3rd party accessories people have already been using to emboss, etc with the Cameo.

Screen Shot 2015-11-24 at 12.00.18 PM

Download the PDF chart here

I will also add that if your main interest is embossing or engraving, you will likely be better served by a higher pressure machine like the Pazzles, Zing etc. if you can afford it and are not already heavily equipped with Silhouette library images. So be sure to check out samples from those machines, too, if this is your main interest.

(Visited 1,396 times, 1 visits today)
A Cricut policy you need to understand
Tumbler template freebie

Comments

  1. LuvtoKraft says

    August 15, 2015 at 12:59 pm

    Thanks, Kay, for the valuable info. Appreciate your always honest comparisons. I’m sticking with my Cameo for now. The Curio just doesn’t do much for me.
    ~Kris~

  2. Linda Adkins says

    August 15, 2015 at 1:27 pm

    Does the curio allow for cutting more that 2 times?

    • Kay says

      August 15, 2015 at 1:46 pm

      It uses the same software as the Cameo, so no, not directly. You can stack duplicate shapes to force the machine to double cut more than once or in DE, stack duplicate layers.

  3. Lyn Waring says

    August 15, 2015 at 1:53 pm

    Thank you so much. Very useful information. Very much appreciated.

    Lyn Waring Cottesloe. Western Australia

    Date: Sat, 15 Aug 2015 16:40:09 +0000 To: lynwaring@hotmail.com

  4. Susan Engelmann says

    August 15, 2015 at 2:05 pm

    Thank you for the helpful comparative. Your efforts as always go a long way in helping the less experienced of us.

  5. Lisa chin says

    August 15, 2015 at 2:23 pm

    So you are saying stencil cutting of thicker stencil materials will still not be possible. *sigh*

    • Lisa chin says

      August 15, 2015 at 2:24 pm

      Thank you so much for the update!!!

  6. Mandy Moore says

    August 15, 2015 at 2:25 pm

    Thanks, Kay for the great information. Why didn’t they increase the cutting pressure??? To have a machine that would cut/draw, emboss, stipple, etc. with more force would have knocked it out of the park for them. What a wasted opportunity!

    • Berta says

      August 17, 2015 at 5:35 pm

      That was asked and they are relying on the thick cutting mats to give the machine the ability to emboss better than the cameo can. Still haven’t gotten an answer if you can use non Silhouette brand embossing paper.

      • Kay says

        August 18, 2015 at 8:54 am

        Yes. As I mentioned, 3rd party embossing mats are available for the Cameo, but they can not be as thick because of the roller clearance. The samples at the link I posted are not on Silhouette paper so yes, you can use other paper. The results are going to be better with the Silhouette paper, we hope.

  7. Kim Rippere says

    August 15, 2015 at 5:28 pm

    Thanks for the information. Do you know if you can have a Cameo and a Curio installed at the same time?

    • Kay says

      August 15, 2015 at 5:43 pm

      Yes you can.

  8. Teresa Luck says

    August 15, 2015 at 7:47 pm

    Thanks, Kay for the great information

  9. Katy says

    August 15, 2015 at 8:12 pm

    Thanks for the information. I’m a bit disappointed with the downforce. The extra clearance is nice, but not if you don’t have the force to cut the thicker materials. Probably not on my Christmas list.

  10. Auntie Watson says

    August 15, 2015 at 11:55 pm

    As always, Kay, tanks for your research and information.

  11. westernwilson says

    September 11, 2015 at 11:52 am

    Hello, I am a small honey producer and found these labels on Etsy this season:
    https://www.etsy.com/listing/127291279/wedding-favor-honey-tags-personalized?ref=shop_home_active_21

    They are nice, but were too expensive for me to use going forward, particularly if I go to double sided printing, which we need.

    I am not sure how she produces these labels, but assume she prints on a printer and then cuts with a Cameo or Cricut?

    I want to get set up to do my own custom labels, which change from year to year and product to product. Some label runs will be small, some in the 500+ range (so hand stamping cut blanks is NOT an option!). And I want them to look somewhat polished and professional.

    Can you advise on what technology can help me produce hang tags like these?

    Kindest Regards,
    Janet L. Wilson

    • Kay says

      September 11, 2015 at 2:15 pm

      The Silhouette Portrait (if you will be using letter sized paper) or Cameo (if you want to use larger paper) is well suited for producing labels like this in these quantities using single or double sided print and cut. Print then cut on the Cricut is very limited in terms of size and quality and it is very difficult to do double sided.

  12. Sandra (Alicante) says

    September 29, 2015 at 12:03 pm

    I am saddened that they did not come out with a heavier force machine. It was the main reason for my parting with my Cameo and going for a Silver Bullet – which I am extremely happy with. Neither does it make sense to decrease the size of the work area. It would appear that the Curio is neither one thing or another, a master of none so to speak.

Trackbacks

  1. 5 Things to do while you wait for your Silhouette Cameo | Clever Someday says:
    December 15, 2015 at 3:52 pm

    […] Haven’t decided which machine is right for you yet? Check out my Cricut Explore vs. Silhouette Cameo analysis here. My Cameo vs Curio comparison is here. […]

Subscribe by Email

Enter your email address to subscribe to Clever Someday and receive notifications of new posts by email.

Join 8,569 other subscribers

Just so you know…

I may be an affiliate for some of the products I recommend. This means that if you purchase one of those items through my link I will earn a commission, even though the cost to you will not be higher. Using these links is an easy way you can help me defray the costs of keeping the blog running. I hope I've proven to you over the past 9 years that I am going to tell you the truth, regardless of any financial interest I may have.

I recommend …

  • LDThin150.jpg
  • dealjumbo150.jpg
  • Samantha150.jpg
  • CQbundle150.jpg
  • SCAL4150.jpg
  • stswirly.jpg
  • BPBigbundle.jpg
  • beautifulbundle.jpg
  • bundle-of-glory-sq.jpg
  • Seniors-bundle.jpg

Most Popular Posts

  • Flat embossing with a Cricut Explore or Maker
  • Tumbler template freebie
  • Cricut Engraving Resource Page
  • Yeti tumbler template freebie
  • Fonts

Shop Amazon

Archives

Categories

75 Follow
Our Disclaimer

© 2023 · contents by Kay Hall. Pretty Creative WordPress Theme by Pretty Darn Cute Design