Silhouette CAMEO 3 vs Silhouette Curio vs Cricut Air 2 vs Silhouette Portrait

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Compare what is it? Silhouette CAMEO 3 vs Silhouette Curio vs Cricut Air 2 vs Silhouette Portrait

Silhouette CAMEO 3
It is a DIY machine from the house of Silhouette. Its features include a small blade it uses to cut over 100 materials such as paper, cardstock, vinyl and fabric up to 12 inches wide. Silhouette CAMEO 3 also registers and cuts printed materials and is PixScan compatible.

Silhouette Curio
A new craft machines for DIY projects, the Silhouette Curio is a DIY machine for making craft objects can cut and draw images. It can also emboss, score, sketch, stipple and etch. It also dual carriages mix and match functions.

Cricut Air 2
It is a DIY speed device that cuts and writes very fast with which you can make projects with over 100 different materials. It is useful for making vinyl stickers, custom-made home decor, greeting cards, self-designed apparel, etc.

Silhouette Portrait
It is an electronic personal use cutting machine that works like a home printer when plugged into a PC or Mac with a USB cable.


Compare what does it do? Silhouette CAMEO 3 vs Silhouette Curio vs Cricut Air 2 vs Silhouette Portrait

Silhouette CAMEO 3
It cuts thin materials of many types for craft activities for DIY projects. It makes optimal use of its features and options like Bluetooth functionality, a powerful software for creating custom designs and others. A special feature of this machine is that it can work without the Internet, which gives you more leverage for aesthetic pursuits.

Silhouette Curio
This machine is used to carry out functions like cutting, drawing, embossing, sketching, scoring, stippling and carving. It can also do the following:
-Create artistic engraved metal (with stippling/ etching tools sold separately)
-Embellish foils and metals with unique stipple patterns (with stippling/etching tool sold separately)
– Sketch elaborate, colourful designs
– Create new stippled ink projects (with sketch pens and felt tip pens sold separately)
– Cut exclusive designs out of paper, card stock, stencil material, vinyl, fabric, etc.
– Cut or sketch fonts present in your computer
– Put embossing or debossing textures on soft papers, vellum and other fine texture materials
– Use materials as project surfaces such as woods, canvas and metals
– Register and cut printed materials (through Print and Cut feature)
and also combine functions mentioned above.
Its Silhouette Studio software and Silhouette Design Store offer over 70,000 ready-made designs that can be purchased to have access to greater number of designs which can be resized and customized. They also let you create designs of your own. In addition to that, stippling, etching, debossing, embossing and dual carriage features in Silhouette Studio design software are also available for you.

Cricut Air 2
This cutting machine functions like your personal DIY cutting machine that cuts and writes up to two times faster than previous models in this category. It can also be used to make projects with over 100 different materials.

Silhouette Portrait
It connects to your computer seamlessly and allows you to cut all fonts, download designs from the Silhouette Online Store or create new shapes with the software that comes with. It also offers electronic cutting tool for personal use. It uses a small blade to cut paper, cardstock, vinyl, fabric and more, up to 8 inches wide and 10 feet long instead of printing. The machine can also register and cut printed materials. The included design software can use and cut any font on your computer, download shapes from the Silhouette Online Store and let you draw your own designs.

Compare Features: Silhouette CAMEO 3 vs Silhouette Curio vs Cricut Air 2 vs Silhouette Portrait

Silhouette CAMEO 3

• Integrated AutoBlade that works with Deep-Cut Blade without having to be adjusted
• Handy storage compartment provided for storing all extra blades and tools
Comes with dual carriage for added convenience
• Tools like AutoBlade and sketch pen designed to be inserted into matching tool holders in Cut Settings in Silhouette Studio for dual function facility in one cut job
• 85,000 plus downloadable designs (that become users’ possession permanently upon purchase) in Silhouette Design Store
• Cuts thicker materials with increased clearance level (2 mm) and the Deep-cut Blade
• Facility to build a personal digital design library
• Requires no cartridges or access to shapes that raise costs
• Sophisticated features and advanced design of software for any cutting system
• Ample add-ons and easy to use features available for Silhouette users for a variety of uses
• PixScan technology for impeccable finishing and positioning while cutting around printed designs with a scanner, camera, or smart device
• Ability to recognize specially-designated registration marks on PixScan cutting mat for added convenience
• Able to save any scanned or clicked image to a digital media library and convert handmade sketches into custom cut files
• Bluetooth-enabled
• Slick look with full-color LCD touch screen under lid
• Comes with mini tutorials
• Repeated cut jobs made easy with barcode scanning facility
• Push-release blade holders
• Numerous media sizes designed to be accommodated in adjustable slide bars (including 12” wide items)
• Crosscutter situated at the back cuts materials fed directly from a roll
• Roll-feeder compatibility, integrated optical scanner for Print & Cut applications, USB port and power-saving sleep mode provided
• Matless cutting, and fiberglass-reinforced synchronization belt supplied for precision
• Comes with supplementary storage

Silhouette Studio software – Silhouette Studio software, exceptionally effective and powerful design software that carries out any cutting system on the market, is provided with Silhouette CAMEO 3. It’s a state-of-the-art software that boasts of features normally found in top-notch illustrating software while being user-friendly, easy to use and available for free to users of Silhouette. Users get access to limitless ways and options to customize projects via this software. It also offers an efficiently devised plugin that makes it possible for you to design and cut directly from the programs available in Silhouette Connect.

PixScan Technology – A new feature in the Silhouette cutting system that lets you cut accurately around printed designs and also to position cut lines in clear-cut specified locations on craft materials using a scanner or camera, the PixScan Technology aims to give innumerable options to design projects. It is also compatible with devices like smartphones and tablets. It has a unique PixScan algorithm through which the Silhouette CAMEO can recognize specially placed registration marks on the PixScan cutting mat, which you can use while making craft articles. PixScan is also suitable for saving scanned or photographed images in a personal digital library or for turning a handmade sketch into a new custom cut file.



Silhouette Curio
• Ideal for making tasteful sketches
• Conventional dual carriage for making exquisite multicolor sketch art
• Stippling feature for creating attractive dot patterns for added effects
• Makes stippled ink projects with Silhouette felt tip pens and also with stipple foils and metals
• Embossing tools for creating elegant faux-letterpress effect for cards, invitation letters, business cards etc.
• Deep cut blade to make deepest possible cuts
• Sintered tungsten alloy incorporated in it made of fine powder for additional sturdiness
• Efficient and easy to use dual carriage for performing functions like cutting and drawing smoothly and expediently
• Three new types of embossing methods, viz. Path Emboss, Score & Emboss and Print & Emboss introduced recently
• Cuts thicker material effortlessly
• Can cut up to 2mm thick materials fluently when used with Silhouette’s new deep-cut blade
• 5mm clearance provided for feeding thicker materials through the machine
• Powered by Silhouette Studio software and the Silhouette Design Store
• The only machine that is able to unlock embossing, stippling, and etching,
• Dual carriage options set to be available in Silhouette Studio

Cricut Air 2
• Two times faster- Fast Mode to quicken pace of work further
• More than 3,000 ready-to-make projects
• Ideal for making quick cuts from wide-ranging image library
• Programmed to facilitate creating designs on computer, tablets as well as smartphones
• Embedded Bluetooth incorporated for wireless cutting function
• Able to cut more than 100 materials such as vellum and leather
• Comes with set dial feature for convenient material settings
• Thousands of designs and ideas
• Allows uploading and using own image files or fonts for free
• Cuts printable images precisely
• Double tool holder provided to simplify cutting and writing/ or cutting and scoring in one step
• Facilitates uploading own images for free (.svg, .jpg, .png, .bmp, .gif, .dxf)
• Integrated storage compartments
• Cut Smart technology for accuracy in cutting and simple, pre-adjusted material selection
• Compatible with Cricut cartridges

Print and Cut – It is a special feature of the Silhouette Silhouette Portrait made to enable you to add new dimensions to your creative work. You can send images to your printer to get them printed in proper color. Also, registration marks are printed around the image to achieve finesse and clarity. When you load the paper into the machine, the Silhouette Portrait reads the registration marks in order to cut around the image.

PixScan Technology – This particular feature of the Silhouette Portrait machine is identical to the Print and Cut in all respects except for the point that here, images are kept on a special mat. With images on the mat, you can take a picture (with a camera or a smartphone) and upload it to the Design software so you can cut the image.

Drawing – Another useful feature of the Silhouette Portrait machine, Drawing has been introduced as the perfect tool to sketch designs or and make exquisite cards for special occasions to invite people. The Silhouette Silhouette Portrait offers you the alternative to sketch by either buying the Silhouette Sketch Pen Starter Kit or the Silhouette Pen Holder.

The Silhouette Sketch Pen Starter Kit offers 24 colored pens, which can be used simply by swapping out the blade and inserting it the pen.

As for The Silhouette Pen Holder, you can use your own standardized pens with it, for which you need to swap out the blade, insert the pen holder, and then insert a pen in it. What works in its favour is the fact that it is compact, so it uses less space and can also be move around easily.

Compare what does it cut? Silhouette CAMEO 3 vs Silhouette Curio vs Cricut Air 2 vs Silhouette Portrait

Silhouette CAMEO 3
It can cut more than 100 materials up to 12 inches wide. Though it is unable to cut balsawood or thin sheet metal, its makers claim it does a fine job of assisting you with creating scrapbooks, make cards and vinyl projects.
Below are some materials that this device can cut:
• Paper/Cardstock up to 350 gsm thick
•Craft foam
• Vinyl
• Iron-on transfer
• Rhinestone template material
• Tissue paper
• Lightweight fabric
• Cereal box chipboard
(A ‘double cut’ feature is provided , which is useful for thicker materials.)

Silhouette Curio
It cuts materials that require deep cut blade and can also cut thicker materials. It is able to cut up to 2mm thick materials when used with Silhouette’s new deep-cut blade. The machine also offers a 5mm clearance with which you can process thicker materials by inserting it into the machine.

Cricut Air 2
It can effortlessly cut over 100 materials. Cricut offers a wide range of materials specifically designed and tested for use with the Cricut machine. That includes basic and specialty Vinyl colors, faux leather, adhesive foils, iron-on vinyls, cardstock, poster board specialty paper, etc. Cricut Air 2 can be used to craft cards, home décor articles, customised t-shirts and more.

Compare Cut sizes: Silhouette CAMEO 3 vs Silhouette Curio vs Cricut Air 2 vs Silhouette Portrait

Silhouette CAMEO 3
12 inches wide and 10 feet long

Silhouette Curio
8.5 inch by 12 inch cutting surface

Cricut Air 2
12 inches wide by 24 inches long (11.5 by 23.5 inches)

Silhouette Portrait
•8″ x 12″ (20.3 x 30.5 cm) with a cutting mat
•8″ x 10′ (20.3 cm x 3 m) with a lined media

Compare system requirements: Silhouette CAMEO 3 vs Silhouette Curio vs Cricut Air 2 vs Silhouette Portrait

Silhouette CAMEO 3
Operating System: PC (Windows Vista, Windows 7, Windows 8, Windows 10) / Mac (OS X 10.6.8 and higher)
•Internet connection
•RAM: 1 GB (preferably 2 GB)

Silhouette Curio
• Internet connection
• Operating System: PC (Windows Vista, Windows 7, Windows 8, Windows 10) or Mac (OS X 10.6.8 and higher)
• Processor: 2 GHz (or faster) processor speed
• Memory: 186 MB of memory for program (does not include additional memory recommended for additional download content)
• USB Port: USB 1.1 Port (or higher)
• RAM: 1 GB (2 GB recommended)

Cricut Air 2
• Internet: Broadband connection
• Mac OS*
• Display: 1024 x 768 resolution
• Operating System (Windows): 7 or later
• Operating System (Mac): v10.9 or a later version
• Processor: 2.33 GHz (Windows) or 1.83 GHz (Mac)
• Port: USB
• RAM: 4GB
• Free Disk Space: 50MB
• Browser: Current Internet Explorer version, Mozilla Firefox, Google Chrome or Safari
• Software: Current version of Adobe Flash
• Mobile Devices: iPad 2 or later, iPad mini or later, iPhone 4 or later and iPod Touch 5th generation or later and iOS 7.1.2. or newer

Silhouette Portrait
• Operating System: PC (Windows Vista, Windows 7, Windows 8, Windows 10) / Mac (OS X 10.6.8 and higher)
• Internet connection
• Processor: 2 GHz (or faster) processor speed
• RAM: 1 GB of RAM (2 GB recommended)

Compare Scanning Area: Silhouette CAMEO 3 vs Silhouette Curio vs Cricut Air 2 vs Silhouette Portrait

Silhouette CAMEO 3
This device recognizes specially-placed registration marks with the PixScan algorithm on the cutting mat.

Silhouette Curio
It comes with an optic scanner that can read and utilize registration marks for Print & Cut jobs.

Cricut Air 2
Not mentioned

Silhouette Portrait
It involves placing images on its special mat after which a user can take a picture.

Compare Designs: Silhouette CAMEO 3 vs Silhouette Curio vs Cricut Air 2 vs Silhouette Portrait

Silhouette CAMEO 3
The Studio software of Silhouette CAMEO 3 facilitates buying, importing and creating of new designs for users. It is especially useful for those who have graphic experience and needs. It provides sufficient support especially for those who are proficient with computers. there are lots of materials, online groups, and free videos you can find to help you learn.

The Silhouette Design Store is a marketplace of ready-made shapes with over 85,000 downloadable designs created especially for it. On making a purchase, the designs become the property to the user and the personal library can be used whenever she/ he wants. The Silhouette Design Store ensures that the user only pays for the designs they want and eliminates the need for expensive cartridges or shapes that will never be used.

Silhouette Curio
It is processed powerful Silhouette Studio software and Silhouette Design Store, where one can find over 70,000 ready-made designs available to choose from to be used in several ways. The Curio is known to be the the only machine that can unlock the painting, etching, embossing, debossing and dual carriage features in the Silhouette Studio design software.

Cricut Air 2
It allows you to upload and cut out your own designs without having to pay anything for it. You can also upload files and get fashion articles, cards, gifts, home décor items, and other objects adorned with it. You can make a design on your computer, iPad, or iPhone with Design Space–free (which is cloud-based, easy-to-use software with which you can edit, customize, and preview projects). Ready-to-make projects and thousands of Cricut images are also accessible via Cricut Air 2 and also the option to upload self-created designs. For iOS Design Space, the app can be downloaded and new offline feature for designing that can be used without an Internet connection can also be tried.

Silhouette Portrait
Silhouette Studio Designer (basic edition, available for free) which is provided with the machine is for creating designs with it. Though Silhouette Portrait isn’t meant for heavy use, it does an appreciable job of cutting materials it is recommended for. The software that comes with the machine makes things really easy, practical and economical. With Studio Design Software, users can easily create their own designs as well as purchase or import them as per their requirement. YouTube videos and online tutorial videos play a key role in teaching users the benefits of using this machine. You just need to upgrade the machine if you want to use its advanced features.

Compare Quilt Patterns: Silhouette CAMEO 3 vs Silhouette Curio vs Cricut Air 2 vs Silhouette Portrait

Silhouette CAMEO 3
With the PixScan algorithm, Cameo recognizes specially-placed registration marks on the cutting mat

Silhouette Curio
Not mentioned

Cricut Air 2
920 printable patterns

Silhouette Portrait
PixScan™ cutting mat, 8.9″ x 13.5″ cutting mat

Compare LCD Display: Silhouette CAMEO 3 vs Silhouette Curio vs Cricut Air 2 vs Silhouette Portrait

Silhouette CAMEO 3
Full-LCD touch screen

Silhouette Curio
Not mentioned

Cricut Air 2
Not mentioned

Silhouette Portrait
LCD screen stripped off

Compare Max Material width it can handle: Silhouette CAMEO 3 vs Silhouette Curio vs Cricut Air 2 vs Silhouette Portrait

Silhouette CAMEO 3
2mm cutting clearance to cut more materials and 12 inch cutting and drawing width

Silhouette Curio
2mm thick materials

Cricut Air 2
Handle 2-ply type based materials

Silhouette Portrait
Up to 31.5 mils (0.8 mm) 8 width

Compare Price

Silhouette CAMEO 3
$249.99

Silhouette Curio
$249.99

Cricut Air 2
$249.00

Silhouette Portrait
$122.39




Compare Reviews: Silhouette CAMEO 3 vs Silhouette Curio vs Cricut Air 2 vs Silhouette Portrait

Silhouette CAMEO 3 REVIEW

Kristina Hampton has complained in her Silhouette CAMEO 3 review that the machine broke in just two weeks. She says that the problems began with the machine first registering just halfway giving an error later and gradually shutting off, pausing or cutting in between randomly. She also started noticing the screen flashing some colors randomly and messing up the entire project.

Similarly, Marco Swanson is upset with the Bluetooth process of Silhouette CAMEO 3. He says that the cutting adjustment of this cameo machine is improper, its bar does not hold down the mat and paper tight while doing its job, which spoils the entire art item.

Penny Guerrero, another dissatisfied customer who bought Silhouette CAMEO 3 complains in her review that the software program is not good, the device gets stuck in between and its ‘auto blade’ is also not useful. She also finds it far too noisy and disturbing.

Gavin Summers also says in his Silhouette CAMEO 3 review that its software is incapable of judging the correct cutting settings. According to him, the device cuts wherever it wants and that too is a tedious process. Its blade does not get the right depth and so cannot cut consistently. He also found downloading the Cameo software a stressful task. Further, he’s said that the Silhouette CAMEO 3 is not compatible with all the fonts, due to which he had to buy some online and spend extra. In his opinion, the Silhouette CAMEO 3 is not a heavy-duty cutting machine and needs a major overhaul.

Steve Paul found the LCD screen of Silhouette CAMEO 3 non-functional. He says when he first tried using it, the software crashed. He tried to sort the problem out but couldn’t figure out the way as there were no proper instructions and support on the Silhouette help page. In frustration he went to Google and YouTube to search for solution, which helped.

Lana Neal has said in her Silhouette CAMEO 3 review that she faced various set up problems while using it. The cutting process, she feels, is not sharp and Bluetooth does not function exist. The connection also drops and pauses in the middle of the cutting job, which wastes time and increases project costs.

Silhouette Curio REVIEW

Lewis Long, a customer of Silhouette Curio has written in his review that it is a rather expensive machine. Its mat is fragile and can get damaged easily. He’s wondering what to do about it as it’s simply not of any use. Beth Griffin says the software of Silhouette Curio failed in some days and tried reinstalling the software, which did not work. She’s also mentioned that its cutting tool performs badly too and damages every material fed into it.

Sandy Greer says that operating Silhouette Curio is difficult and the software has more bugs and advertisements. The support instructions are not helpful and completing any project becomes a task.

Ann Brock, another user of Silhouette Curio has stated in its review that it has a limited size for cutting and printing. Its embossing does not work properly and it is also unable to cut thick chip board. According to her, the printing style of this machine is also poor and small letters can be read only by those with good vision.

Russell Rhodes has written in that he’s totally is confused with how Silhouette Curio works. He says that its website and blog don’t help much nor watching its videos for long as only basic questions are answered. He is also not happy with the quality and the cutting style and process of the device.

Thomas Rowe calls the Silhouette Curio machine in his review an expensive and time consuming cutting tool. He says it is not reliable, its blade movements are confusing and do not cut up to the mark. The guidelines are also confusing and project completion takes a lot of time.
Faith Bennett found the performance of Silhouette Curio inconsistent too. Her machine shuts down suddenly for no reason for a long time and starts automatically. She says even the sharpness of the blades went blunt after few days of use.

Cricut Air 2 REVIEW



Julian Jimenez, a customer who’s been using Cricut Air 2 says about it in her review that she didn’t find installable software with the machine, and that a third party software was not compatible with it. She realised that to start the machine, she had no option but to use its online version, which she found had limitations too. Jennie Ruiz could not operate Cricut Air 2 in wireless mode. Even tech support could not get it working. It worked on her iPad but she is used to working on her computer.

Martin Paul, another disappointed customer of Cricut Air 2 warns in his review about the false advertising of this machine. He also says that its software is distorted and that the company’s tech support also could not help him. He tried online instructions and used multiple OS but none of the software could help the machine work.

Cheryl Copeland has complained in her Cricut Air 2 review that one has to be online always to use this machine. She didn’t like the design space and also experienced problems with its plugins. She’s also mentioned that for single project she had to browse through different web pages. However, images generated were of low resolution and their printout was also not satisfactory either.

Mark Wheeler says in his Cricut Air 2 review that it takes a very long time to finish a simple job with this machine. He says that its basic tool kit on how to get started was missing. He also feels the machine is expensive and not very feasible as he had to spend one full day learning on how to use it. He also found it difficult to create custom designs with it, something which he has to do often. Susie Kelley says that Cricut Air 2 cannot be used without internet connection. Its software is online but its print/ cut process size is limited to 6” X 8” dimensions only. She says that she only like the vinyl cutting process of the machine, but since other things don’t work, she wouldn’t recommend it to anyone.

Silhouette Portrait REVIEW

Gina Gordon, a disappointed customer of Silhouette Portrait has written in his review of it that it simply could not cut and align properly due to which she lost a lot of materials. She could not configure the machine also as its instruction manual is less informative and icons on computer far too tiny. She says that though it seems it is simple and easy to use, fact is, it’s difficult to operate it even with the available instructions.

Another user, Roland Flores, found the mat of Silhouette Portrait too sticky. He also could not understand its software. The cutting process of the device also stopped in the midst, which created confusion. The machine could not calculate the size appropriately to give better results, due to which his project got messed up as it didn’t cut where it should have.

Ross Tucker has also stated his is Silhouette Portrait review that he did not like the cutting technique of Silhouette Portrait. The designs he wanted to cut were never close to the outline, which spoilt the complete project. Even after following the installation procedure properly the machine never worked properly. He’s also said that its blades are not sharp enough and so the machine cannot cut materials well.

Sandra Benson, who purchased Silhouette Portrait a few week back, says in her review of the same that it got jammed after just a few uses. Its cutting mat was covered with vinyl backing and was actually unusable. She also says that the machine only cuts very thin materials and not as many materials as its makers claim it does.

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