About The Craft ROBO

By Jill Costello, 6th August 2006. Updated 22 November 2008. Copyright The Scrap Witch. No part of this article may be reproduced or otherwise used without prior written permission. Prices quoted are in Australian dollars.

What Is The Craft ROBO?

The Craft Robo is a personal die cutting machine and also a plotter. It looks much like a very small inkjet printer and connects to a computer via a USB cable. The cutter is controlled by a driver and also drawing software (called ROBO Master) provided with the machine. ROBO Master is a vector drawing/editing program which enables you to create vector shapes and text for output to the cutter. Vector objects can also be imported from other sources (eg. the internet!)

Craft ROBO

Craft ROBO Specifications

The original Craft ROBO (model CC100-20) had the following specifications:

  • Paper Size 200mm x 1000mm (7.9″ x 39.4″)
  • Paper Thickness 0.3mm (carrier sheet included)
  • Computer connectable via USB cable
  • Dimensions 368mm x 160mm x 105mm (14.5″ x 6.3″ x 3.9″)
  • Weight 2.5kg

Key Features

  • Cuts virtually any vector shape or font (fonts must be available in outline)
  • Takes A4 sized paper (or longer)
  • Cuts paper, card, vinyl and film
  • Allows print & cut and direct cut operations
  • Compact and portable
  • Connects to a pc via USB
  • Free drawing software
  • Free plugin for Adobe Illustrator

Adobe Illustrator Plugin

There is a free plugin provided with the Craft ROBO (Cutting Master ROBO) which allows you to output files created in Adobe Illustrator. The plugin supports Illustrator versions 8.0.1, 9.0.2, 10.0.3, CS. Version 1.2 of the plugin also supports Illustrator CS2 and is available for download from the Craft ROBO Support area on the Graphtec website (refer to the link labelled “Cutting Master for Craft ROBO”).

Craft ROBO Media Trial Kit

Media Trial Kit

A Media Trial Kit is sometimes provided with the Craft ROBO including six sample sheets of A4 media that can be used in the cutter:

  • Card with craft backing paper (for greeting cards, business cards & paper crafts)
  • Film labels (for photos)
  • Vinyl stickers (for window decals etc)
  • Application sheet (not quite sure what this is for)
  • Magnetic sheet (for magnets)
  • Carrier sheet (protects the cutting mat from damage, also allows media smaller than A4 to be cut)

Pricing

Originally, the Craft ROBO was priced in the region of A$795-A$895. The price included the Craft ROBO cutter, ROBO Master software (drawing software), Cutting Master ROBO software (driver), USB & power cables, blade holder, pen holder, 3 blade adjustment caps (blue, yellow & red for different thicknesses of media), stand-off ring (or “o-ring”) and the Media Trial Kit.

Consumables

Consumable products available for the Craft ROBO include:

  • Carrier sheets – 2 in pack
  • Cutting mat – 1 in pack (approx. A$20)
  • Blades – 1 in pack (approx. A$44)
  • Media packs (multiple sheets of the sample media provided in the Media Trial Kit)

Australian Availability

Here is a short list of Australian stockists that I am currently aware of:

Stockists are welcome to contact us to be added to the list.

Further Reading: