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Cricut folds a dye-sublimation printer into a $299 sticker cutter
Cricut has put a printer in a cutting machine for the first time, selling the StickerPix Print + Cut for $299 and a print-only model for $169. Sticker-sheet sellers can drop the separate inkjet and laminate, as long as they sell kiss-cut sheets made in Cricut's app.
The Product Desk · Product desk
What happened
- Both machines print by dye-sublimation, using heat to transfer dye, then add a laminate layer that makes prints resistant to water, scratches and fading.
- Engadget notes that Cricut's other machines need a separate inkjet printer and special laminate sheets to produce similar stickers.
- The StickerPix models make only kiss-cut stickers that stay attached to the sheet, while Cricut's larger machines can die-cut through the backing paper.
- The $169 Print has no cutter and prints onto Cricut's pre-cut sheets in shapes such as circles, rectangles and squares, or onto 4x6 photo paper.
- Both machines are on sale now and ship bundled with sticker sheets, photo paper and an ink cartridge.
Compiled by The Product DeskSomething wrong?How this is made
Why it matters
- cost The cutter is a $130 upgrade, so a seller has to decide before buying whether Cricut's stock sticker shapes are good enough for the product.
- constraint A business built on loose die-cut stickers cannot move production onto either StickerPix and keeps its separate printer, laminate sheets and full-size Cricut cutter.
- exposure Neither machine works outside Design Space, so a seller's production depends on Cricut's app, and Engadget expects owners to be steered toward the paid Cricut Access subscription.
Until now, a crafter who wanted a pet photo as a water-resistant sticker needed an inkjet printer and special laminate sheets alongside a Cricut cutter, according to Engadget [4]. The StickerPix Print + Cut prints, laminates and cuts in one box measuring 8 by 11.3 by 4.1 inches [3][6]. The Verge counted it among the smallest machines in Cricut's lineup and said it suits people short on storage space [16].
Both reviews pitched it as a way to start selling. The Verge wrote that the machines "might be the cheapest way to launch your Etsy shop" [13]. Engadget wrote that they "could birth a generation of sticker moguls" [14]. What comes out of the machine is a 4x7-inch sheet with the stickers still attached [5][6].
The cheaper model limits the output further. The $169 Print makes 4x6 photos or fills Cricut's own pre-cut sheets [7][8]. The $299 Print + Cut cuts its own outlines, so it is not held to the stock shapes on those sheets [2][17].
For sticker sheets, Cricut now sells the printer, the laminate, the cutter and the app that drives them [1][3][9]. Neither review compares the StickerPix with a standalone photo printer or a print-on-demand service on cost per sticker.
Two questions sort a buyer. The first is sheets or singles, since neither StickerPix cuts through the backing paper to make a loose die-cut sticker [5]. The second is stock shapes or custom outlines. Sheets in Cricut's stock shapes fit the $169 Print [2][8]. Sheets in custom outlines need the $299 Print + Cut [2][17]. A buyer who only wants 4x6 photos can use either, and the Print is the smaller box at 7.8 by 5 by 3.5 inches [7].
What to watch
- Refill prices for the StickerPix ink cartridge and 4x7 sticker sheets, the figure any per-sticker comparison with print-on-demand services would need.
- Whether the Print + Cut accepts sticker sheets and cartridges from suppliers other than Cricut.
- Whether a later StickerPix model adds die-cutting through the backing paper.