Craft cutting is a challenging task with only scissors. Thanks to advanced technology, now you can cut unique designs accurately in a short time with a Cricut Maker. But the creativity of this machine is almost useless without a compatible laptop.
Having the right laptop will turn your regular craft into your desired shape through this machine. Even though you are a beginner, a laptop will help you perform your best on your craft project. This way, you can work on any craft project that you think of.
Additionally, a laptop can be used to access your Cricut account, fonts, and pictures through the internet or a network connection. This will help you to design projects with your stored images and fronts. To find more details in this regard, keep reading this context.
Do You Need a Laptop for Cricut Maker?
Cricut Maker can be operated by different devices, including computers, tablets, and smartphones. If you use a smartphone, you can control a few functions of the Cricut Maker. To access all the functions of this machine, you will need a computer, whether a desktop or laptop.
Having laptops for Cricut maker will enable you to get better control over the machine and design different crafts easily. You will just have to connect the Cricut Maker to a laptop using Bluetooth or cables. Once you make the connection successfully, you can design your desired craft by installing the Cricut Drawing Space software.
It is also possible to use any other graphical software like Photoshop, Canvas, and Coral Draw to design sketches along with Cricut Drawing Space. After completing the design, you will have to send it from your laptop to the Cricut Maker. When the design is loaded, you can command the Cricut maker to cut or print the design.
Why You Should Use A Laptop For Cricut Maker?
A laptop offers a lot of features to make your crafting tasks effortless. Some significant benefits of having a laptop for Cricut Maker have been pointed out below.
- A laptop will let you design your personalized project by using different shapes, fonts, images and colors.
- You can connect to the internet or a network to access your Cricut accounts, images, and fonts with a laptop.
- Unlike smartphones, you can operate all the features of your Cricut Maker through a laptop. Laptops let you take full advantage of the Cricut without any restrictions.
- A laptop allows you to use Cricut Design Space to create your desired crafts precisely and accurately.
- Apart from using Cricut Design Space, you can use any other graphics software on a laptop, including Photoshop, to design your craft.
- The connection process between a laptop and a Cricut Maker is quite simple. You will just have to connect your Cricut Maker to a laptop via Bluetooth or cable.
What Can You Do With A Cricut Maker?
As the Cricut Maker is a vinyl cutter, it can work with different types of materials, including leather, fabric, balsa wood, and paper. This machine can work with these materials with maximum precision. For example, you can make stickers, cut sewing patterns and vinyl paint, and many more.
Compared to other cutting machines, the Cricut Maker can accurately cut any design. It lets you use the most delicate and thin pieces of paper and hard materials such as mat board and basswood. Not only that, Cricut Maker is compatible with an expandable set of devices, including laptops.
Using a laptop on this machine, you can get the best output on your crafts. Making your desired design more precisely and accurately will be easy with Cricut Design Space on a laptop.
Do All Laptops Compatible With A Cricut Maker?
Unfortunately, not all laptops will be compatible with a Cricut Maker. As most of the crafts are usually designed with the Cricut Design Space software, you will need a laptop that is able to run this software smoothly. Cricut Design Space software only performs with Mac and Windows operating system computers.
Any other operating systems, including Linux, will not function with Cricut Maker. Besides, Windows and Mac laptops have to meet certain requirements to work with a Cricut Maker. Once the laptop meets the Cricut Maker requirements, you can work with Cricut faster and precisely.
How to Choose the Best Laptop for Cricut Maker?
Not all laptops will be suitable for working with Cricut Maker. You will need to pick one that meets the Cricut Maker requirements. Some crucial factors have been described below that will help you get the right laptop for your Cricut Maker.
Processor/CPU
The CPU is considered the brain of a computer, whether it is a laptop or desktop. So, it is crucial to have a powerful processor-equipped laptop to utilize your Cricut Maker properly. Several laptops you will find on the market with different processors. But choosing a minimum Intel dual-core processor laptop will be ideal for working with Cricut Maker. For better performance, you can also select an Intel i5 or AMD Ryzen 5 processor-equipped laptop.
Memory/RAM
RAM is another important consideration while choosing a laptop for Cricut makers. Having a large amount of RAM on your laptop will allow you to work smoothly and run many apps simultaneously. So, you should go for a minimum of 4 GB or 8 GB RAM integrated laptop. To get faster performance, you can choose a laptop with 12 GB or 16 GB of RAM.
Storage
You may need to work and store various digital files related to your Cricut projects on a laptop. So, your laptop should have an adequate storage space facility. In that case, you can choose a laptop with a minimum storage capacity of 500 GB. This space will help you to keep your designs, fonts, images, and other project files. However, professionals prefer to have an SSD hard drive-equipped laptop for better transfer and boot speed.
Display
Since you will need to design different crafts with the laptop, choosing one with a large and clear display will be an ideal option. A large display will help you see all details of your designs clearly and precisely without distortion. So, find a laptop with a high-resolution display of at least 720p. However, you can also choose a 4K display laptop to get HD visuals of your Cricut projects.
Ports
Unlike other machines, the Cricut Maker does not come with any built-in software. To access different software related to the Cricut, you will need some ports available on your laptop to connect the machine. As the Cricut Maker is compatible with USB Type-C, USB, and Thunderbolt ports, you should ensure your laptop has these ports. Using these ports, you can easily transfer your project files back and forth between two devices as well.
Connectivity
When you intend to use the Cricut Maker on the go, you will need both Bluetooth and Wi-Fi capabilities on your laptop. In case you lose or forget to carry the cable when you go somewhere, you can still wirelessly connect your laptop to the Cricut to continue your work. Besides, you can wirelessly connect the machine when your laptop’s ports don’t work.
Battery Life
If you like using your laptop along with the Cricut Maker, where there is no electricity, the laptop should last a long time on a single charge. So, you should choose a laptop with a longer battery life capability. The longer the laptop’s battery life, the longer you can use both devices without recharging them frequently.
Conclusion
Hopefully, you might get your answer about whether you need a laptop for Cricut Maker. Typically, you will need a laptop to improve the workflow of making crafts with Cricut Maker. Besides, not all functions will be accessible through a smartphone. In that case, having a laptop will let you take full advantage of making your desired craft with this machine.
However, all laptops will not be ideal for working with the Cricut Maker. You will need a laptop that meets the specifications of Cricut Design Space software. To choose the right laptop, check out the section. Here we will find what factors you should consider while choosing a laptop, especially for Cricut Maker.
