The world of digital die-cutting can often feel disorientating for the newbie and even the most experienced crafter as technology becomes more sophisticated. We’re hoping to give you a helping hand as we continue our journey into comparing and contrasting our favourite die-cutting machines from Brother ScanNCut and Silhouette.

Make sure you see our previous article here on Cricut to be caught up to speed and you can also purchase the machines down below.

Silhouette Cameo 4 (£329.99) & Silhouette Cameo 4 Pro (£649.99)

Starting off our list we’re looking at the sleek, simple and surprisingly compact Silhouette Cameo 4. This incredibly versatile machine has been a hit with crafters since its release back in 2019, predominately for its ease-of-access and that it can hold its own against larger and bulkier machines.

The Cameo 4 contains a built-in roll feeder that allows you to easily load and cut rolled materials like vinyl and heat transfer, matless cutting capabilities, automatic tool detection and a built-in cross cutter with media clamp to give an effortlessly smooth straight cut every time you use it.

This machine has a full 12in cutting mat that allows you to cut materials up to 60ft in length with a 3mm clearance for thicker materials, which is even more impressive when considering its size.

After the success of the Silhouette Cameo 4, it was only natural for the masterminds behind their original machine to see if they could push the technology further and so announced the Silhouette Cameo 4 Pro. Its most stand-out and ground-breaking features is that it is 3x faster than previous models and provides 20x downward force allowing you to cut weightier materials.

You’ll also notice that it is the largest Silhouette Cameo machine out of them all. Of course, these initial features bumped-up the price considerably by about £250 more than the standard Cameo 4 at most retailers but is truly worth every penny.

The cons of this nearly-perfect machine are suitably low; however, its biggest con is the size of the machine. While the cutting area is 24", the machine itself is 34.5" wide. While considered a desktop cutter, it takes up a lot of space on a table or workstation and for some people it's going to be too much space to spare. Also due to its size, the machine is slightly more complicated with a larger number of carriage ports for individual style cuts and the range of the Bluetooth is smaller.

As with most things, you'll get the hang of this revolutionary die-cutting machine in no time, and buying the extra bits and pieces will really make a difference to your enjoyment of the machine and allow you to get crafting straight-away.

Brother ScanNCut CM300 (£335.99) & Brother ScanNCut SDX1200 (£598.99)

Now, let’s look at an equally fantastic die-cutting machine, the Brother ScanNCut CM300 – Silhouette Cameo 4’s contemporary. The ScanNCut machines are unlike other digital cutting tools on the market as they can be used completely independently of a computer, which is extremely helpful if you are a laptop or Ipad/Android user.

The ScanNCut technology allows you to scan any image (pre-created, pre-drawn, printed or hand drawn) into the machine and turn that image into a file that can be cut or drawn into your chosen media.

Desktop-sized and compact, the Silhouette Cameo 4 and Brother CM300, share a similar width and breadth and are perfectly sized for your crafting table or your storage unit. They’re also very similarly priced on CraftStash with £10 difference between machines.

The Brother ScanNCut SDX1200 Machine is larger than the CM300 and is packed full of fantastic and unique features, including a 5" colour touchscreen making it easy to edit, zoom and customise your designs, blade sensor technology and a whopping 1,303 built-in patterns.

The machine features Built-In Scanner Technology which can scan virtually anything in a matter of seconds and save the designs to the machines memory for future use. The Background Scanning feature allows you to use your leftovers ensuring no fabric or money is wasted.

Two great things about this machine is the Scan-To-Cut Data that lets you scan, edit and create your own designs and then save it as a cut file - handy for quick die-cuts. The machine also features free CanvasWorkSpace software which includes hundreds of free projects to further inspire your creativity.

All-in-all, you'll be able to create more with the SDX1200 machine over the CM300, much like how the standard Silhoutte Cameo 4 and Pro have their individual specialties.

What machine works best for you may be familiarity with the brand or something as simple as what you would like to make with them and how much space you have available as well as your price range. No matter what you choose, you won't be disappointed and that's a guarantee!

BUY your new machine here -

If you are in need of a Silhouette Cameo or Brother ScanNCut machine. All these fantastic digital die-cutting machines are available on Craftstash here:

Silhouette Cameo 4

Silhouette Cameo 4 Pro

Brother Scan N Cut CM300

Brother Scan N Cut SDX1200

Prices may vary from date of publishing