Am I Loving my New SIZZIX Switch MAchine?

 SIZZIX Switch Machine

I am a lover of Sizziz Die Cutting Machines, and my go to machine was the SIZZIX Bigshot. I also had the Bigshot Plus for the A4 platform, and the fold up SIZZIX to take to classes and workshops.

In February 2020 I saw the new SIZZIX Switch machine being demonstrated at the Creativation show, on YouTube. I was very interested in the machine and then spent the next 2 years chasing the UK launch . It was a frustrating time with Covid, no Craft shows and very vague responses from Ellison UK. 

In February 2022 with no razzamatazz the SIZZIX Switch was launched in the UK having been already launched in Australia, America and Canada. I read every review I could find and although keen to purchase there was something holding me back, because of the two years it had taken to launch the product Whatever the reason I held off purchasing when it was first available. 

Each day I kept looking back at the machine and checking out the latest reviews, until a few days after first seeing it was available, I had notification from SIZZIX that there the Tim Holtz Black version of the Switch was available in the UK. A quick check out on YouTube and sure enough a one and a half hour demonstration from Tim Holtz showing his black version of the Switch Machine, and how to use it, was available to watch. 

It is a lovely looking sleek machine and despite coming with no extras like the white version I liked the look of it and decided to try it. Once the order was placed there was a certain amount of anticipation mixed with concern that I had made the right decision. 

I was not worried about not getting the extras, the white one came with dies, and a large embossing folder. 

Once the order was placed it came within 4 days so that was a great start. I left it in the box for a day while I cleared my desk off completely, and removed a lot of the jars, boxes and dishes that had accumulated, all with bits and pieces, putting them away in the craft cupboard and only leaving out the tools used on a regular basis such as scissors. 

Then came the great unboxing 

The machine came with the platform, one layering sheet and the 2 cutting plates. In order to make the best use of the machine and to give the cutting plates their maximum life I was very careful to check out the instructions on the demos’s. Now here is the only thing I would say SIZZIX or Tim Holtz did not clearly show, the way to lay out your plates.

Yes you can use other SIZZIX platforms you have and presumably the SIZZIX cutting plates that come with them. What is not clear in the demo’s is the way the cutting plates should be placed. Both cutting plates have the SIZZIX mark on the corner and the SIZZIX mark should always be showing at the top right hand side of the machine. This is on the diagram in the instructions that come with the machine but if it had not been for the 2 hour discussion with hubby about the way these should place on the platform I would not have used the plates correctly. In fact the first time I tried the sandwich with dies, the machine would not take them., Once I had the plates correctly placed I re-checked the video and instructions. I could see no specific instructions in the videos to say place the SIZZIX words at the top right hand side for both plates, although the instructions show it in one of the pictures. 

I have now used my Switch Machine many times, and with the platform and plates in a magazine/folder holder on the side of my desk, the process is quick and simple. The plates seem to be wearing well, and although obviously showing cutting marks there is no warping. As soon as my cutting is down the machine can be moved back, the plates put away, leaving my desk free to continue with the project. The Switch takes up less room on my desk and as hubby had already put a plug socket that sits in the desk-top and can be pulled up to use, the electric cable is not a problem. 

To conclude, yes I love my Switch machine I get great use from it, the fact that I have to lift the platform from the back (or reverse, which I rarely do) does not bother me as I am usually stood up to do die-cutting. It has become my main machine (i still have a Bigshot and foldaway SIZZIX ).  It has also helped me to maintain a tidy desk,  this alone is worth the cost of the machine. Altogether my paper-crafting has become streamlined. 

This last picture shows the Switch with the magazine holder, where i store my platform and cutting plates, and a small basket of ongoing and everyday items. You can see the plug socket at the back pushed down flush with the desk.

Do you have any equipment you cannot live without? Let me know in the comments box.

Happy Crafting

Dee