I just LOVE a new cutter! And this one is going to rock the cutting world! The price of $399 is just amaZING for a machine that has 750g of cutting force, along with a 14″ wide cutting range. Just like with our other KNK’s, you can insert 15″ wide rolled materials, such as vinyl, for cutting and there will be a cutting mat included for cutting 12″ x 12″ cardstock or other materials such as fabric, thin chipboard, craft plastic, rhinestone template material, felt, fun foam, mylar, duralar, posterboard, and most of the other materials you see in the photo gallery here:
30 Plus Materials To Cut on A KNK
The only materials I show in that photo album that the Zing probably won’t handle are styrene and mat board. But I’ll give a full report once I have a Zing prototype of my own to test… fingers crossed for that to happen in the second half of August.
As you can see from the link at the new Zing home page, the compact siZING is another great feature! This KNK will be far easier to transport and I look forward to that.
Make The Cut is proving to be a popular software for the existing KNK owners, as well. The Print and Cut function is so much faster and easier to use with the automatic movement of the laser light to within about 1/4″ of each printed mark, thus requiring just a tweaking of movement to align perfectly. I’m also looking forward to the improved auto-tracing function which has always allowed previews of the trace before accepting the results. A demo video of the upcoming new version shows additional functionality with separate tabs to use when choosing the best best vectoriZING method based on the imported raster image.
For those who already own and use KNK Studio, a copy/paste function will be added so that existing KNK files can easily be moved to MTC for cutting to the Zing.
All in all, a lot to look forward to in the upcoming months! So, keep checking for more information and I will be reporting the latest, as I receive it.
Yes, you can! And we do have a Mac MTC version that will cut to the KNK Zing. Currently that is the only cutter working with the Mac version, but it’s been in use for most of this year and appears to be working well.
I don’t know which fonts work with the Beta Mac version. But you can download it and give it a try. It’s available at KNK USA under Resources.
HI,
Can I use my own fonts and designs with the zing as well as if a MTC mac beta version is available?
Yes, it can. Now with soft felt, it’s best to apply a stabilizer first so that you can get better results. Here in the US, we use iron-on products such as Thermo-web’s Heat N Bond.
Can you please tell me if I can cut felt with the KNK Zing and can I use my own stencils?
Regarding cutter comparisons:
Michelle Hessler has the best, by far, comparison chart available:
http://www.paperthreads.com/bonus/paperthreads_machine_compare_112008.html
Regarding tearing:
There are a number of reasons why cardstock will tear, the most common ones being: blade too far extended, mat not sticky enough, too much force being used for that cardstock, the cardstock has been exposed to humidity, and the cardstock itself is not suitable for blade based cutters. With the exception of the last one (cardstock itself), I know the Zing can cut any cardstock with no tearing because of the control one has. Now, with the eCraft, the blade extension isn’t an issue since you have no control over that, as well as the mat (unless you ARE using an eCraft mat?). It’s my understanding eCraft has started selling cutting mats after introducing for those wanting to cut rhinestone templates. So, it’s possible you need to reduce the force you are using or dry out the cardstock.
Regarding a paper tray:
Since the eCraft is the only cutter that allows cutting without a cutting mat, then it’s the only one that can allow feeding of cardstock in the same way as paper is fed into a printer. When I tested the eCraft, I thought that was a “neat feature” but without the ability to cut a wide range of materials and have control over a wide range of settings (such as speed and blade offset), nor the ability to use tools such as markers, engravers, embossers, fabric blades, etc, I found the eCraft unsuitable as a cutter for the needs of the majority of customers who contact me.
I also found that the cut shapes still being attached to the waste was a big negative issue. This is the only current way that cutting without a mat works since you cannot have the cuts loose during the entire run. I don’t particularly like to sand off the little parts where the shapes were attached to the waste. I guess if you are planning to sell the cuts this way, then that might an advantage.
Regarding your production plans:
First off, the eCraft is NOT a production-rated cutter. It has mostly plastic parts and any kind of production application should be using a cutter with primarily metal parts. While the Zing (like all of the KNK models) are built with almost all metal parts, the Zing hasn’t been tested for production runs of the sort you are describing. In your situation, you really should be looking at a professional rated cutter with professional software, as well, such as the KNK Maxx models.
Regarding blade life:
I have KNK Maxx owners doing professional cutting where they cut several hours per day. They change their blades every 6 weeks to 2 months. You will need to gradually increase the cutting force as blades become dull or change more often. But with the blades only costing $8.99 each, that shouldn’t be a very large expense, in light of your production plans.
Conclusion:
You might want to call Chad at KNK USA (800-268-3672) tomorrow, if the timing is convenient. The company has been in business for over 25 years (under the name Accugraphic Sales) and the level of experience they have in professional applications far exceeds that of anyone you would talk to in the crafting world (where the oldest digital die cutters have only been on the market for ~ 7 years). Chad can better explain the differences between the lower cost hobby cutters and the professional cutters.
Hi Sandy,
I know you’re definitely supporting the Zing, but I’m really looking for a clear comparison of the Zing with the other machines on the market. I purchased the Craftwell eCraft and I’ve had limited positive results. I’m running into a few issues, but the main issue that I’m having is tearing.
I’m cutting varying thickness scrapbook papers, with something like the DCWV Green Stack (http://www.diecutswithaview.com/product_view.php?id=1739) being the thickest. Also, I’ll be cutting 58lb. glossy photo paper. I’m wondering how realistic I’d be in expecting that the Zing would eliminate the tearing issue I’m running into. I just purchased the eCraft, so I’ll be returning it for another one; I’m hoping to not have to deal with that with the Zing.
Also, the eCraft has a paper tray in the back, and I have yet to see something along those lines with the Zing. Does each sheet require a manual-feed?
At the peak, I expect to be doing approximately 90″ of cutting per standard scrapbook paper sheet, and 15″ of cutting per 4×6 photo paper sheet, with somewhere upwards of approximately 225 scrapbook sheets and 60 photo sheets per day. Will the Zing be able to handle that type of use? And approximately what kind of lifespan do the blades get? Will I be changing blades daily at that type of load, or will it be a weekly or monthly thing?
I know it’s a lot of questions, but if you could please advise me about the realistic nature of my being able to use the Zing for these various paper stocks, in that capacity, with high accuracy, I’d appreciate it. I’d really love to purchase one of your machines ASAP, especially if I have some reassurance that it will work for my needs. Thanks!
– Nick
The Zing has twice the cutting force of the Puma III and three times that of the Cameo. So, if you are trying to cut anything more difficult than just cardstock, then you’ll definitely get better results with the Zing. What kinds of materials are you wanting to cut? And what are your issues with the other two machines? Your best bet is to sell the others on EBay or Craig’s List.
I currently own a Cameo Silhouette and purchased the Puna III Plotter. I am not happy with the way it cuts. How different is the Zing in comparison to the machines I have.
If your macine is better, do you know how I can go about selling both the plotter and Cameo Silhouette?
It should be able to engrave wooden surfaces. Our newest Zing engraver has a diamond tip, plus we’ve always been able to engrave metal charms, dog tags, etc. Do you have a particular wood in mind or a particular application? Email me at smccauley45@cox.net and we can discuss further!
Is the Zing capable of engraving a wooden surface (not balsa)?
Nope! You definitely will never need to spend money on any cutting file again! : )
Do u need cartridges im spending way to much for my cr.mini cartridges and i want to cut any image i can find for free help!
The Zing works great for cutting a wide range of materials… from vinyl and thin paper to all brands of cardstock to chipboard, craft plastic, and balsa. It can cut up to 14″ wide, thus a great option for using 15″ wide vinyl. Feel free to email me if you have more questions. I can be reached at smccauley45@cox.net.
How is the Zing in regards to cutting vinyl? Like the vinyl logos that are placed on cars. Also how easy is it to transfer logos I find online or create myself to the Zing? I personally would only be using this machine for vinyl logos and such, but my wife loves to craft so it’s a win/win.
Because of my LONG list of KNK projects, I no longer sell the KNK’s myself. However, we have a number of dealers selling them and you can email me directly for a recommendation based on your planned applications. My email is smccauley45@cox.net.
KNK USA drop ships the Zings for their dealers. They are located in Florida, thus the shipping time depends on your location relative to Florida. If you live there, then it arrives next day. If you live in Seattle, WA, then it would take about 8 days, as I recall. However, KNK USA is currently closed for their annual summer vacation. They will reopen on Monday and will begin processing orders and shipping again.
Sandy, I want to purchase a Zing from you but I can no longer find the place on your website to get it. Please help! Also, how long will it take to get one?
I have forwarded your question and contact info to KNK USA because they handle all international inquiries. You should hear from them soon!
i am also interested to be an agent in UAE of you product and if you can send me a template of rhinstone template and it is very importent cuz space butween the stone how much minimum and if u can send me one template so i can understand
thank u
hi
i am in the field of designing and i wanna start making template for rhinstone actually here in dubai – UAE people work and do lazer cutting that is expensive pl give me the details that the materials which is used for template, thickness of that material and more that my designer size is 14inches and 24 inches pl send how i can i buy cuz your agent is not available in the middle east so how i can get the after sale survise. i am ready to buy this within this week pl give me the advice.
Hello, I have heard there is a machine that will cut sugar florist paste… Is this the machine? Is it food safe? If so, are they available with European plugs(I’m based in Ireland)?
I’m sure that was the Epilog Zing which is a laser cutter. The one that I’m involved with is the KNK Zing which is a blade based cutter and in a much different price range. : )
I saw part of a video where a zing was engraving with a laser(?) Is this a separate type of Zing machine, or is this the standard machine? Part of the engraving looked as though it had been polished(?)
The Zing will cut felt as well as, if not better than any other digital die cutter on the market. If the felt is stiffened, then the results are remarkable! If the felt is unstiffened, then 100% wool felt will give better results (less fuzzies) than a mixed blend of wool and polyester.
What kind of felt do you plan to use? And what types and sizes of shapes?
does the zing cut felt well?
If you will send some samples to me, I will test them out on both the Zing and the Maxx. First contact me by email at smccauley45@cox.net.
Sorry, its 20 mil and or 30 mil sheet magnet.
I make magnets from 2 and/or 3 mil sheet magnet with an adhesive vinyl paper glued to it that I print on, and a sheet of thin transparent vinyl over it to protect the printing. Can you tell me if the Zing cutter will cut through this? If not, what cutter would you recommend?
Thanks!
Sure! I’ll email you.
Hiya Sandy i could use some help resinstalling my MTC can you contact me via email 🙂 thanks
Most of the accessories are available. We have the extra blade holders and blades. We’ll have the new small character blades by the end of the week. The piercing tool, embossing tool, pen holder, and travel bag are all in stock. We are still waiting on the larger mats (24 x 14), the distressing tools, the tables extenders and the stand. Those won’t be available until sometime in 2012.
Yes, you can use the Pazzles pad on top of the Zing mat. Or you can use just the non-sticky shelf liner! Even with a texture, it provides a really nice surface for embossing.
Hi, I´m very excited about the new zing, and want to buy it for xmas. Are all the accesories available right now? And i don´t see any special pad to use with the embossing tool, Can I use a regular pad such as pazzles or any other?
Do you sell the zing directly? Thank you in advance for your help.
Best Regards,
Ana Silvia
Yes. The Zing is designed to cut all day long and the major operating components are all made of metal versus plastic. The Zing comes with a laser alignment light for perfect print and cuts. It’s a more manual process versus the optic eye on the Silhouette, however it never fails as can happen with the Silhouette cutters. If you can print on a particular material in your printer, then you can perform a print and cut on it. There are no restrictions, such as transparent or darkly colored materials.
Great! Thanks for the fast response. Does MTC to print and cut files? I presume the Zing is a much sturdier cutter than the Silhouette, it looks that way.
You can use the Windows Snippet tool to take a screen shot of your Silhouette file and then use the pixel trace in MTC to trace the image. That’s what I see posted frequently by owners of MTC. The Pixel Trace function works very easily in MTC and I have free videos, here at my site, on using it.
Hi, I just received a Silhouette Cameo (8) days ago and am returning after not being able to get a clean cut, even on regular copy paper. Can any of my silhouette files be used through Make the Cut with the Zing?
Thank you very much
MTC is Windows-based software so you need to have an emulator, like Parallels, plus a version of Windows installed.
Also, how thick is your chipboard?
Hi!
I’m about to order my zing! But I Med to know if it run on Mac… Or maybe the MTC. I want to ask you if do you thing the zing will help me in my packaging designs and samples… I’m a industrial designer and I spend a lot of time cutting by hand my samples in chipboard.
Thanks for yogur time.
Regards from Colombia!
Verónica.
Hi Jay,
Sorry for the delay in responding!
The three blade holders are identical. We offer different colors because we’ve found that some of our KNK customers like to have one holder for each type of blade we sell. Our three blades are the red capped blade for regular materials, the blue capped blade for thicker materials and the yellow capped blade for fabric.
You will LOVE your new Zing!
Good day all,
I have a question about the blade holders. There are three different colors listed,, (Blue, Red & Yellow…what’s the difference between them, other than the color?
I’m about to order my Zing!!!
Which I will do at the end of the week.
I have a Cricut Expression and a baby Cricut…I have an older version of Make The Cut…but b/c of Cricut’s greed I can’t upgrade my Make The Cut.
I have sunk a small fortune into cartridges and use design studio…I don’t want to have deal with using Craft Room…there are places where there isn’t Internet access.
The Gypsy, which I don’t own has a screen so small you can’t do much detail work with it…besides they more or less cut the legs out of the Gypsy by going with Craft Room and making a new line of Dumb terminal machines.
Make the Cut has many more options to offer than Craft Room and there is a fee for almost everything in Craft Room!
In addition, Provo Craft is only making it harder for the customers as it continues to tighten their greedy grip on people…Design Studio will not get ANY major improvements…all they will do is add additional cartridges to it…that’s it…they turned me completely off as a customer!!!
So I decided to go in a different direct…and get a Zing!
Take care all,
Jay
Hi Leigh,
Here’s a page dedicated to showing the differences in all of the KNK models, current and past:
https://www.iloveknk.com/knk-info/knk-comparisons/
Let me know if you have other questions!
How does the Zing compare to the KNK Maxx?
The Zing DOES use a sticky mat and it’s a VERY good thing! Note that the compromise with the eCraft is tab cutting, which means you have little tabs all around your die cuts which must be sandpapered off. I tested the eCraft last summer and I found myself using a mat instead of dealing with the tabs and I’ve read posts at other forums where eCraft customers have resorted to doing that.
There’s an easy way to reduce the stickiness on your mat. Place a dish towel across the surface and press with either a brayer or a rolling pin so you can apply an even firm pressure. Pull up the towel. The repeat several times. Test after two times to see if a piece of paper will still curl. After 3 or 4 pressings of a dish towel, the surface should be perfect for cutting paper and cardstock.
Our first shipment is sold out and those were all pre-orders (where customers has paid a $100 deposit and are now paying $299 balances plus shipping). If you ordered after the full amount was posted, then you will be receiving your Zing after the next shipment arrives which we anticipate will be the end of the November.
So does the Zing use a sticky mat? I hated this about the Cricut. My paper would not come off of it and it curled my paper. Really annoying. This is the reason I have been looking at the Ecraft because it doesn’t use a sticky mat. So does the Zing?
Sandy–I was able to purchase on thru knk’s web site- but it was for the full $399- so maybe I’ll get one sooner rather than later- but either way, I’ll be seeing one in my future- Thanks for responding!
No, the pre-orders are sold out for the first shipment of Zings. However, a second shipment is due to arrive at the end of November and you’ll be able to order a Zing then! 🙂
Are there any pre-orders still available? None of the sites I visit have them available anymore 🙁
I’ll have someone call you right away! You can still pre-order the Zing! They will begin shipping early next week.
Sandy I can NOT find a phone number in order to ORDER a ZING machine???
Is there one available??
I need a machine pronto… and need to know HOW long it will take to arrive to near FT. Myers FL area once I have it ORDERED (paid for).
IS the $100 down deal still in effect??
Please respond ASAP. Thanks and loved reading about your knowledge on all these machines as well as others …
My number is 941-623-2070 can call if want…
would like info as quick as possible & access to online is brief right now.
I don’t know the minimum thickness of a line that could be cut inside of a circle, but I’ve cut 1/16″ with no problems.