xTool's C1 craft cutter prints, scans and cuts, and Australian pre-orders open at $779

Image: xTool.

You print a sheet of stickers on the home inkjet, stick it on the cutting mat, line up the registration marks, and the cut lands a millimetre off. Do that a few times for a school fete or a small Etsy order and the paper adds up. That’s the problem xTool says its new C1 Color Cutter is built to fix.

The C1 is a desktop machine that prints in full colour, scans what’s on the mat and cuts it, all in one go. xTool announced it in Sydney on 27 October, and Australian pre-orders are open now. The Basic version is A$779, and you lock in a spot with a A$15 deposit.

Our take

The idea is sound, the price is steep. xTool points out that Cricut machines have no printer and need a separate inkjet. That’s true, and for print-then-cut jobs it means more steps. But Cricut’s Maker 4 was A$699 at its Australian launch, and Spotlight had it at $370 in a one-day sale on 13 October. Against that full price the C1 costs A$80 more, though the printer is built in. If you already own an inkjet and mostly cut vinyl or cardstock, you’re paying for something you don’t need.

It looks aimed at people selling things. xTool says the C1 is for crafters and small-business owners, and the pitch is fewer wasted sheets and no registration marks. That’s useful if you make stickers and labels in batches. For a one-off birthday banner, it’s overkill.

Read the washing claim carefully. xTool says prints on fabric last up to 30 home washes. That’s xTool’s figure, not ours. A review site that read xTool’s US page notes that apparel needs transfer material and a separate heat press, and direct printing on fabric needs pretreated cloth. So “print on a T-shirt” is less simple than it sounds.

Three things aren’t published yet. xTool hasn’t given a cutting force figure, and it hasn’t said what replacement ink costs or how much a cartridge prints. And scanning only works on xTool’s own mats, so the third-party mats that work for printing and cutting won’t give you the scan feature. Ink cost matters most. A cheap machine with pricey ink is a trap, and nobody outside xTool can tell you yet.

Why it matters right now

The timing is tight. xTool’s release says shipping and final payment start globally on 12 November, but xTool’s US page lists the launch and final payment from 5 November and gives no Australian ship date. Those two don’t line up, so ask xTool before you pay anything beyond the deposit. On the US page the deposit is refundable until final payment. We haven’t seen that promise for Australia.

Black Friday is on 27 November. Cricut machines have already gone to $370 once this month, so waiting for sales on the established brands is a real option. The Black Friday discounts xTool mentions in its email are for its O1 laser, not the C1.

Price

• xTool C1 Color Cutter Basic: A$779 pre-order, A$15 deposit.
• Bundle with Atomm Membership: also offered, price not given.
• Deposit bonus: a material kit with more than 10 materials and a 20% off material card, per xTool.
• US launch price: reported as US$469 for the Basic.

Who should buy, and who should wait

Buy if you make stickers, labels or packaging in batches, you don’t own a printer you like, and you’re happy to pay a deposit on a product nobody has used here yet.

Wait if you want to see ink costs, owner reviews and an Australian ship date first. Also wait if you already have a Cricut and a working inkjet, because the saving is mostly time, not money.

We haven’t used the C1, and nobody we trust has reviewed it yet.