Moving from the Cricut Expression to the Explore

I know that this post is very old, but the information seems to be even MORE relative today when so many people are selling their old Cricut Expression machines online. Before you buy a used Cricut Expression, please read this article.

By the way, this post contains Affiliate Links to companies I have partnered with, such as Amazon. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. You can think of affiliate links like tipping your waitress, only it does not cost you anything extra! Thank you for shopping with my links!

If you are new to the Cricut world and think that you will save a few bucks by purchasing a used Cricut machine, you might want to think twice. If the machine you are looking into buying is the original Cricut or the Cricut Expression the MOST important thing to know is that you CANNOT easily use those machines with the current Cricut Design Space software. You will not be able to easily upload the SVG files you see being sold online to use with the Cricut.

The original Cricut and the Cricut Expression both use Cricut cartridges, which used to be sold in stores. These cartridges used to be the only way for us crafters to get images and fonts to cut with our Cricut. There are still a few places where you can purchase Cricut cartridges online, but they are becoming harder and harder to find. This is very important to know if you are looking to buy the Cricut Expression machine.

When Cricut moved to the Explore machines, they also moved to using digital content for their images and fonts. This means that they no longer had to produce cartridges to sell in stores. They could focus on selling people images and fonts right in the Design Space software, or encourage their users to purchase the Cricut Access membership.

There is a program called Sure Cuts A Lot, or SCAL, that does allow you to use digital content with a large number of cutting machines. You can find out more information about that HERE.

Below is my original post when I got my Cricut Explore machine.

Well, tonight I made the first step towards moving from the Cricut Expression to Explore machine. I have had the Cricut Expression for YEARS, and then I added a Gypsy to my Cricut collection.  I liked that the Gypsy allowed me to alter some of the images I already owned. If you are looking to make the move from the Cricut Expression to Explore of even Makter, you will find this article helpful.

Cricut Expression

The Cricut Expression is considered a Legacy Machine. If you are looking for more information on all of the current Cricut machines, make sure to read my Cricut Machine Comparison article.

Moving Cricut Cartridges from Cricut Expression to Explore

I had MOST of my Cricut cartridges linked to my Gypsy.  With the Cricut Explore I will have to use the Cricut Design Space software to layout, adjust or alter any of my images.  So first I had to download the Cricut Craft Room software and once I logged into that software with my Cricut account there was an option to link my Gypsy to the Cricut Craft Room.  I thought it would take a while to do, but it was done in less than 2 minutes.  Easy!

Moving to Cricut Design Space

Then I logged into Cricut Design Space, and at first I did not see my cartridges so I contacted the Cricut help desk and they recommended I log out of my account and then log back in.  I was happy to see that once I did that, I could see all of my cartridges that were linked to my Gypsy on my account.

SUCCESS!

If you cannot see your linked cartridges, go File > New and you will open up a virtual mat.

Click on Insert Image.

Then click on the funnel shape on the upper right side of the screen . . . I circled it in red in the image below.

Once you click on this, you can choose from just images on Cricut Access, My Images (which shows images you have purchased, are linked to your account or free images you can use) or you can choose to view images you have uploaded.

So now I can see all of the images that are on the cartridges that I have linked to my Gypsy in Design Space.  Now I can start to design with those, and cut them with my Explore.

I really thought the process of transferring all of those cartridges over so that I could use them in Design Space would take a long time, but I think it took longer to type up this blog post than it did to transfer the images.

Cricut Expression to Explore Differences

If you own a Cricut Expression, you probably understand the basics of using the machine to cut your designs. The biggest difference I have seen between the machines is that with the Explore you will need to use the Design Space software.

Luckily for you, I have taken the mystery out of the process of learning this software! This site is filled with tutorials to help you get started, and I have a Facebook group you can join. If you don’t find what you are looking for, drop me a comment and I will answer everything for you!