Silhouette Cameo 4 Review – Better Than The Cricut Maker?
Is the Silhouette Cameo 4 good?
The Cameo 4 has many improvements on the Cameo 3 which we will cover below. The most notable is that it’s now in 3 sizes: 12, 15, and 20 inches wide.
We’re sharing everything you need to know about it, as well as where you can buy Silhouette Cameo 4 for the best price!
Silhouette Cameo 4
With multiple retailers stocking the Cameo 4, we recommend comparing prices between Amazon, Heat Press Nation and Swing Design.
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| Heat Press Nation Cameo 4 |
| View Latest PriceView Bundles |
 | Amazon Cameo 4 |
| View Latest PriceView Bundles |
| Swing Design Cameo 4 |
| View Latest PriceView Bundles |
Silhouette Cameo 4 Review
The Silhouette Cameo 4, coming 3 years after the Cameo 3, is a marked improvement on its predecessor.
It comes in 3 different colors, and in 3 different sizes, and comes with the expected changes: it’s faster, can cut thicker materials, and has a more modern look.
Pros:
- faster & stronger
- new larger sizes
- crosscutter
- roll feeding
- matless cutting
- reasonable price
- great support
- good community
Cons:
- some software bugs
New Cameo 4 Features
When comparing Cameo 3 vs Cameo 4, here are the improvements on the new machine:
Built-In Roll Feeder: load up rolls of vinyl or HTV into the machine
Built-In Crosscutter: trim vinyl off the roll once your machine has finished cutting
Matless Cutting: no need to always use a mat when cutting vinyl and HTV
Stronger & Faster: Cuts at least twice as fast as the Cameo 3, and has 20 times more force
High Material Clearance: 3mm clearance allows you to cut thicker materials
Bluetooth Capabilities: Bluetooth wireless cutting through the Silhouette app.
Silhouette Studio: Free design software especially created for Silhouette
Other features include:
- Roll back lid comes down to protect your machine
- 3x faster than the Cameo 3 – up to 30mm a sec
- Blade sensor – machine can auto detect which tool is in the machine
- Smart tangential mode – allows for tools that need to swivel (eg. the Rotary Blade)
- Improved easier pinch roller adjustment
- Increased cutting force – 5000 grams of cutting force
- Rotary Blade support – This will enable users to cut fabric materials without the need of any fabric stabilizer
- Improved AutoBlade to more efficiently set the blade
- Punching tool support
- Cut fonts already installed on your computer
Silhouette Cameo 4 Sizes
One of the most exciting things about the new Silhouette Cameo, is that it is available in 3 sizes!
- Standard Silhouette Cameo 4 is 12 inches wide
- Silhouette Cameo 4 Elite is 15 inches wide
- Silhouette Cameo 4 Pro is 20 inches wide
At the time of release there are 3 different colors: Black, White, and Blush Pink. We can expect more colors in the future (though probably not as many as the Explore Air 2 colors)!
Cameo 4 Unboxing
You will need to double check depending on which retailer you buy from (video above from HPN), but here is what you can expect to find in the box:
- Silhouette Cameo 4 Cutting Machine
- Silhouette Studio Software (digital download)
- 100 Cuttable Designs (via email code)
- All the operating cords (power and USB)
- AutoBlade cutting blade
- The user manual
- One month access to Club Silhouette
- A 12 inch Cutting Mat
- $25 in Downloads from Design Store (code to be sent during registration)
- 4 Tool Adapters – for use of Cameo 3, 2, & 1 tools
- Ratchet Adjustment Tool
Silhouette Cameo 4 Vs Cricut Maker
Should you get a Cameo 4 or the Cricut Maker?
The Cricut Maker is slightly more expensive than the 12 inch Cameo, but is capable of more. Compare the following details.
Keep in mind that 99% of users won’t be using their cutting machines to the extreme. You won’t necessarily need to go faster and cut thicker.
Both machines are excellent for home, craft, and small business use. I think ultimately it comes down to which machine and community you prefer.
Cricut Maker
Max Force: 4kgs
Top Speed: 30mm a second
Max Cutting Depth: 2.4mm material thickness
Included Blades: Fine Point & Rotary
Included Mats: fabric grip & light grip
Matless Cutting: no
Cameo 4:
Max Force: 5kgs
Top Speed: 30mm a second
Max Cutting Depth: 2mm material thickness
Included Blades: AutoBlade cutting blade
Included Mats: 1 regular mat
Matless Cutting: yes
If you are wanting to do a lot of projects with a more established machine, I would go with the Maker for now. It’s going to be quite a while before the Cameo 4 can be used with a full range of blades & materials.
The Cricut Maker is way past that point. There is a huge range of blades that allow for cutting a wider range of materials. Cricut are a step ahead.
It has been announced as well that there will be a Silhouette Heat Press, but again this is a late response to Cricut’s EasyPress.
Ultimately, if you are a Cricut person, go Cricut. If you are a Silhouette person, go Silhouette!
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Comments 4
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Save time and money. It’s worthless at cutting. My sizzix does better without any weeding. The cricut has more pressure and the silhouette can’t cut cardstock let alone vynil. Save yourself time and money. Also forget about calling a human if you need service from cameo. They never answer. So no customer service. God forbid you need it repaired under warranty. For almost 400 I shouldn’t have to find folks on the internet myself for hello.
Sorry to hear about your bad experience! Maybe you had a faulty machine? It’s frequently getting great reviews!
Can’t wait for the 20 inch silhouette! Shame they’re not all being sold at the same time.
Yes I think there are quite a few people that would prefer the 15 or 20 inch cutter. If you don’t think you can wait another 6 months, you should check out these Graphtec Cutting Machines instead. Graphtec have a range of larger cutting machines available.