SCAL Upgrade!!! {and a freebie!}

I’ve seen the future and it is great! I just got word that Craft Edge has just released a  new version of Sure cuts a Lot software. So like any good reporter I decided I should have a “look see” and find out more about it. In a word it’s AMAZING! It does everything that the old software does and more. For instance with SCAL 2.o you can work in layers (multiple pages in a project) like you can in Cricut Design Studio, you can select all parts in a design (instead of resizing each part individually) and the best part is that you can convert clip art right in the program and cut it! to test it out I clicked the “Trace image” button (it looks like a tree) and selected a jpg clip art file, clicked OK and viola the shape appeared on my cutting mat ready to go! I also tried it with a gif file and it worked great. You can save the files as svg if you like as well. No fussing with inkscape…I think I’m in love!

The downside is that it is for use with Windows only so if you have a Mac you will need to run the old version or wait until the mac version comes out later this year. There is a $30 fee for the upgrade {It will go up to $35 after the intro period} and you need to verify that you have version 1.16 to purchase the upgrade only. After they verify that you already have scal they will send you the coupon code so you can get the upgrade for $30. You will get the code immediately, instant gratification! If you don’t have SCAL yet you can get version 2.0 will all of the bells and whistles for $75.

Here is a page with die cuts I cut with Sure Cuts a Lot (scal) software. The star clips on this page can be downloaded from yesterdays post, you can snag the baseball svg here. I cut the title with fonts already on my computer! The background paper with the baseball words was done for free at http://www.wordle.net.

Download my baseball svg here.

If you don’t have scal and want to make the baseball cut a circle from white cardstock and cut an arch from each side with pinking edge scissors then mount it on a larger red circle, the red peeking through under the deco-cut area will look like the stitches in a baseball 😉

SCAL version 2.o questions: Here I answer some questions you may have regarding the new SCAL upgrade.

Can I run the new scal on two computers? yes

Can I keep both versions of scal on my computer or does the new upgrade overwrite my original scal? You can run both versions,  SCAL 2.0 does NO overwrite your original scal software (version 1.o15 or 1.016)

Can I open scut files I created in my old SCAL in Scal2? Yes, you can open the scut files that you created in the old version with the new one (scal 2.0) but you can not open scut files from scal 2.0 with the old scal, probably due to the fact tst the new scal allows you to work with multiple pages in a project and multiple layers within a page. I will keep my old version if I am designing a scut file to share to be sure everyone will scal can use it 😉

Can I convert black and white clip art to cut with my cricut in SCAL.20? Yes, it easily converts single color clip art to an svg file, for paper piecing with multiple colors you will still need to use another program such as Inkscape but for simple conversions it is fast and easy and does a terrific job!

Can I cut all the fonts on my computer? Both versions of scal will let you cut true type fonts and dingbats with your cricut.

Can I cut images from cricut cartridges with scal 2.0? No, that’s illegal.

Can I use SCAL 2.0 on a Mac? Not yet, a Mac version of scal 2.0 will be out later this year. Scal version 1.016 works with a mac though (be sure to select the Mac version!)

The best way to learn the software is to try four yourself, anyone can download a free 10 day trial here. If you cut with SCAL in the trial mode it will cut lines through your project until you pay for it but at least you can see how awesome this software is!

If you have questions about the new scal upgrade or scal in general leve a comment and I will answer each one I promise!

Thanks for stopping by and til next time happy crafting!