Silhouette is one of the most popular vinyl cutter brands out there with a range of machines to assist your creative mind and cutting process. Two of them are the Silhouette Cameo 4 Vs 3 which as the name suggests are close siblings with similar set of features or capabilities while the newer version is supposed to be the better. If you are wondering which of them will be the more suitable option for you, do check our comparison below about what these machines can offer.
In this article, we are going to give you information about:
- Why Buying a Vinyl Cutter
- What are Silhouette Cameo 4 and 3
- What Silhouette Cameo 4 and 3 Look Like
- How are the Cutting Ability of Silhouette Cameo 4 and 3
- What else Silhouette Cameo 4 and 3 can offer
- How are the Performance of Silhouette Cameo 4 and 3
- Silhouette Cameo 4 Vs 3
Vinyl Cutter and Convenience
People have their own preference when it comes to hobbies, just like what music you like or what foods you want to have often, our hobbies can vary from just one or two to enjoying various activities both indoor and outdoor. Crafting is one of those hobbies we can do at home and can be done by everyone regardless of age and gender because everyone can be creative and play around with their mind. The media can be everything from paper, fabric, wall, objects, even nature.
The easiest among them or the most convenient is probably paper. We can draw on them, cut them, manipulate the shape, etc. it is fairly easier to work with paper than many other typical media. The tool itself is also very common and probably already present in your drawer such as a razor blade, scissors, ruler, drawing pencils, and marker. One more we want to add and it is a cutting machine or vinyl cutter. Not all crafters have this but you will love to have one for its convenience.
| Silhouette Cameo 4 | Silhouette Cameo 3 | |
|---|---|---|
  |   |
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| Product Dimensions | 7.87 x 22.44 x 6.69 inches | 22.5 x 8.5 x 6 inches |
| Shipping Weight | 13 pounds | 6 pounds |
| Best offer | Check price | Check price |
As the name suggests it is a cutting machine and this machine is meant to cut a sheet of material, mostly paper and fabric. We personally love this machine because they are very helpful in the cutting process. Usually we draw something or print something for example flower petals to make a greeting card or small ornaments and then using scissors or a hobby knife to cut along the design which takes time depending on the complexity and how you are used to it.
Sometimes we can do great but there are also times when you accidentally mess the cutting and want to redo it. We can avoid it by using a vinyl cutter because they are more accurate and faster than manual cutting. This can both save the frustration as well as time and even saving material as well since we don’t need to redo several prints. Not only how the machine looks, the mechanism is also a bit similar to a printer as well.
A vinyl cutter will work with software, mostly from the manufacturer and from this software we can download or make a design of our own and then send it to the machine. Inside the machine there is a fine blade that will move according to the design sent by the software to cut your material. Depending on complexity and size, the process can take seconds or minutes but, each machine’s capabilities will not always be the same both in features and reliability.
About Silhouette Cameo 4 and 3
The function itself is what makes a vinyl cutter a good investment to make if you are a hobbyist or a person who is going to cut a lot of material in sheet form whether it is just for fun or you may actually want to gain some economic value from it. Most hobbyist machines are pretty lightweight means they are capable of handling the common materials we use for cards and similar products but some can offer more than just convenient.
Looking for a vinyl cutter is pretty easy because there are not so many of them in the market and chances are you will be familiar with most of them such as Brother or Cricut but if you are here then what attracts your attention this time is Silhouette. This brand is among the most popular as well and it is for good reason as their machines are reliable and for many of us, as long as we can cut with this vinyl cutter, then it already serves the purpose.
But, when you need to compete with other manufacturers and similar products, you will also need to improve everytime and this is what Silhouette did with their machines Silhouette Cameo 4 and 3. The two are siblings and the newer is currently the favorite of many crafters for reliability but what they improved from the older variant may be your concern. It is true that the Cameo 3 is also a very capable machine, moreover with the superb software.
On the new Cameo 4, the machine itself got quite the upgrade and if you have been enjoying the Cameo 3, then we think you will also love the sister. In terms of capabilities and features most of them are the same and you can still cut or use a printed design to be cut in the machine but when it comes to reliability, the new machine is improved a lot to let you choose from a wide range of different materials. Read also: Silhouette Cameo 4 Vs Cricut Maker here.
Silhouette Cameo 4 and 3 Design
As you can see from the sample picture above, the two are pretty much the same when it comes to design. They have the same shape of a printer with a panel on top of it which can be opened upward and downward for the Cameo 4. The new machine has touch buttons but is much simpler compared to the older vinyl cutter that has a touch screen display so it will look fancier. When you open this panel there are two clamps that hold the blade.
These machines have a very low-profile but are quite wide so you may want to allocate a room on the desk. The sample picture is white but you can find these cutting machines in a few shades to match your preference such as mint or even black but personally we like the pure white color as it is neater. While they have two clamps, you will only find one blade which is an auto blade in the box so we need to purchase the other blades separately.
Silhouette Cameo 4 and 3 Cutting Ability
The two are cutting machines so they need to be reliable in the cutting process and besides the cutting tool or blade itself, each machine will have a maximum cutting force in order to piece through your material. Here the Cameo 4 is improved a lot from the older Cameo 3 because now it offers 5,000 grams of force compared to only 210 grams, making the new machine becoming more reliable when it comes to cutting a more robust or thicker material.
However, for the cutting area both Silhouette Cameo 4 and 3 are still the same which is 12 by 12 inches when not using the mat or 12 by 24 inches when using the mat. Due to the increased force, the new machine is also coming with added depth so now we can cut a material as thick as 3 mm compared to only 2 mm.
Silhouette Cameo 4 and 3 Features
Moving further, the basic capabilities of these machines are still the same however but sadly we can’t interchange their blades as the accessories are machine’s specific. One of the most attractive features from Silhouette is the PixScan mat which allows you to take a picture from your phone of a drawing or design on top of the mat and send the data to the software. In the software we can manipulate the design and send it for cutting which is very convenient for various purposes.
The Cameo 4 also comes with a roll feeding which is great to place a roll of your favorite material such as vinyl and heat transfer material with their own backing so we can work faster when dealing with a continuous cutting process. It also has a cross cutter to cut down the material everytime you are done cutting so we can get a clean and straight cut for the next project.
Silhouette Cameo 4 and 3 Performance
The last part is for performance and here both Silhouette Cameo 4 and 3 are very much capable machines. Their difference besides the missing features on the older machine is mostly on the speed as the recent variant is more reliable and faster when doing its job. The result is still neat and clean just like the older machine however yet, you still can cut for up to 10 feet in any of them as long as the material has a backing of its own.
Silhouette Cameo 4 Vs 3
These cutting machines are very convenient if you will be cutting a lot or just want to skip the meticulous process which we used to do manually. They are also very similar but Cameo 4 is now coming with far stronger cutting force, has a built in roll holder, and a taller or thicker material depth. In terms of reliability they are the same or capable of cutting in details yet the newer machine is also faster in comparison.
Conclusion
Overall you can choose any of them based on which seems to fit you better but in comparison if you have no issue with the budget, we highly recommend to get Cameo 4 because this machine has a stronger force to let you cut various different materials.
