Ok, the first thing we realized when we walked in was these scrapbooking folks are exactly like the gamers and the Mac heads we know... they are INTENSELY committed to their interest.

There were hands-on classes and crafting seminars in the various convention rooms. There were also quite a few vendors on the show floor

They attend classes and workshops.  They pack booths at the show floor.  Most importantly, they BUY lots of stuff.

We sat in on Beth's class for a while and saw the Xyron products (DesignRunner, 900 Laminator, cutters) in use.  Click on the video in the image below to see the laminator in action.

Later, we made our way to the Xyron booth and had a most illuminating chat with the folks there.  The story of how the DesignRunner came to be was fascinating! We'll tell you more about it at another time.  We came to check out the Xyron line and they were happy to showed us all their gear... yes, including the WishBlade.

We took some videos of the WishBlade in action.  The video files are a bit large so download may be a bit slow if you don't have a broadband connection.

Programming the WishBlade appeared quite simple.  It does have a standard SD card slot...Yay!  This version is PC only.  Hopefully, the Mac support will be coming soon. 

The WishBlade is one cool machine.  It works just like a plotter except it has a cutting blade instead of a pen. The cutter can be used to make more than just patterns, it can also be use to make cool 3-D cards and other objects.  We will definitely take a much closer look at this device and see how far we can push the capabilities of this unit.

We don't think this product is just for scrapbookers.  We think a LOT of designers and other creative folks would be very interested in a programmable cutter!

Some of the Xyron folks were in Manchester NH on Saturday for a CKC Scrapbooking Convention.  A few of us thought we should go check out what this phenomenon was all about.  It would also give us a chance to take a look at this new WishBlade cutter you have been pestering us to review.

There were a large number of vendors selling materials and consumables.  There were also a few demonstrating products.

Since we were most interested in the Xyron gear, we spent most of our time chatting with their reps.  We also dropped in on a Design Runner class to see all of the products being used by scrapbooker of all levels.

We were impressed with the general ease of use of the products.  Everyone in the class were able to use the printers and laminators after a quick explanation...try that test using your average digital camera or cell phone!

Design Runner:

1. FirstLook

2. FirstUse

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