Vendor Spotlight & GIVEAWAY: Xyron Creatopia (article 1 of 6)

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Reported by Julie Tiu

I’ve never really used anything like this before, so I was really excited to get my hands on this machine. Up until now, I was only familiar with the Xyron sticker maker and hand-held adhesive applicator tool. Xyron has put together the ultimate machine, Creatopia: a non-electric adhesive and laminating machine which also cuts, embosses and die-cuts. It's pretty hefty and built like a tank; this beast is about 12 pounds! With the machine came 25 ft. of permanent adhesive. I also received 40 ft. refills (which they cutely named "Refillz") of repositionable adhesive, fabric adhesive and two-sided laminate. All are acid-free.

The cartridges are definitely bulky so you may want to reserve a spot in a cabinet for storage or use a dedicated container for storing them. And, when I'm done with the cartridge, I wonder if I can recycle them? Maybe Xyron has a recycling program?

Before I started using the Creatopia, I didn't see any of the tutorial videos Xyron posted, but I highly recommend viewing them. While the Creatopia does appear simple to use, the written directions seem sparse and slightly unclear. Usually, you look to the product overview as the “Quick Start” guide. It wasn’t as quick as I would have liked.

The text is tiny, which isn't a problem for me, but might be for others. It would have also been nice to have better visuals instead of the small 1/2” - 1” high pictorials of the machine overview, and I found it difficult to go back and forth between the descriptions and diagrams. This is coming from someone with a technical background.

As far as set-up goes, there's a Crank Handle which folds in for easier storing, and when you want to use the machine, you pull the crank handle out or down. This was easy to position. Then there's the Positioning Handle, used for adjusting the rollers for different material thicknesses (up to 1/2") and this also needs to move when you switch out different adhesives. This handle was very stiff, unlike the machine in the tutorial videos. I wasn't sure if it was because my machine was new, but it hasn't really eased up in the weeks I've been playing with it. Lastly, there's a cutting device where your material exits. It's sharp and seems pretty precise.

I really like the 12” width, which for most projects, is very good. You get great edge-to-edge coverage for large pieces of paper, fabric or whatever your crafting heart desires to laminate or put adhesive on.


I had a little difficulty getting longer pieces started, but I only had to hold it in place and help feed it into the machine while I started to rotate the crank.

As you can see, I placed pieces together and ran them through to maximize the adhesive coverage.

Let's talk about the fun stuff: laminate and adhesives!

Repositionable adhesive is so great for school projects, cards and stickers. Naturally, I tried it with cardstock for some cards, but my daughter's school project was a perfect example. She wanted to stick a hand-drawn label onto a pen. It worked out beautifully, and three weeks later, I removed the paper with no residue on the pen.


The laminate is two-sided and clear. The instructions say to run it through a little to get the wrinkles out.

I thought I rolled enough out, but this is what happened with my first run. I tried to laminate a newspaper article:

Wrinkles!

One thing to consider is to run the machine with something of little consequence, like junk mail.

No wrinkles after the news clipping and junk mail. I cranked out a coffee holder that I want to use as a fabric pattern.

Laminating is great for bookmarks... the cutter went through the laminate and paper.

Beware of the pressure on the cutting edge... this was not enough. Sort of torn up.

This one is all nice and neat.

It's great for business cards, too.

How about kid art-turned-placemat?

Okay, while the idea was good, maybe not with the 3-D foamies. Notice the puckering and wrinkling? The pieces went through the machine fantastically, but this was one of those late night crafting ideas and I didn't expect a lot of wrinkling. However, if you want to make the foamies into stickers, this machine will do it for you, no problem!

My favorite part of the Creatopia is the fabric adhesive. I love it. Here's a quick video of fabric getting fed through the machine.



It's super handy to make scraps usable again, for instance, for cards!

The pieces of fabric in the video turned into strips and heart embellishments for my apron.


Probably obvious, it's easy to peel if you have a backing edge (top picture), tricky if you don’t (bottom picture).

The adhesive is super thin and sticky! I recommend the “pick off the corner first” technique and removing it slowly, per the instructions. Peel a small part of the backing away, and then lay your fabric on the surface. Pull the backing off as the fabric adheres to the surface.

With a larger cut of fabric, I wasn't successful with peeling the backing off completely before adhering to the surface. Notice the untidy attempt (above) versus the neater try (below). And, be forewarned, wrinkles on the surface will translate through to the fabric.

I turned a dollar store shoe organizer into a stuffed animal "apartment building" for my daughter. I didn't have to decorate it, but it seemed like another great late night idea.



In all cases, when I cut through the paper or fabric, I didn't get residue on my scissors or blade edges. The fabric adhesive claims it will not leave residue on needles either. Instructions for the fabric adhesive does not state if heat setting is needed. I suppose we can assume it doesn't.

Overall Xyron has not let me down yet. I'm looking forward to trying this machine with the embossing, cutting and die-cut capabilities.

Pros:

• Well made and does not use electric
• Great edge-to-edge coverage (12" width)
• Can laminate at home
• Interchangeable parts (refills) are easy to replace
• Manufacturer videos available

Cons:

• Bulky cartridges
• Directions are not all that clear
• Cartridge storage solution needed
• Wish the adhesives came with a little more description
• Not sure if refill cartridges are recyclable

MSRP:
$149.99, adhesive and laminate refills $39.99


GIVEAWAY!
One of our lucky readers is going to win a Creatopia of their very own... tell us what whiz bang ideas you have for the Creatopia, and you'll be entered to win! One comment per person, per Vendor Spotlight: Xyron Creatopia article (this is 1 of 6), please. Winner will be randomly chosen on Saturday, June 26th.

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