Scan 'n Cut, Brother
Thursday January 15, 2026
I recently purchased a Brother Scan N Cut machine so I could finally print my own stickers. A reason why I put off getting one for so long is because I assumed this machine was much more Cricut-like than it actually is. The more I learned about Cricut machines, the more I was sure that they were not for me. When I saw that you can get a Disney themed Scan N Cut loaded with Disney patterns, my knee-jerk reaction was “Oh my God, they are all the same shit.” In reality, they are pretty different from each other.
In short, Cricuts depend way too much on their special “Cricut Design Space” software for my taste. I already use (and love) Krita and Inkscape, so I definitely don’t want to use some web app that tries to sell me cutting patterns or a subscription to “Cricut Access”. The Scan N Cut can be used completely offline and without a computer. Upon powering up for the first time, it is ready to use without begging you to connect it to the internet and make an account. Imagine that.
What makes this thing perfect (for me) is the scanning feature, which will automatically generate a cut line around whatever is run through it. Adjustments can be made on the tiny little touch screen, so I can shrink the cut line down a bit to get nice edge-to-edge prints. I don’t actually have sticker paper yet, so I’ve just been testing it with some of the paper I have lying around.
The big guy on the left was printed on Red River “Polar Matte” paper with the cut line adjusted. The little guy on the right was printed on cheap card stock with no adjustments done after the initial scan. The difference in color between both papers is so crazy to me. I’ve been using the card stock for the zine centerfolds just because I already had a lot of it, and the nice paper is understandably much more expensive. After seeing the difference, I will definitely be stocking up on 8.5" x 11" sheets of Red River paper for the next zine issue. Sure, it’ll cost me more, but I’m operating at a loss even with the cheap paper because nobody is buying. It’s all just for fun anyway, but I’d like to make all this stuff the best I can.
This machine is surprisingly easy to use most of the time, but things get annoying if it does a bad job at detecting the edges of a design after scanning. Here is a little Mr. Driller 2 thing I made:
The end result turned out nice, but getting to this point was much more tedious than with the previous print. For whatever reason, no matter how much I messed with settings, it kept trimming out the orange part above “AER”. I accepted my fate and set up a Brother account, allowing me to import the scan into the web based design software and manually define a cut line. Fortunately, I can very easily make a cut line SVG in Inkscape, then upload it to the web app instead of using the nightmare tools provided by the web app itself.
At first, I thought that this thing would completely replace the need for services like Stickermule, but after just a few prints I have realized that is not the case. This will be really awesome for small runs of unimportant stickers. Peeling designs off the sticky mat after each cut is tedious, and the whole process is made more tedious if the cut line needs to be adjusted at my computer. The number of stickers I can make at one time is limited by the size of the paper and the size of the sticky mat. Stickermule stickers are more durable, but the maerk.xyz stickers I slap in Barcade bathrooms certainly do not need to be durable. Those get peeled off or covered up constantly. I don’t think I have ever seen one of my stickers visible on the next trip.
I’m excited. Obviously. I’m making this post without even having sticker paper in my possession. Use the shop RSS feed if you want to know about new sticker designs.
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