Cricut Bright Pad Review

Do You Really Need It? Let’s Find Out!

Today, I bring you the Cricut Bright Pad review. Cricut is a well-known and highly appreciated brand in the crafting world.

Hearing this name, your first association might be their excellent die-cutting machines – these made their name famous in the first place.

You wouldn’t be far from the truth there. However, Cricut has many different tools designed to enable you to live your creative life to the fullest.

This post will help you decide whether you need this undoubtedly useful little device that can be used for weeding, tracing, and much more.

So, without any further ado, let’s start our quest!

Circut Bright Pad – Overview

Cricut Bright Pad is a simple device with a simple task – it is meant to provide the best lighting conditions for your crafting projects.

It is mostly used for tracing and weeding, but there are numerous other situations when it comes in handy.

At first look, the pad resembles a tablet – it is thin and light enough to fit your hands comfortably. It offers five brightness levels so that you can always adjust it to your current needs.

It is not the cheapest device of that type on the market, so the big question is – is it worth the money?

Continue reading and decide for yourself.

Cricut Bright Pad – Grades Table

If you’re on the run and have the required knowledge to select proper hardware for your practice, here’s a handy table that evaluates this product to your convenience.

On the other hand, if you want to learn about the device in detail and see how it actually performs and feels like, read on – the detailed review follows!

What’s in The Box?

• Cricut Bright Pad
• Welcome Booklet
• 6-feet USB power cord
• Wall power adapter
• Warranty

Specs and Highlight Features

• Dimensions – The dimensions of the tool are 16.3 x 12 x 2 inches.
  The size of the lit area is 9″ x 11.5″.
• Weight – 1.75 pounds
• Uniform LED Backlight – even cold white light that lasts for about 50,000 hours.
• +/- keypad buttons – allow you to adjust the level of brightness. There are five different levels to choose from.
• Non-Slip Base – anti-slip coating on the unit’s bottom side secures the stable working surface no matter where you position the pad.
• High Scratch Hardness Level – the 6H level is one of the highest among the types of devices and makes this lightbox scratch-resistant.
• Low Profile Design – 0.35-inches deep and incredibly lightweight.
• 6 Foot USB Power Cord – long enough and well made, provides a stable power supply to the pad.
• 1-year limited warranty

Cricut Bright Pad – A Step by Step Review

Cricut Bright Pad comes safely packed, and it is good to see that a company takes the quality of their packaging seriously as that guarantees that the product will be fully functional when it reaches your hands for the first time.

The pad comes with the power cord needed to operate the unit, which brings me to the biggest downfall of the Cricut Bright pad – the fact that it is not battery-operated.

We live in the modern era of mobile, cordless devices and we are all so used to not being tied down by them. Therefore, it is surprising, to say the least, that Cricut has not equipped their Bright pad with a rechargeable battery.

In their defense, the pad is very slim because of that, and they did make the cord quite long, so you will be able to choose your working spot with few limitations only.

You won’t really need a user manual (although it is provided) since all you need to start the pad and use it is to press the power button and light the screen.

Buttons & Light Controls

There are only two additional control buttons, and those are + and – buttons. You can probably assume that you use them to adjust the level of brightness. Logically, the + increases the light output, while – serves to reduce it.

There are five brightness levels for you to choose from to find the one that best serves your current project, and those are:

• Level 1: 400 Lumens
• Level 2: 1300 Lumens
• Level 3: 2200 Lumens
• Level 4: 3100 Lumens
• Level 5: 4000 Lumens

On the bright side, the Cricut Bright pad comes with LED lighting of the highest quality, capable of lasting 50,000 hours. The entire working surface is evenly lit, and the light is cold white.

The Pad’s Work Area & Coating

The Bright Pad’s work area measures 9 x 11.5 inches, and although it might not seem much, it will appease most of your small and medium-sized crafting projects while keeping the unit portable at the same time. In fact, it provides more working surface than most of its competition.

This lightbox features an anti-slip coating on its bottom side that enables you to use it on any work surface with minimal risk of an accident. I am sure that you will appreciate the stable work surface when working on delicate projects.

Thanks to the low profile design, this lightbox does not appear or feel bulky. If you do drop it by accident, you will be glad to know that it boasts a high scratch hardness level of 6H, which is excellent for an electronic gadget considering that most other devices of this type provide a maximum of 3.5H.

This Cricut machine comes with a 1-year warranty as all their other devices, but it is valid for home use only and does not cover accidental damage or misuse.

General Performance

Although simple, the Cricut Bright pad is a multipurpose crafting device. It can boost your creativity as well as make your work easier.

It is ideal for tracing as it enables you to sit and draw without having to adjust anything. If your projects include intricate details or require high precision, this lightbox will help you get everything perfectly done.

If you are a proud owner of the Cricut Explore One cutting machine, you are blessed with an opportunity to cut any custom design no matter what material you use or how complicated or detailed the design is. Unfortunately, before you can use your designs, you first need to weed them, which is not always fun.

Weeding can be a tiresome task, especially when cutting intricate designs or dealing with textured materials such as glitter iron-on or vinyl; in such situations, it is hard to see the cut lines. You can even end up damaging your design, and that would mean that you have wasted your resources and your time and effort – all in vain!

Luckily, the Cricut Bright pad makes it easier for you to weed out the negative cuts by providing you with extra light and stability. Even though the surface is non-sliding, I recommend you tape down the edges for the best weeding experience.

If you are willing to invest a bit more money, I recommend that you buy a new weeding tool that Cricut had released when they released the Bright Pad.

It will make the weeding of tiny pieces that are hard to get much easier. When you use the pad and this tool together, you will really feel that weeding is no longer a big deal!

I have tried the Bright pad with glitter iron-on material, and the light passed through it, making it easy to cut lines. It proved great on adhesive vinyl as well. Unfortunately, it did not prove to be as good when working with smooth or glitter HPV as the cut lines were barely visible.

Of course, weeding is not the only thing you can use the Bright pad for. Lightboxes are traditionally used for tracing all sorts of images, and Cricut Bright pad excels in this area. Therefore, illustrators and graphic designers can use it for various projects too.

Cricut Bright pad can help with needlepoint or jewelry making as well. Finally, it is a great opportunity for your kids (if you have them) to learn how to draw!

To Sum It All Up…

Final Thoughts

The Cricut Bright Pad justifies the good name of the company and makes for an indispensable crafting tool. It is well-made, durable, but most of all, highly functional and utterly practical device.

Unfortunately, it is not perfect. In comparison to its competition, it bears a rather high price tag. And even though the quality of making can justify the price, the fact that it does not come with a rechargeable battery cannot be easily dismissed. We are all so used to mobility!

If you can afford it and do not mind the fact that you will be somewhat limited when choosing your working space, Cricut Bright Pad is a device definitely worth considering.

Will you trust the reputation that Cricut has managed to establish and invest some extra money to buy this device? It is up to you.