Big Shot ™ vs eclips ™

Have you ever wondered about the benefits of manual versus electronic die-cutting? Or perhaps you’re considering treating yourself to a Sizzix ® machine and just can’t decide which one is right for you? Never fear, we’ve got tips, tricks, videos and example Christmas themed projects using both machines to help you make up your mind!

The Big Shot ™ is a hand-operated roller machine that enables you to die-cut and emboss shapes in a variety of different designs. The Big Shot ™ is really simple to use and is perfect for loads of different crafts including Papercrafting, Home decor, Jewellery making and much more!

Big Shot ™
  • Works with every Sizzix ® die and embossing technology, so lots of designs to choose from.*
  • Can cut everything from paper and cardstock to chipboard and leather so the possibilities are endless!
  • Perfect for use in Papercrafting, Jewellery Making, Home décor, Clothing embellishment, Cardmaking, Scrapbooking and much more
  • Lightweight and compact design makes storage or transport really easy.
  • Easy to use die-sandwich system means that cutting with everything from Framelits ™ wafer thin dies to Bigz ™ Steel rule is simple
  • Can layer up thinner materials when using Steel rule dies to cut several copies at once. You can also use folding techniques to use die shapes in different ways e.g. to create concertina folds or an entirely new shape!
  • Sleek black and pink design with built in handle – so it’s perfect for crafting on the move

*excludes Bigz ™ Pro dies


The eclips ™ is an electronic shape-cutting machine that uses image cartridges and comes with a handheld remote. This machine allows you to electronically manipulate and cut the shapes on the image cartridges without the need for a computer. It is perfect for detailed shapes and personalised designs.

eclips ™
  • Ability to customise all shapes
  • Image Cartridges come in 25, 50 and 100 shape format, and each one can be manipulated in many different ways
  • Blade can be manually positioned and shapes can be rotated for less paper waste!
  • Perfect for use in personalised Stationery and Papercraft projects, intricate patterns and cutting the same shape in large or small sizes. You can create shapes up to 12” x 12” and borders up to 12” x 24”, or cut designs to the nearest 1/100 of an inch!
  • Can use the fill function to cut the same shape repeatedly until all the paper is used
  • Once you’ve programmed in your needs, just press cut and the machine does all the rest!
  • Cool white and blue design with built in handle – plus no need to connect to a computer!
Which is your favourite machine?
eclips ™ Big Shot ™

Big shot eclips
Papercrafting ● ●
Cardmaking ● ●
Scrapbooking ● ●
Home Decor ●
Clothing Embellishment ●
3D Nets e.g boxes and bags ● ●
Jewellery Making ●
Longer Paper shapes and borders up to 12" x 24" ●

Q. My Daughter’s wedding is next year and I would love to craft her wedding stationery - invites, place cards, seating chart etc. I don’t currently have a die-cutting machine and I was wondering which you recommend for this kind of thing?

A .Wow, that’s really nice of you to do that for your daughter! Well, it really depends on what style of stationery you want. If you are after more tactile elements then I would suggest the Big Shot™, but if it is traditional paper and card you’ll be using, then the eclips would be perfect for this. With the handheld remote you can choose your shape (such as a heart), change it to your preferred size and then choose the fill function. The eclips will then automatically fill your cardstock or paper with as many cuts as it can at that size, while you sit back and relax! This machine would make crafting the wedding stationery quick and easy, and there’s even a Wedding themed cartridge you could use! (item: 657143, Wedding and Big Day Alphabet)

Q. I was given a Big Shot ™ Starter Kit for my birthday earlier this year, and I am thinking about doing some Christmas crafting with it. I really wanted to make some traditional tree decorations from felt – what would be your advice for doing this?

A .You can certainly use your Big Shot™ Starter Kit and dies to make some fabulous Christmas themed projects. We’ve created some especially for this feature, just click the links above to download!

If you want to cut thicker materials like felt with the Big Shot, it is the Bigz Die that you need to use. This is the heart shape in your kit, or you could choose one of the Bigz Dies from our latest Christmas collections such Christmas Cardmaking or Tim Holtz Christmas! I would recommend backing your felt with interfacing first so that you get a really clean cut. The Big Shot ™ is perfect for this kind of crafting, as the powerful roller system makes cutting thicker materials like felt, leather and chipboard really easy.

Q. I am a scrapbooker at heart and one of my favourite things to use is die-cut letters and phrases mounted on sticky pads for a 3D effect. However, I find it difficult to get alphabets in different sizes and sometimes I can’t find the phrase I want. Do Sizzix® produce different sized alphabet dies or is this possible with the eclips™?

A .The simple answer is yes to both! However it really depends how much freedom you want. For our manual die cutters (the Big Shot™, the Vagabond™ and the Big Shot™ Pro Machines), we make Sizzlits™ Decorative Strip Alphabet Dies and individual letters in Bigz™ Dies. This gives you different sizes to work with and the ability to use the letters to make your own phrases and titles. You can also cut many different materials with the Bigz™ individual letter dies, so they’re great for use in fabric and home décor projects.

The eclips machine offers you even more choice with the ability to manipulate the alphabets on the image cartridges. You can use the full QWERTY keypad on the handheld remote to compile your own phrases and then choose the size, add a shadow to the text or simply cut individual letters if you so desire. If you want to do a lot of personalised crafting, then the eclips is a really worthwhile investment. You can even buy a pen holder that will take almost any type of pen, from fine liners to glitter pens, so you can write your phrases directly onto your scrapbook layouts. (check out the eclips Christmas card projects for examples of bespoke phrases using a cursive alphabet with a shadow added to the text!)

Q. Hello, I really like making 3D projects, for gift wrapping and bespoke storage, but currently I measure and cut these with a craft knife using templates. This can be very time consuming and so I was wondering if there is the capability for this kind of thing with the Big Shot™ or the eclips™ and which one would be best for it?

A . Again the answer here is that yes, both machines have this capability. Version 2 of the eclips software includes a great scoring function which creates the crease lines for you, so folding and assembling the nets into 3D shapes is really easy. There is a cartridge called ‘Albums, Bags and Boxes’ that features lots of different designs for 3D shapes, and of course you can customise them to different sizes as well.
Bigz™ XL dies (for use in the Big Shot machine) are perfect for creating 3D boxes, bags and gift packaging as well, as these dies have scorelines built into them. Again this makes folding and assembling really easy. I suppose you could say that there is more choice with the eclips because you can change the size, however if it is bigger shapes you are after, you could always try our Big Shot™ Pro Machine. This is a larger version of the Big Shot™, and the Bigz™ Pro dies we make can be used with the Pro to create larger than life boxes, table decorations and much more.

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