Splitcoaststampers.com - the world's #1 papercrafting community
You're currently viewing Splitcoaststampers as a GUEST. We pride ourselves on being great hosts, but guests have limited access to some of our incredible artwork, our lively forums and other super cool features of the site! You can join our incredible papercrafting community at NO COST. So what are you waiting for?
Ok, so I'm teaching logic this fall. So my "logic brain" is in overdrive.
My thought. Many companies make machines. Even more make dies. The machines are made so that any dies can be used in them, and the dies are made to be used in any machine. If they didn't the companies making "oddballs" would go out of business. Nobody wants to go out of business, so it's to their advantage to make dies and machines that are interchangeable with everyone else's.
Imagine if someone decided that they would make a DVD that was a bit thinner and hence lighter than the average. Maybe to save a bit of money. But a standard DVD player can't play those disks. So they have to make a special player too. But who is going to buy a second player for one brand of disks?
As for the dies? There is probably more variation from one machine of a particular brand to another than there is between thickness of dies. One machine might require a thin shim when another doesn't.
Stampin Up sells a shim to use with the new dies. I've seen videos where domonstrators use the SU silicone craft mat as a shim. Others here are saying they have used the normal sandwich and had fine results.
Stampin' Up! always recommended using the metal shim with Thinlits dies. They were the more intricate dies and some sets had both Thinlits and Framelits in them.
The same directions were given in sets by Sizzix as well.
Many stamp artists use the shim with all intricate dies because they cut those itty-bitty holes out much better.