What cutter should I get?

[Heather Roselli]

I'm sure this has been discussed before, but I need your input...

As a designer of layered digital templates, I'd like to be able to supply the files for cutting machines along with the layered templates. Call me stupid, but I've read and asked people about them and I just can't figure it out. I just don't understand how what I provide gets translated to the machine.

So....I'm thinking of buying a cutting machine. That way it will all be here in front of me and I can figure it all out (I hope) by trial and error if I have to!

So which cutter uses the most common file types? Which is easiest to use? Which is the most popular? Which one will allow me to provide the best product to the customer/hybrid crafter?

Please keep in mind that I can't spend $100s of dollars either. Thanks for your input and help.