I had been using the Cricut Joy for about 2 years, and enjoyed making things with it. I started making T-shirts and sometimes it was tricky due to the size, so I upgraded to the Joy Xtra and I LOVE it!! I can do more things with it, including shirts. It’s been perfect for me because I’m not yet ready to jump into the more advanced things at this time, but it gives me more cutting space where I don’t have to “piece” together all of my designs.
I use large Roland 64-inch Print and Cut and Flatbed UV Printers, plus smaller 24-inch Graphtec Cutters, but I believe that the smaller craft cutters, like the Cricut Joy Xtra, are just easier to work with for very small lettering.