I have this machine and i love. yes you will need a card to go into the slot. you can buy the cards with the designs or get a card box, name's are amazing box which i have and lost my thought and the other name. the way to go is getting the box. it comes with a card but you can get more for about 60.00. they are re-usable. i have thousands of designs free from the internet. hope this helps. if you would like pm me and i will give you a few of the sites.