A Beginner's Guide: Print & Cut

Hi all, Niki here with a very basic tutorial on using the Print and Cut feature on your Silhouette. I had a go at this when I first got my Silhouette Cameo and somehow I managed to fail miserably, and I've never attempted it again since. So since being invited to join the Silhouette UK Design Team, I figured I really ought to master this!

So here's what I have discovered. Firstly, start off with something easy. I initially tried something rather complicated. I intend to master more tricky files later too, but for now I'm sticking to the lovely Print & Cut files that have already been designed for me in the store. These are files that have a pattern that can be printed, but also have a cut line built into them.

The first thing to do is change the page settings. My printer only takes A4 paper so I need to tell my Silhouette that it must work within the A4 paper size.  Select the 'View' menu at the top and select 'Show Design Page Settings'. This opens up the Design Page Settings window on the right of the screen. Click on the dropdown menu next to 'Automatic Cameo' and scroll down, until you see A4 and select it.

The paper displayed on the cutting mat will change to A4 size.

You then need to add registration marks.  These allow the Silhouette to scan the page and configure its settings so that it cuts the printed designs perfectly. Go to the Silhouette menu at the top, then click Registration Marks, which will open the Registration Marks window on the right of the screen.

Select Type 1 from the 'Style' dropdown menu and the registration marks will automatically appear on your screen.

Now is the fun part. Select your Print & Cut designs from the store. Resize and duplicate as desired but ensure they are within the registration marks brackets. Now print your files by selecting File, print. Once printed, place your A4 paper onto the Silhouette mat, in the same place and orientation that it appears on screen, then load it into your machine and send it to Silhouette for cutting in the usual way (adjust your cut settings to match your card/paper that you printed your design on to). The machine should then scan for the registration marks and cut out your designs perfectly - magic!

Thanks for stopping by and reading this very basic tutorial - I will have something a little more complex for you next time, look out for Print & Cut Part II, same time next week!

DESIGNS USED:
Flower Cluster Painted Blue #81225
Floral Painted Love #82932

PRODUCTS USED: