When you cut adhesive vinyl with a cutting machine, it is important to have the right settings right from the start so that the vinyl cut goes as smoothly as possible. 👍
So we are going to look at how to cut your adhesive vinyl using the Silhouette Studio software to get a stunning logo! ✨
For this tutorial, you can use any silhouette machine (Cameo or Portrait) because they all work with the silhouette studio software.
1 - Upload your design into the software
We are going to start by uploading the design we want to cut into the software. If you don't have an idea for a design to cut with your vinyl, you can download our set of 50 Free files for Silhouette Cameo. 😉
In Silhouette Studio, click on "File" then "Open" and look for your design. Once you have found it, double-click on it and wait, because the software will churn away for a few seconds to upload your image.
a - Vectorization
Once the image has been properly uploaded, we are going to have to "vectorize" it. This technique allows your design to have a perfect definition so that the vinyl cut is precise. 🧐
To do this, you have 2 options:
1️⃣ The first and simplest one: click on the butterfly-shaped image on the right of your screen. Then click on "select the trace area", hold down the left click of your mouse and surround the entire design you have chosen.
The software will highlight your logo in yellow, now click on "Trace".
Delete the first logo and you will then see a second design with red outlines that has appeared, which corresponds to the vectorized logo.
2️⃣ The second vectorization method will be done with the free software Inkscape.
Once you have downloaded the software, insert the logo to be vectorized into it.
Click on it then click on "Path" ➡️ "Trace Bitmap" ➡️ "OK"
You have now created a vectorized logo with the Inkscape software! But you now need to upload it into Silhouette Studio:
Delete the initial logo that is not vectorized and click on "File" then "Save As" and choose the DXF file type.
Click on "Save" and on "OK" to finalize the operation.
Go back to Silhouette Studio, go again to "File" ➡️ "Open" and double-click on the file in DXF format.
And there you have it! 🏆
You can change the size of the image by holding the left click at its edges.
Note: When you want to do adhesive vinyl cutting, you don't need to cut your design in mirror format. This method does, however, apply to heat-transfer flex designs.
b - The cut settings for adhesive vinyl
We are now going to move on to the cut settings. To do this, click on the blue "SEND" button at the top right of the screen.
In the small box at the top right with red designs, click on the "cut" option.
You can see 3 rectangular boxes with 3 small arrows on the right side.
On the first box, you need to choose the material "Glossy Vinyl" or "Matte Vinyl".
On the second box, choose "Cut" and on the third one "Auto Blade".
As for the settings for the Vinyl cut, they can vary depending on the different vinyls you use. We do, however, advise you to always keep your blade size at level 1. To do this, click on the black wheel so you arrive at level 1. ☝️
Set the force to 14 and the speed to 5.
If the cut of your adhesive vinyl has not been successful, here are the two options:
The blade of your cutting machine did not cut the vinyl deeply enough. ➡️ You need to increase the force of your blade.
The blade of your cutting machine pierced through the cardstock backing of the vinyl. ➡️ You need to decrease the force of your blade.
Once all these settings are good, we are going to insert the self-adhesive vinyl into the machine to make a perfect vinyl cut:
2 - Prepare the Vinyl for the vinyl cut
Get your carrier mat and place the adhesive vinyl on top. The cardstock part of the adhesive vinyl must be stuck on the mat and the colored part of the vinyl must be on the outside.
If your carrier mat is not very sticky, we advise you to add masking tape at the edges.
Head over to your cutting machine and lower the wheel to open the metal bar.
Place the Mat between the two white plastic rings (one on the left and the other on the right of the machine).
Close the gray wheel again.
The cutting mat should hold on its own on the machine.
Now press the arrow that goes up (load) on your machine and click on the "Send" button in the Silhouette Studio software (if your machine is connected to the software, the cut will start!)
Once the machine is running, wait a few minutes or seconds depending on the size of the logo you are cutting (the bigger the logo, the longer it will take to cut.)
Once the adhesive vinyl cut is finished, please unload the machine by clicking on "unload".
The machine will eject the cutting mat.
We are now going to move on to the weeding step, which consists of removing the excess adhesive vinyl all around your logo.
3 - Weeding
For this step, it is essential to use a weeding hook in order to remove all the excess after the vinyl cut. The elements outside your design should come away very easily without needing to force them.
Stay gentle during weeding to avoid the risk of removing an element of your logo.
Once the step is finished, you should see your logo in the flesh on its cardstock backing.
4 - Application
To apply your adhesive vinyl onto a surface, we need to use transfer tape as well as an application squeegee.
The transfer tape is essential to transfer your logo onto a desired surface.
The application squeegee allows you to correctly apply your adhesive vinyl paper logo onto the desired surface so that it adheres perfectly.
Vinyl cut application:
1️⃣ Cut a piece of tape the size of your logo, remove the sticky plastic film from the tape and apply it onto your logo. The tape must completely cover your vinyl design.
Here is an explanatory video on how to correctly apply your tape onto your vinyl.
2️⃣ Chase out the bubbles present using your application squeegee.
3️⃣ Slowly remove the Tape from the surface, your logo should come along with it and transfer entirely.
4️⃣ Apply the logo onto the surface you want (example: a window, a wall, a frame...) and go over it one last time with your application squeegee for 10 seconds.
5️⃣ Remove the tape gently, the logo will stay perfectly stuck to the surface. And there you have it! ✔️
This is how the making and application of your vinyl comes to an end. At the start the process is rather tedious, but you will see that with practice it will be child's play for you! 🤩
To order our adhesive vinyls and create quality designs, you can dive into our adhesive vinyl shop 🏊♂️. We offer 3 different types of vinyl: Matte, Glossy and Glitter Vinyl for unique creations!
We also offer gridded transfer tape as well as application squeegees so you can personalize and transfer your designs onto whatever surfaces you want. 😉
Now that you have all the tools and tips needed to make a vinyl cut, all that's left is to take action! 💪
