Learn all about using fonts in Silhouette Studio!
This complete font guide will teach you how to add your fonts to the Silhouette Studio software, how to choose the best fonts for your projects, and how to edit and manipulate them with your Silhouette Cameo. 🤩
Which fonts can I use with my Silhouette?
You can find tons of free and paid fonts on the Internet, and you can use all of them with your Silhouette Studio software.
If they can be installed on your computer, the software will let you use them for cutting. There are, however, a few things to keep in mind that will make a BIG difference:
✔️ Free fonts
Free fonts are great, but be careful, because they are a very common way of spreading computer viruses and other malware onto your computer 💻. Make sure you only download free fonts from highly reputable sources. It is much more expensive to remove a computer virus than to buy high-quality font files.
Dafont and 1001 Fonts are reputable websites that offer free fonts for personal use.
✔️ What type of font do you need?
If you are creating items for your personal use, any font will do!
If you plan to sell your creations (even just to your friends and family), you need to use fonts that offer a commercial-use license. You can still find free fonts for commercial use, but most of them are paid. 💸
How do I download fonts into the Silhouette Studio software?
Now that you understand everything about fonts, all that's left to do is transfer the fonts you've chosen into your Silhouette Studio software. The good news is that this part is EASY!
Step 1️⃣: Close Silhouette Studio if it's open.
Step 2️⃣: Download the font you want by clicking "download" on a font website (in the example below, this is the Dafont site).
Step 3️⃣: Install the font on your computer (NOT in Silhouette Studio). Usually, the font file is compressed, so you'll need to unzip the folder (by clicking on it) and then open the unzipped folder.
Once that's done, find the font file you want and double-click to open it. Once your font's page is open, you can click the "install" button, normally located at the top left of the open page.
Step 4️⃣: Once installed, open Silhouette Studio. Click the font icon and your new font will appear in the font menu! (See the image below for reference.)
Troubleshooting: Very rarely, even after restarting Silhouette Studio, the font doesn't appear. If this happens, try the following steps:
Check the font name. Sometimes the font name is displayed differently in the software. Find the font on your computer by going into the font settings and look at what it's called.
Restart your entire computer. This usually isn't necessary, but if you're having trouble with the font displaying, a restart can help the Silhouette Studio software list your font. 👍
How do I edit text?
Go into the Silhouette Studio software; the text tool is located on the left side of the screen. Click the "A" and type your text.
You have a default font, but you can replace it with any font on your computer. Change the font using the text style panel or the drop-down menu at the top of the screen.
You can change the font size in Silhouette Studio using the drop-down menu at the top of the screen, or by dragging the corners of the text box to increase or decrease its size.
To edit text you've already written, double-click inside the text box and a cursor will appear. You can now edit the text just as you would in a text editing program. 😀
How do I use script fonts?
Script fonts are a popular style used in the Silhouette software. When you write with script fonts, you need to take an extra step before cutting your font. Because of the way fonts are made, each letter overlaps the next, which causes the cut lines to overlap.
To remove this overlap and cut the font as a single piece, you need to attach the letters together using the weld tool located on the right side of your screen (the blue icon in the image below). Then click "Souder" or "Weld" in English to make the overlapping strokes disappear.
How do I create curved text?
Creating curved text is useful if you're making things like labels or circular vinyl decals.
To curve text around a circle, first draw a circle (using the circle icon on the left in Silhouette Studio). Now type your text next to the circle.
Then select the text by double-clicking and drag it over the circle until it snaps into place. It's as simple as that! 😉
We hope this blog has helped you learn more about the different fonts as well as creating text in the Silhouette Studio software.
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