• Home
  • >
  • Our Blog
  • >
  • How to Cut Adhesive Vinyl with Silhouette

How to Cut Adhesive Vinyl with Silhouette

How to Cut Adhesive Vinyl with Silhouette
With adhesive vinyl, you can apply precision-cut designs on almost all smooth and hard surfaces. Cutting adhesive vinyl with Silhouette CAMEO is easier than cutting any other parts on the machine. You first need to make sure you have the correct type of vinyl, or you may be overwhelming.

How to Cut Adhesive Vinyl with Silhouette
HTVRONT adhesive vinyl comes in various colors, including 33 different colors and 16 holographic colors. Various sizes are available including 12*5, 12*10, 12*20, 12*30 ft rolls, 12''*10 inch and 12''*12 inch sheets. All vinyl are compatible with Silhouette and Cricut machine, so you don't need to choose silhouette vinyl.

In this tutorial, how to cut adhesive vinyl with Silhouette will be elaborated in detail. If you need to know the complete process how to use adhesive vinyl, you can click here to learn The Ultimate Beginner's guide for adhesive vinyl. Before you start, you will also need some basic vinyl tools.

Supplies Needed: 

  • Silhouette Cameo
  • HTVRONT adhesive vinyl
  • Transfer tape
  • Cutting mat
  • Cutting blade
  • Weeding hook
  • Scraper
  • Scissors


How to Cut Adhesive Vinyl with Silhouette?

Now you are ready, just start with adhesive vinyl cutting with Cameo. HTVRONT adhesive vinyl is a great alternative to silhouette vinyl.

Open the design in Silhouette Studio® and adjust the size as needed. Now you are ready to make your first vinyl cut! You will need to adjust the cutting settings on the software or machine to use the material being adopted. This process will be different for each cutter, but just make sure to choose the settings for the specific type of vinyl you are using (for example, glitter vinyl may require a different setting than a regular vinyl). Select your vinyl type from the "Material" drop-down list in the "Send" panel. For this Silhouette CAMEO project, "Vinyl, Matte" is chosen.

After setting the material type in the Send panel, the recommended vinyl cutting settings will be displayed. Confirm that the tool has been set right. HTVRONT vinyl cut setting with Silhouette Cameo: Blade-1, Speed-3, Force-6, Passes-2, and Material-Smooth. If you use silhouette vinyl, there is a need to check the right setting.

How to Cut Adhesive Vinyl with Silhouette

Meanwhile, you should ensure that "Cut" is selected, which will turn on the cut line. When the design has a bold red line, the cutting line will light up. If the lines of the design are red but not bold, you may set them to "No Cut". This is one of the most common reasons why Silhouette CAMEO cannot cut.

Now place the HTVRONT vinyl or Silhouette vinyl on the cutting mat, with the backing (paper) side down on the mat, making sure that the vinyl covers the same area as the area designed to be placed on the virtual mat in Silhouette Studio. Use your Silhouette to cut vinyl directly from the roll without a mat. You can purchase HTVRONT cutting mats as well.

Regardless of the type of mat and machine used, make sure to place the adhesive vinyl paper backing face down on the mat, with the colored vinyl side facing up. If your vinyl is rolled into a roll, you can cut a piece to fit your mat.

If your Silhouette cutting mat is brand new, you may need to detach the cutting mat by wiping it dry with a clean T-shirt. This prevents the vinyl liner from sticking to the cutting mat and does not tear when it is removed after cutting.

It is recommended making a small test cut, especially when you use a new material, make sure that the cutting settings are well matched to the material you are using before attempting to cut the entire design. You want the blade to cut the vinyl cleanly without cutting off the backing. This is called a "kiss cut", which will make it easier to weed and apply decals in subsequent steps. If your test cut has passed through the paper liner, you may need to reduce the thickness/depth or blade setting, or if the test cut does not pass through the vinyl completely, you may need to increase the thickness/depth or blade setting.


How to Load the Cutting Mat?

Load the mat with HTVRONT vinyl or Silhouette vinyl on it into the machine. The position of the mat is the same for each machine, but the actual way of "loading" it is slightly different.

First, gently place the top edge of the Silhouette cutting mat along the white roller. The left edge of the mat should be aligned with the straight line and the two arrows. To load the cutting mat into the Silhouette machine:

Silhouette CAMEO 2: Press Load Mat.
Silhouette CAMEO 3: Press "Load" in the control panel on the front of the machine.

After the mat is loaded correctly, it will pull the mat evenly under the roller, while both sides are under the roller, and will automatically be positioned at the correct starting position. Put the blade into the carriage and lock it in place. If you use Silhouette Auto blade with CAMEO 3, you must put it in the red tool/left bracket. Before you lock it in place, make sure to put it fully into the holder.

The ratchet saw blade must be manually adjusted to the recommended blade depth in Silhouette Studio. Use the built-in ratchet on the front of the cutter to twist the blade to the correct depth. Return to Silhouette Studio and make sure that CAMEO is connected via USB or Bluetooth, then click "Send" from the "Send" panel.

This will start the cutting process. If you are using an Auto blade watch, make sure that when the blade is tapped to the correct blade depth, the red line is actually moving. After cutting the design, remove the cutting mat from the machine, and then carefully remove the HTVRONT vinyl or silhouette vinyl from the mat. 

share :

Please note, comments must be approved before they are published