The Cut Doctor is in! We’re back for our second lesson in troubleshooting cuts on your Silhouette machine. This time we’re looking at symptoms at the onset of a cutting disease. Let’s look at some reasons your machine may start cutting in the wrong place. (To start with Lesson 1 in the Cut Doctor series, go here.)
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Symptom: Machine starts cutting in top edge of mat
Diagnosis #1: Wrong loading method
This pertains to all machines except the Cameo 3 and 4, Portrait 2 and Curio. On the earlier Cameos and Portraits, you make different loading choices when you’re loading a mat vs. when you aren’t. If you use the wrong one, the machine doesn’t start the cut in the right spot. With the Curio you always use a platform and can’t cut without the mat, so the loading is always the same.
Let’s think back to what we know about the mat. There’s a sticky area in the middle, surrounded on all sides by a non-sticky margin. When you put material on the mat, the top edge of the material is about 3/4″ down from the top edge of the mat. The yellow outline here is the mat and the red indicates the 12″ x 12″ page size. The area between the lines is the non-sticky margin.
Now think about something like vinyl that you can cut without the mat. It doesn’t have that. Here’s my same 12″ x 12″ page, but I’ve changed to None on the cutting mat. See how the red cut border is right at the top?
You want the machine to start cutting right at the top of your material, regardless of whether or not you’re using a mat. So the upper left corner of the actual material needs to be right under the blade at its origin point. That puts the upper edge of the material — mat or not — just a bit down from the back edge of the cutting strip. In order to do that, it needs to pull the mat in farther than it pulls in a material without the mat.
On Cameo 1 and 2, Portrait 1, SD and Original QuicKutz machines, you use a different procedure for loading a mat than you do with cutting without the mat. I’ll start with the Cameo 1 because that’s the trickiest.
On a Cameo 1
The screen of the machine when you first turn it on shows 3 choices: Load Cutting Mat, Load Media and Unload.
There’s a black dot next to the one that’s selected. That means when you push the Enter button, it’s going to perform the action that’s next to the black dot.
Here’s the tricky part — folks accidentally change that black dot to a different option without realizing it or knowing how to change it back. You scroll through the options by pressing the up or down buttons. If you accidentally press one of those when you intend to press Enter, you are on the wrong option.
Then you realize you pushed something wrong because nothing happened, so you press Enter correctly this time. The black dot is still on the other option. See how in the photo just above it’s by Load Media? The machine doesn’t pull the mat in far enough, thinking that you’re cutting without the mat. When it starts cutting, it cuts right into the top of your mat.
On a Cameo 2
Beginning with this model, Silhouette America made it easier. On these screens, you clearly see the options. You just have to remember to push the correct one.
On the Portrait 1
Portrait models do not have a screen, just buttons.
On the Portrait 1, the top button shows a grid. That’s for loading the mat. The second button looks the same but without the grid. That’s Load Media. The third button, with the down arrow, is for Unload.
On the SD
This was the first machine with a screen. It has left and right arrow buttons below the screen. It also has a shift key, which changes those to up and down arrows. Those arrows work just the same as the ones I described above on the Cameo 1. When you’re loading the mat, make sure the screen says Load Mat and not Load Media and vice versa.
On the Original QuicKutz Silhouette Digital Craft Cutter
This is the very first machine. Instead of pushing a button to load, you turn a crank. The key here is to load until the top edge of the material — with or without mat — is even with the back edge of the cutting strip.
Prescription: Choose Load Mat when cutting any material using a mat. On a Cameo 1 or SD, check the indication on the screen. Always check behind the roller bar after loading to ensure the top edge of the material is just down from the back edge of the cutting strip.
Diagnosis #2: Wrong mat selection
Now we come to the Cameo 3 and Portrait 2. Because of the confusion with loading methods on the earlier machines, these newest ones just have a Load option. The machine reads your page set up in the software to know how far to load. But this creates another issue. If your page setup is wrong, the machine pulls the mat or material in the wrong amount. If the machine starts cutting into the top edge of your mat, that means you’ve got None set as your cutting mat instead of a Cameo or Portrait mat.
Prescription: Choose the correct type of mat in page setup, not None, when cutting with a mat.
Symptom: Cut starts too far down when bypassing mat
Diagnosis #1: Wrong loading method (Cameo 1 or 2, Portrait 1, SD, Original)
This is caused by the same thing we just discussed but in reverse. If you choose Load Mat when you are actually cutting without the mat, the machine pulls the material in too far and starts cutting about 3/4″ down from the top edge. Sometimes, that just means you waste a bit of material at the top. But if you’ve cut your material to exact length, it’s going to be too short now and will come out from under the rollers at the bottom of the cut. Ya, not good.
Prescription: Choose Load Media when cutting any material without a mat. On a Cameo 1 or SD, check the indication on the screen. Always check behind the roller bar after loading to ensure the top edge of the material is just down from the back edge of the cutting strip.
Diagnosis #2: Wrong mat selection (Cameo 3, Portrait 2)
Again, this is the opposite problem. If you are saying in the software that you’re using a mat, but load a material without the mat, the machine is going to pull it in too far. Starting too far down means it also ends too far down, which is a problem if your material is cut to exactly the length you need.
Prescription: Choose None for mat type when cutting without one.
Symptom: Cut starts in wrong area of mat or material
Diagnosis #1: Leftover commands in machine after being turned off during previous job
If the machine is no longer getting power, when it’s turned back on it may still want to finish the job. Or, because it didn’t finish with the blade housing going back to the origin point, it’s mixed up on where it is. When you start a new cut, it may start in the wrong place or even start up the old cut again. It doesn’t always happen, but there may be lingering commands in the machine’s brain and you need to get rid of them.
Fortunately, there’s an easy fix. Any time you have to turn off the machine during a cut, or if the power goes out, or if your toddler trips over the cord and pulls it out, follow these steps before turning it back on:
- Unplug the power cord from the machine and the wall.
- Unplug the USB cord from the machine and your computer.
- Start a brand new page.
- Draw a simple square.
- Take your blade out of the machine.
- Plug the cords back in and turn the machine on.
- Press Load (it doesn’t even matter that you don’t actually load a mat or material).
- Send the square to cut.
The machine will go through all the motions of cutting, and any weird commands still hovering in the machine from the earlier job will get cleared out with doing this simple job. You aren’t wasting any material because you took the blade out. You can then go back to the project you were trying to cut in the first place.
Prescription: If you have to turn off the machine during a cut for any reason, clear out any leftover commands before starting a new cut job.
Diagnosis #2: Incomplete prior jobs in the queue
If you pause a job on the machine and don’t restart or cancel it and then start a new cut in the software, the process for the old cut is still the one the machine is working on. The new job doesn’t start immediately but gets added to the queue (order of jobs to be done). In other words, the machine finishes the first job before starting the second one. If you don’t realize this, and hit Send to Queue or Start Cutting (because Send isn’t there), your new cut (the second job) starts in the wrong place.
Likewise, if you cancel a job on the machine, you still have to tell the software you want to get rid of it. If you don’t and hit that Send to Queue or Start Cutting — yep, you’re cutting in the wrong place.
For more on pausing and restarting a cut job, see this post.
Episode 2
Remember the story from our last lesson about incomplete cut jobs preventing new ones from starting? It’s time for Episode 2 in our continuing saga, “What happens in the queue, stays in the queue.” When we last saw our friend Sara, she had finally gotten the machine to start cutting. We join her now as she keeps going. (This story won’t make much sense if you don’t read the last lesson — just sayin.’)
Sara finishes her cut successfully, opens another file and loads her mat again. Remember, Send won’t be there, so her only choices are Start Cutting or Send to Queue. She selects the latter. Nothing happens, because that’s only sending it to the line of waiting jobs. So she hits Start Cutting instead. Ya, the machine starts cutting, but it’s cutting the wrong design in the wrong place. “Is my machine crazy?” she wonders. Not at all (says the omniscient narrator).
So what’s happening?
If we count up, Sara sent her first file to the machine 4 times, but it only cut it 1 time. That means there are still 3 jobs waiting in the queue. Even though she thinks she’s starting to cut her new file, she’s cutting the old file because it was first in line.
Think of it like this. If you’re standing in line to check out at the store, you don’t want someone cutting in front of you. You go in order, because that’s the way we do it. If there are 3 people in front of you, you will be helped when they are finished. What if a person in front of you gets fed up with how long it’s taking and leaves? Then you can move up and get out of there faster.
Prescription: Check the Send area in the software and the machine screen to make sure old jobs are cleared out before starting a new job. Remember that only the word Send starts that actual cut job immediately, not Send to Queue or Resume or Start Cutting. When you pause a cut job on the machine, resume it or cancel it. Then clear out the job in the Send area.
Diagnosis #3: Canceled job
When you cancel a job the motor box does NOT go back to the origin point (the upper left corner of the mat/material). If you send a new job without unloading, the cut will start right where the motor box stopped – usually down and to the right on the page.
One simple solution is to not cancel a job if you can avoid it. Instead, remove the blade or tool and resume the cut. When it’s done, the motor box goes back to the starting point and the material to the load-in point.
Prescription: Check the Send area in the software and the machine screen to make sure jobs are cleared out before starting a new job. If in doubt, follow the procedure in Diagnosis #1.
Diagnosis #4: Blade housing moved for test cut or other reason and not returned to origin
We talked about test cuts in a previous lesson. I said that one of the reasons I don’t like the one built into the software is that if you move the motor box to do a second test, you have to remember to put it back or your cut job starts in the wrong place. If you decide to use it, just make sure to get your motor box back to the right spot.
Prescription: Always return the motor box to the origin spot before starting a cut.
Diagnosis #5: Page mirrored
On HTV
When you cut HTV, you’re almost always cutting on the back side (you don’t with some patterned HTV). When you go to the Send area and have HTV as the material, the software asks you if you want to mirror. Here’s the problem: it doesn’t mirror the design — it mirrors the whole page.
Here’s an example. Let’s say you’re cutting HTV with the mat and you have it set to 12″ width. You’ve got a 2″ x 3.25″ shape of the US on the left side of the page.
You have a bad spot on the right side of the material where you accidentally cut a design with your force too low. But you’re not worried, because you’re using the left side of the material. You hit Send and the software asks if you want to mirror. You think, “Oh, goodness! I’m so glad the software reminded me.” So you tell the software to go ahead and send it mirrored. You’re expecting it to do this:
But instead of flipping the US only, it flips the entire page like this:
The software doesn’t show you an indication of that on the screen so you have to know it.
Rather than using the Send Mirrored option on HTV, I prefer to use that as just a reminder to make sure I myself mirrored my design. Then I use Send As-Is.
Embossing on a Curio
It’s similar with the emboss action on a Curio. The software assumes you know it’s going to mirror the whole page. It doesn’t even ask and, again, you don’t see that in the Send area. I have a reminder on the inside lid of my Curio machine that embossing flips the whole page.
Prescription: Manually mirror the images on HTV yourself instead of having the software do it in the Send area. Find some way to remind yourself that embossing on a Curio flips the whole page.
Diagnosis #6: Firmware update needed (Cameo 2,3,4, Curio)
Firmware is the computer program that lives in the circuits of the machine itself. It helps it communicate correctly with your computer. If there’s something out of whack here, the communication breaks down and the machine doesn’t do what you and the software tell it to do. Just like you need to periodically update your computer software, you need to at times update the firmware on your machine.
There are 2 ways to find your firmware version:
- On the machine (Cameo 2-4 only): go into the settings by clicking on the gear icon on the machine screen. Then go to “About” on a Cameo 2; “Firmware” on a Cameo 3.
- In the Send area of the software: Click the smaller machine icon at the bottom right (the connected machines icon) to open the list of machines. The firmware version is the number at the right.
To learn more about firmware and how to update it, check this post.
Prescription: Update firmware.
Diagnosis #7: USB cord issues
Again, there can be a communication breakdown if there’s a problem with your USB cord. First, make sure the cord goes directly between the computer and the machine, not through a USB hub or anything else. Then try a different USB cord. These cords do go bad over time and often a new one will solve your issues.
USB cords are pretty generic, so one from another device like a printer may work on your machine. The specific type is USB 2.0 A Male to B Male. You can get new USB cords from Silhouette America here. If you have multiple Silhouette cutting machines, the USB cords (and power cords) are all the same. This does not apply to the Mint. On the Alta, it appears that the USB cord is the same but the power cord is slightly different.
Prescription: Try a different USB cord.
Diagnosis #8: Incorrect page setup
Every time you start a new project, you need to check your page size. Too often, we get into the habit of just designing without checking that. If you just start cutting without checking, your machine may not cut where you expect. To learn more about page settings, see this post.
Prescription: Always check your page setup when you start a project.
Diagnosis #9: Incorrect arrow orientation
This is usually only an issue when you are cutting without the mat. You may not notice that with some sets of page dimensions, the arrow that normally points up on your drawing area moves to pointing left. If you are still expecting the arrow to point up, you will load the material incorrectly. The machine will actually cut in the right place, but not where you expect.
This can also happen when you are using a smaller mat, change the layout orientation, or rotate the view.
For a full explanation of this, see this post.
Prescription: Keep an eye on that orientation arrow.
Diagnosis #10: Wrong guideline used in loading
Each machine has a line on the front platform that indicates where you are to place the left edge of what you load. All machines (except the Curio) have lines all the way across the platform, but there are 1 or more at the left that are shorter. So if you have your mat or material too far left or right of the line, it’s going to cut too far left or right (and it will probably end up coming out from under the rollers, which is a real mess).
On a Cameo
There’s just 1 guideline and it has small arrows pointing to it. It’s blue on the Cameo 2 and 3, the same gray as the platform on the Cameo 1. When you use a mat, the left edge of the mat goes on the guideline. If you’re cutting without the mat, it’s the left edge of the material that aligns to the guideline.
On a Portrait
On Portrait machines there are 3 short lines. The guide for the mat is the one farthest left. The other 2 correspond to the edges of the most common paper sizes (8 1/2 x 11 or A4). If you put that size of paper on the mat, you can see through the mat and the edge of the paper would be in line with the 2nd or 3rd line on the platform of the machine. Not sure why that matters…
When you cut without a mat on a Portrait, the official Silhouette word is “you make sure the white rollers sit the same amount from each edge.” Here’s a more logical answer. Craft vinyl comes in 2 widths – 9″ and 12″ (although you can buy it in other widths and cut it down). 12″ wide material is too wide for a Portrait, so it’s the 9″ that you use. A Portrait mat is 9″ wide. So if the left edge of a 9″ wide Portrait mat lines up with the farthest line to the left, so will a 9″ wide vinyl.
If you happen to be in another country and purchase material that is based on the metric system, follow the advice to make sure the rollers sit the same amount from both left and right edges.
Prewscription: Use the correct guideline when loading.
Diagnosis #11: Mat loaded sideways
This is a possible issue with the Cameo. The sticky area in the middle is 12″ x 12″ and there’s a non-sticky margin all the way around that. The margin is wider on the top and bottom than on the sides. If you load your mat into the machine side first, the Silhouette doesn’t know that. It will assume you’ve done it correctly and have that 1″ margin at the top instead of the scant 1/2″. Therefore, it’s going to start the cut too far down on the page.
Prescription: Only load top or bottom of mat into machine first, not sides.
Up Next
Next time, we’ll move on to troubleshooting why your cut starts out fine and then your machine seems to go crazy.
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