Silhouette Tutorials

The two side strips should be left on when cutting materials less than 8 ½ inches wide. This allows the Silhouette's rollers to run smoothly over a non-sticky surface during the cutting process. Do not discard the center liner. Replace the liner over the mat when it is not in use to protect it from dust or other foreign particles and to retain its adhesive quality.

Once the center liner has been removed and the adhesive surface is exposed, line up the top edge of the paper with the top edge of the sticky part of the mat. NOTE: leave the small clear strip at the top of the mat uncovered. When using a standard 8 ½ by 11 inch paper size, the width of the paper should cover the side strips of the cutting mat evenly, as shown below:

If you are using the newer clear mat with the grid, be sure to fit your paper to the outside frame of the meshes of the cutting mat.

HOW TO: Place smaller size papers onto the cutting mat

When cutting paper smaller than 8 ½ x 11 inches, it is important to place the paper correctly on the cutting mat. Placement for smaller papers will depend on the orientation selected in your "Document Settings"

If you are using the older cutting mat with yellow side strips and center yellow liner please follow the guidelines below:

Portrait: Place your paper along the top of the cutting mat and justified against the right yellow strip on your cutting mat.

Landscape: Place your paper along the top of the cutting mat and justified against the left yellow strip on your cutting mat.

If you are using the newer clear grid mat, please note that there are triangle marks in the upper corners of your mat's grid to similarly place your paper correctly.

Portrait: Place the upper-right corner of your paper to the white triangle mark at the upper-right corner of the cutting mat.

Landscape: Place the upper-left corner of your paper to the black triangle mark at the upper-right corner of the cutting mat.

If you have forgotten what your orientation is during the creation of your document, you may go back to your document settings at any time by accessing the "Document Settings" option in your "File" menu.

Once the paper is on the mat, load the paper and cutting mat into the Silhouette. Start by aligning the left edge of the cutting mat with the vertical guideline located directly in front of the left white roller. Lining the mat up with this mark will ensure that both sides of the cutting mat are evenly and properly gripped by both white rollers during the cutting process.

Once your mat is in the correct position, turn the feed knob (located on the left-hand side of the Silhouette, opposite the power button) away from you (or toward the back of the Silhouette) in order to engage the cutting mat and roll it into the Silhouette. Continue to roll the mat into the Silhouette until the top edge of the mat (the clear plastic part) is lined up with the Guide marks located above the black cutting strip on the right-hand side of machine, as seen below:

If you are unable to see the guide marks, you may alternately roll your mat in until the top edge of your paper (as placed on the mat) is covering the black cutting strip.

Section 2: The Cutting Mat