Once again I've wasted a ton of good quality sticker paper. My Silhouette Portrait is acting up again and I've read a lot of blogs/advice but nothing seems to work to fix my problem. Figured I'd ask in case anyone has seen this ... and I"m not really sure how to even explain it properly to get a good google search. My Silhouette vocabulary is limited. But basically what I'm seeing is that the whole length of the left side of my Print N Cut sticker sheet comes out fine. As it starts to move across the page to the right ... the cuts get increasingly more offset. It's a gradual increase across the entire page. Here's a bad photo (It's dark and using artificial lights - plus there's the shadow from my hand holding my iPhone) but hopefully you can see what I'm talking about. The water bottles and oranges all the way to the left are cut OKish - but as your move to the right across each row of stickers - the cut gets worse and worse. sigh. Anyone have this issue and know how to fix it?
Have you calibrated it? That's the only thing I could think of that would cause this problem. (I have a Silhouette Portrait and I've never attempted to print and cut like this. But I do know a few steps cuz eventually I plan on doing it.) And here is a link that may help you.
Last time I had issues, I did try to calibrate following Silhouette's directions on their site and it didn't seem to help. It mentions that you should calibrate only if all the cuts are uneven - not some of them, so I wasn't sure that was the issue? I kept playing and eventually something clicked and it just started working again. I can't pinpoint what helped. I know I trashed everything and started fresh. I have a dedicated light/lamp shining right on the machine. So it can't be light. That tutorial sounds sort of like what my machine is doing - but mine is off on the width not depth. I wonder if it will help. My non-math minded brain is all like reading the steps and the math involved! But thanks @Tree City I may have to give it a go.
I hoped the tut would help, even though it was for depth, not width. Hopefully you figure it out cuz it's so annoying when a project doesn't go as planned.
Is your printer "print to fit" or printing as is? I had this issue, and it was because my printer wasn't printing as is. And yep, my vocab is limited tonight! Maybe it's called Shrink to Fit or something? Whatever it was, it caused the issue.
I am of no help, I have a cold sweat just thinking about it...but so hope you figure it out..very cute stickers!
not it. i found a few more things to try - i was up late searching YouTube videos. and then i might have to try the tut Sara mentioned. have to see if i have the patience to Silhouette today. forget the phrase "i can't adult today" ... i need a kit that says "i can't Silhouette today"
My Cameo started doing that several months ago. I still haven't fixed it. I have so many projects/hybrid things I want to do but I can't make it work. I am so frustrated. I need a store I can take it to and have someone else fix it.
It's beyond frustrating. So sorry you are dealing with this too. It's not a cheap machine - and even though I only went for the small Portrait - I'm not happy about how finicky this thing has been lately. I've wasted so much paper on really bad cuts. I'm not giving up ... If I figure anything out, I'll be sure to update. But from what I can tell ... everyone seems to find different fixes for similar issues - so that makes it even more frustrating.
Good luck. I bought a silhouette two yeas ago, had absolutely no luck with it, wasted tons of paper and finally gave up. I will try @Tree City video too. There are so many super cute patterns out there, I wish it would work.
this just happened to me few weeks ago and it was so frustrating. mine is a silhouette cameo though. it was my first time to print and cut using a sticker paper and wasted tons too! lol i didn't know what i was doing wrong coz i followed the tutorial step by step. on the nth try, it finally cut properly. i hope you get your silhouette problem asap (and i agree, it's not a cheap machine to be acting like that). and sorry no help at all! haha!
Jenn, Do you have any items in the area that you're not supposed to print in? From your pic, it looks like part of that bottom row is in the area where no items should be (where the cross-hatching is), but I may be seeing it incorrectly. It's hard to tell. Even if just a small part of a design is in that area, it can cause the Silhouette to not be able to read the registration marks correctly. Just thought I'd mention it. Hope that helps. - Margaret
For what it's worth, my portrait seems to be much more picky about the lighting in the room when the print and cut sensor is looking for the registration marks. If I didn't have a lamp on near it or good lighting, it was off much more often - just a little enough bit to tick me off
I used to be able to fill my page up right up to the cut border, but I found after an update that if I get too close to the registration marks it doesn't cooperate. Also try thickening/lenghtening your registration marks - that seems to fix any issues when my machine's having a particularly picky day.
This is one of the things I'm thinking may be the problem. I found a detailed YouTube walk through that went through lots of little things that could be the problem. I found two things in that video that may be my issue - the one you just suggested is one. I haven't had a chance to try yet but I really really hope this is exactly the issue. Thank you! I appreciate you noticing it on my print out and mentioning it. Will report back.
Wendy- I sure hope this is what is causing it. [too close / in areas where printing shouldn't be]. But what do you mean thickening/lengthening the registration marks? How do I do that. I have not heard that suggestion and am eager to try it. Thank you!
Yes! I heard this one too and now always have a dedicated lamp close by. It hasn't helped me with this specific issue so I know something else is going on. But I still leave the lamp there - just in case. I don't need any new problems. Thank you Danielle!
Let me know how it turns out. If I think of anything else that might be helpful, I'll let you know. I've been there before and know how aggravating it is when your machine just sits there and mocks you!
When you turn your registration marks on, you can adjust the position of the marks (narrow your margins to give you more working room, and also the dimensions. Here's a good explanation with screen shots: http://www.silhouetteschoolblog.com/2015/03/secret-to-print-and-cut-registration.html
AHH! Thanks for this tip Wendy! I've moved them a bit to make them fit but honestly never noticed that thickness slider adjuster. Good to know! And proof how easy it is to overlook little things when we get used to doing it a certain way!