Silhouette woes ... again

Discussion in 'Hybrid Pad' started by jenn mccabe, Dec 30, 2016.

  1. jenn mccabe

    jenn mccabe She's OUR sunshine!

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    @londoncuppa and @WendyBird We have success! It seems my issue is indeed related to "stuff" being too close to those grey grid areas near the registration marks. I created a Print and Cut sheet of my own from some digital stamps - some very tiny intricate little things ... and the entire page is just perfect. Wendy I did go ahead and just give a little extra Thickening on my registration marks too - even though I am printing on white sticker paper and not sure it matters - but this way maybe I won't forget if I print on darker paper? :)

    I'm so happy. I feel like my baby has come home after a long trip away! I am in love with my machine again. (I kind of knew it had to a "user" error - & I'm super thankful it was "me" and not the machine!)

    I have a little file I made -for the Portrait size- to overlay over any Print and Cut that I make for myself in the future. It marks the Print Border (blue), the Cut Border (red) and the grey area is the Silhouette suggested NO NO area - that should be left clear and blank! I drop it on top of my files in PS when I create now (just lower the opacity so you can see underneath) and helps me remember what areas are OK to fill with "stuff". If anyone wants a copy just let me know. It's basically the same guidelines you see in Silhouette - but since I make a lot of my own Print and Cut files in Photoshop, I find it useful.
     
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  2. londoncuppa

    londoncuppa I like rain, England ... and big words

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    Woohoo!! I'm so glad that resolved your issue. Welcome back to the Silhouette-Lover's Club!! There's nothing like it (when it's working). Yay!!
     
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  3. WendyBird

    WendyBird Active Member

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    So glad that worked @jenn mccabe! I've never actually used it with dark papers, but sometimes mine gives me fits and that adjustment seems to fix it.
     
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  4. londoncuppa

    londoncuppa I like rain, England ... and big words

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    Great idea, @jenn mccabe about the overlay. That should be extremely useful.
     
  5. GlazeFamily3

    GlazeFamily3 Peeking in everyone's windows ...

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    I found this thread after getting ready to throw my Silhouette Cameo out the window this weekend! I made a cut file in Silhouette for a hybrid journal I am making. Half to 2/3 of the time, the page would cut fine on the top half but get off on the bottom half. I had to print WAY more sheets than I should have because of it... thankfully it was cardstock and not sticker paper, but still.

    I usually drag my registration marks all the way to the left to give me the largest area to work with— so this is bad?

    I think I need to make myself one of the guides like @jenn mccabe mentioned for cameo to help me when designing in PSE.

    I have got to figure it out because right now my Silhouette and I are NOT friends.
     
  6. jenn mccabe

    jenn mccabe She's OUR sunshine!

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    @GlazeFamily3 It really did fix all my issues with the cutting veering off as it gets closer to the bottom.

    To make my overlay ... I screenshot my Silhouette Studio with the Registration Marks on my paper size for my Portrait (so a 8.5 by 11 cut mat). I turned on Print Border and Cut Border (blue checkmarks at bottom of Right column under Desing Page Settings). See here:

    silhouetteoverlay1.jpg

    Then I pulled the screen shot into PS - cropped it to the 8.5 x 11. You can just use that cropped white area of the mat and lower opacity when using it in PS to create cut files. I ended up building a template to match the areas - the grey is the crosshatch "no no" area, the blue guidelines are the no print border areas for my printer, and the red border is the silhouette cut border. I lay this on my PS file and turn the opacity down as I fill my sheet.


    Screen-Shot-2017-10-30-at-2.01.13-PM.jpg

    I only use this when I am designing a print and cut file in PS - it's not necessary if you are working directly in Silhouette Studio bc you would have those marks all there for you.

    As to your ? about moving those registration marks way out to use the most area of your mat. I don't know the answer. I only know that I don't do that anymore. I ran into issues when I did. I have tweaked the registration marks just a tiny bit (if things I want to cut end up really close to the red border or the grey cross hatch area) - but only ever so slightly... but I choose to just live with the fact that my machine works best if I accept the fact that I will not print/cut in that area of grey/or outside the red lines. To me it's worth having that little bit of paper waste vs the countless sheets of paper and ink I wasted for months with improper cutting. I haven't tested moving those registration marks by much bc if I do - I seem to run into issues. I'm sorry you are dealing with so much frustration ... I know how painful it is! Let me know if I can help out in any way.
     
  7. GlazeFamily3

    GlazeFamily3 Peeking in everyone's windows ...

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    Thanks Jenn! I bought a planner and want to start using it, too... but I have got to figure out these Silhouette issues before I do. I'm going to try this and am about to watch Jaimee's video someone linked in a planner post. I am optimistic something will work!
     
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  8. jenn mccabe

    jenn mccabe She's OUR sunshine!

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    Do you have a std printer or a wide format? If you are printing on a std printer - I am happy to share my overlay.jpg with you. On your Cameo - you'd just have to make sure you set the mat & registration marks for the 8.5 x 11 print/cut. Let me know if you need it.
     
  9. jenn mccabe

    jenn mccabe She's OUR sunshine!

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    I just just dropped my Print-and-Cut overlay into dropbox if any one wants it. Use it in PS with opacity turned down to determine where you can drop your elements for creating print and cut files. I stay in the white areas inside the red border - and avoid the grey areas too! It's for printing at 8.5 x 11 standard printers only. I don't have a working wide format printer or the larger Cameo cutting abilities.

    https://www.dropbox.com/s/l0je02mk3t5pt4j/PRINTandCUTtemplate.jpg?dl=0
     
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  10. GlazeFamily3

    GlazeFamily3 Peeking in everyone's windows ...

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    Thank you Jenn! I have a Cameo, but a standard printer, so your overlay should work. I pray this fixes my Silhouette issues. Granted, I have had it for almost five years and I got my money out of it long ago, but I don't want to buy another one AT ALL.
     
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  11. jenn mccabe

    jenn mccabe She's OUR sunshine!

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  12. bestcee

    bestcee In love with places I've never been to

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    Um, that's brilliant @jenn mccabe How did I miss the overlay idea?
     
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  13. jenn mccabe

    jenn mccabe She's OUR sunshine!

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    the old saying ... if it's not broken don't fix it? :giggle
    if yours works - leave "as is" and keep on keepin' on !!! right? :)
     
  14. bestcee

    bestcee In love with places I've never been to

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    Oh it doesn't currently! I end up having to redo things when I realize I was too close to the lines. So, yeah, I've needed your overlay and didn't even know it!
     
  15. jenn mccabe

    jenn mccabe She's OUR sunshine!

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    EEECK. sorry to hear that Courtney! Hope it is cooperating with you better ?
     
  16. Dalis

    Dalis Jose Cuervo is NOT a good friend

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    Mine was cutting perfectly. It cut 4 pages and on the 5th and forward it stopped cutting the right side of my image. It will just skip it. Mind you I was cutting the same thing, the first 4 it was great and then it stopped!!!!! So annoying!
     
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  17. bestcee

    bestcee In love with places I've never been to

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    Mine does this every so often. I find a restart on both the computer and the Silhouette fixes that issue. I hope that yours fixes easy!
     
  18. Dalis

    Dalis Jose Cuervo is NOT a good friend

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    I will try this next time, I gave up with what I was doing.
     
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  19. bellbird

    bellbird Pollywog

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    lol
    so does this machine print and cut out?! i thought you'd have to print stuff with a traditonal printer and then put it in the silhouette thing if you wanted to do both in a hybrid sense? (man, i hate decsions, so much research and questions required to make an informed decision and not just throwaway money!)
     
  20. bestcee

    bestcee In love with places I've never been to

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    So, the silhouette program tells your regular printer what to print. It does print through your printer, but silhouette adds registration marks or lines that it can use to know where your design is on the paper when it's cutting time.
     
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