Blog

If you know anything about me beyond the Cutting for Business blog, you know that I am a softie for good fonts. Unfortunately, some of my favorite fonts are not good for cutting designs. This is usually because they are too thin to cut and weed well. Today, let’s look at two ways to thicken fonts and make them easier to cut in Silhouette Studio.

Here’s an example of a font that needs thickened to cut better in Silhouette Studio. If you are curious, this font is called Annabella and you can download it here.

How to Thicken Fonts in Silhouette Studio Using Offsetting

One way to thicken fonts is to use an offset. Here’s how:

1. Within Silhouette Studio, navigate to the offset window.
2. Select your design and click “Offset”. 
3. Now, use the slider next to “Distance” to thicken the font. I usually offset by between .01 and .05, depending how thin the font is. Click “Apply” to confirm the change.
4. You’ll now drag your newly offset design away from the original text and delete it. You’ll notice your new design is thickened up and will cut better on your Silhouette. (In the photo below, the top is the original and the bottom is the offset design.)

Offsetting is great and commonly used, but I think there is an easier way!

How to Thicken Fonts in Silhouette Studio Using Line Styles

1. Starting with the same original design, you’ll navigate to the “Lines Styles” menu. 
2. This time, all you need to do to thicken your font is change the line thickness. 
3. When you are ready to cut, first fill the font with a color. Then you’ll choose the “Cut Edge” setting. 

There you go – two ways to thicken fonts to make them easier to cut with your Silhouette. Remember, when you know how to work the software better; your small business will save time and do better.

Save this post to Pinterest:

I share a lot of freebies on the Cutting for Business Facebook page – and one of the things that I regularly share are PNG files. I get asked all the time – “What can I do with this file in Silhouette Studio?” Today, I’ll share 2 ways to use a PNG file.

Note: During this tutorial, I’m using a free bundle from Creative Market. You can pick it up this week at this link.

What is a PNG file?

PNG stands for Portable Network Graphics and is a format for pictures. It was originally created to replace GIF images because you can compress the file without losing quality.

Two Ways to Use PNG Files in Silhouette Studio

Print and Cut Images.

1. You can open a PNG file in Silhouette Studio by going to “File, then “Open”. Resize your graphic as needed. 
2. Turn on registration marks by going to the “Registration Marks” icon in the top panel. Then selecting “Type 1”. 
3. Duplicate the graphic as many times as you need by going to “Object”, then “Replicate”. 
4. Your files are ready are ready to print and cut. 

Cut Files

1.  After opening the PNG file in Silhouette Studio, go to “Object”, then “Trace”. 
2. On the right hand side, click “Select Trace Area”. 
3. Draw a tracing box around the design. 
4. On the right hand side, adjust the “High Pass Filter” until the entire design turns yellow. Then click “Trace”.
5. Move over the original design file and – voila! – you’ve got the same design ready to be cut out in paper, vinyl, or another material. 

Now, be sure that you follow Cutting for Business on Facebook so I can share a lot of freebies with you!

Save this post to Pinterest:

One of my resolutions for 2017 on the blog is to write more posts about designing in both Silhouette Studio and Cricut Design Space. If you aren’t much of a designer – these posts are for you!

Lately, I’ve been seeing a shift by designers who create cut files for Silhouette or Cricut designs. Instead of selling a completed design that is ready to cut; a number of designers are offering kits to “assemble” your own cut file. If you remember, I recently created a red truck Valentine design using a kit (click here to view it).

Kits are a great alternative for crafters who want a more custom cut file, but lack design skills (like me!). Today, I’m showing you how these kits work. The concept is easy: drag pieces of designs together to create a cut file. Since arrows are trendy right now, Olga from Clean Cut Creative donated her popular The Ultimate Arrow Toolkit to me to use as a demo.

How to Create Semi Custom Designs in Silhouette Studio

1. After purchasing a kit, decide on which design elements to use in your design. You’ll notice that this kit has arrow backs, arrow shafts, and arrow points. You combine them to create a full arrow. Here’s a peek into the different parts in The Ultimate Arrow Toolkit: 
   
   
   
2. After selecting your design elements, open them all onto the same mat in Silhouette Studio or Cricut Design Space. Depending how your chosen kit is organized for download, you may need to ungroup the elements to use them. After your chosen elements are on the mat, your screen should look similar to this: 
3. Now, drag your elements into place or align them using the align command. 
4. Last, select all parts the of the design and weld them together. 
5. You can use the design as is, or add additional text or design elements. 

That’s it! Using kits you can create your own, semi custom design files! And, did I mention that The Ultimate Arrow Toolkit is only $6?! If you are wondering about the font Olga used in “family”, “faith”, and so on – it is KG The Fighter which was slighly offset and available for commercial use for $5.

Searching for more kits? Try search terms like “design elements”, “elements”, or “graphic packs”.

Save this tutorial to Pinterest: