Welcome to The Vinyl Room

Silhouette training.
DREAM IT UP. CUT IT OUT.
The creative possibilities with the new Silhouette CAMEO are endless.
Here are just a few:
Design your own custom apparel
Personalize a party
Give your home décor a signature look
Build 3D prototypes
Cut fabric and save time doing it
Decorate with vinyl decals
Construct a school project
Create custom invitations
Make a stencil
Create unique stamps
And much more!

Some Ideas of things to make with vinyl:

Decorate / Personalize Tupperware
Decorate / Personalize Wine Glasses, Mugs, Cups, and Water Bottles etc.
Decorate small tile plaque
Decorate Mirror, Windows, and Picture Frames Etc.
Decorate Buckets for Holidays.
Decorate bulbs for Holidays
Decorate / Personalize Household appliances
Stay Organized by creating labels
Create fun car decals and sayings
Create Signs / Wood Signs
Create wall decals with Oracal 631
Heat Press Heat Transfer Vinyl (HTV) on clothing, garments, bags and much more!
Design – Opens a new work area
 Store – takes you directly to the Silhouette Online Store
 Library – takes you directly to your library
 Open – Allows you to open up a search window to open save silhouette files, saved designs
etc.
Indoor Vinyl:
Oracal 631:
Also referred as a removable vinyl and has a Matte finish. It’s most often used for vinyl wall
decals and indoor signs that won’t be exposed to the elements or too much handling, also
works great for short-term outdoor graphic applications.
It’s a 3 mil Calendared vinyl with a 3 year Outdoor Durability
Outdoor Durability means guaranteed that long before it starts fading in the sun.
the longer the vinyl sets (3+ years) the more permanent the adhesive comes
not recommended with wet applications when applying – it will interfere with the bonding
process

Outdoor Vinyl:
Oracal 651:
Also referred to as a permanent vinyl and has a Glossy finish. It’s just not for outdoors though.
It’s great for vehicle graphics, window decals, outdoor signs, mailboxes, dishes, jewelry etc.
It is not recommended for wall decals it will tear the sheetrock and damage the wall.
Heat Transfer Vinyl (Also known as HTV)
HTV is what is applied to clothing, apparel, toilet paper, and hand bags etc. It is cut out in a
mirror image (you are cutting on the back facing up) and is applied to your garment etc. with
heat either using a hand iron or a heat press.
Always Pre-heat your garment before applying HTV – this will not only smooth out your
surface, but will remove any moisture in the fabric.

Specialty Materials GlitterFlex Ultra:

Adheres to most fabrics, does not adhere to nylon, dazzle cloth, shiny polyester or moisture-
wicking materials
Heat Press Settings: 330-335° for 17-20 sec, medium to firm pressure, peel warm & repress 2
sec.
Transfer Tape:
Transfer tape is used to move an adhesive vinyl design from the vinyl backing onto the surface
where you want to apply the vinyl.
Paper-back Medium Tack
Paper-back High Tack
Clear Medium Tack

Paper vs Clear
For most applications either one will work, it’s a lot about personal preference.
Paper tape is composed of a paper based face film coated with adhesive. It’s somewhat
translucent, but not transparent. It’s softer and more flexible than clear tape. Ideal for using
wet application method. Paper tape is recommended for applying vinyl on paper like cardstock
when making cards etc. Works great for creating decals for re-sale where they will be setting
awhile before transferring.
Clear tape is made out of a plastic face film so it is transparent. It works great for layering and
more visibility when applying the vinyl. Not recommended for wet application, it also has a
lower tack adhesive so not as effective in transferring certain kinds of vinyl.
 Tracing

Import Jpeg or image you want to trace to create a cut line

Under the Trace Window > Click Select Trace Area and draw a box around the image you want
to trace.
You get different looks depending on the Tracing Method you select
Trace Outer Edge creates a solid outline cut line around the outer border of the image, so
when you fill it creates a Silhouette look
This works great when you are doing a Print and Cut to create the cut lines around the image
you will print
Trace creates a double cut line around the edge of the entire design; so when you fill the
image with a color like shown above you get an outline look of the design. Sometimes you
might want this look.
Tracing Settings:
You can play with the trace settings until you get the outcome you are looking for. With some
designs, de-selecting the check by High Pass Filter and adjusting the settings below help you to
customize your cut line effect. You can also select the Low Pass Filter and adjust those settings
or adjust the Threshold or Scale.
It will create cut lines that will outline the yellow design created in the trace box.
 Welding
Welding works for taking more than one image or cut line and combining them into one image
with no cut line between them.
Certain Fonts overlap creating small cuts you do not want, so you will need to weld the letters
together to avoid the small cuts.
the two designs you want to weld must be over-lapping, below is an example of a design and a
word where there is over-lapping.

Select the entire image or font

Under Modify Select Weld
As long as the images were over-lapped they should now be one solid image and ready to cut
You can if needed – re-align the image to over-lap and Weld again.
Learn the Lingo: Common 'Sil'
Terms
631 - Oracal 631 is the industry standard for
indoor/matte/removable vinyl. It is meant
for interior walls. It is adhesive backed, but
not considered permanent. It’s not meant for
outdoors and should not be used on items
that need to be washed or will be handled
often.
651 - Oracal 651 is the industry standard for
outdoor/glossy/permanent adhesive vinyl.
It is meant for outdoor and permeant use
and holds up well on items that will be in
contact with water. It's still recommended
to be hand-washed only. It is not intended
for walls as it could peel the paint.

Compound path – The site on a design

where two layers are 'compounded' or
merged together to form a single one
dimensional design.

Cut lines - Cut lines are the thick red or gray

lines that are required on a design in order
for it to cut. Without cut lines, the Silhouette
will not cut.
Cut lines are necessary for not only cutting,
but also when using sketch pens. They tell
the machine where to cut or sketch. When
switched off or to “no cut” they tell the
machine where NOT to cut.
There are several different cut line styles all
accessible from the Cut Style window.
• Cut Edge: Indicated by a Thick Bold
Bright Red Line around the edge of a
design
• Cut: Indicated by a Thick Bold (but
slightly dulled) Red Line on both the
internal and external lines of a design.
• Perforate Edge and Perforate:
Indicated by a Thick Dashed Gray
Line around the edge of a design. vinyl - either permanent, removable, or heat
transfer. Depending on the type of vinyl
used to create the decal, it can be placed on a
wide range of surfaces.
Designer Edition – A one-time paid upgrade
that allows the user to access more features
and tools in Silhouette Studio.
Edit Points – Individual spots in a design
that tell the edge of the design where to
curve and move to form the shape. Edit
points are used to manipulate the shape of
the design.
Grouping - When two or more objects are
put into a ‘group’ for the purpose of keeping
them together while editing and designing.
Overlapping areas will cut separately if they
are not welded. Each object maintains its
own cut lines.
HTV - Short for heat transfer vinyl…a type of
vinyl that can be applied to clothing, apparel,
bags, and hats with the use of heat - either a
heat press or an iron.
Kiss cut - A cut made on a two layer piece of
material - such as sticker paper or vinyl- in
which the blade only cuts through the top
layer, leaving the backing in tact.
Offset - An offset is the action of creating an
equal distance border - at any distance of
your choosing - around the edge of a design.
Offsets are automatically welded in
Silhouette Studio when possible. Offsets can
be used to make a “background” or border
for a design or text and even to thicken fonts
for easier cutting. An internal offset creates
an offset at the selected distance inside the
design rather than around the outside.
PixScan Technology - A special cutting mat
that allows the user to cut pre-printed
materials or fabric by taking a picture and
loading it into Silhouette Studio. The special
mat keeps the actual proportions of the
object using the PixScan technology.
Print and Cut - The process of creating a
colored design in Silhouette Studio that is
first printed on a home computer (or
remotely printed at a professional-quality
copy center) and then fed into the Silhouette
CAMEO, Portrait or SD to be cut. Most often
the cut line is only around the edge of the
design and not into the detailed colored area.
The use of registration marks is needed in
print and cut.
PVPP: (Paint Vinyl Paint Peel) – A stencil
painting technique in which the user paints a
base coat, then applies a vinyl stencil, paints
a second coat of a different color paint and
then peels off the vinyl stencil. The color of
the first coat of paint will show where the
vinyl stencil covered the area.
Registration Marks: Essential markings
that must be added to a print and cut design,
before printing, so the machine knows
exactly where to cut.
Reveal Grid – Exposing the grid lines, from
the Page Settings window, on the work area
in Silhouette Studio. Grid lines on the virtual
mat correlate with grid lines on the
Silhouette cutting mat to make placement of
material easier and more accurate.
Reverse Weeding - Removing the area of
the vinyl that would normally be left
behind…most commonly used when cutting
stencils.
Scraper – A tool to help smooth transfer
paper, tape and vinyl when layering vinyl.
Also used to apply and burnish decals.
Shear – A tool in Silhouette Studio Designer
Edition that allows the users to slant the
design or text by a certain degree.
Sketching - The same action as cutting, but a sketch pen, pen, pencil or
marker replaces
The blade which causes the machine to
Sketch or draw an image or text. Silhouette
Sketch Pen must be selected from the list of
Materials in the Cut Style window in order to
Sketch.
Spatula - A tool to help remove small pieces,
Usually of paper, from the mat.
Sticker - Different than a decal in that it’s
Removable and made on paper-type no waterproof
Material.
SVGs - A file format commonly used in
Graphic design. SVG files can only be opened
In Silhouette Studio Designer Edition.
Trace - A function in Silhouette Studio which
Allows users to create cut lines around
Imported files including JPEG, GIFs, PNG,
And PDF files.
Teflon - A sheet needed to go between an
Iron or heat press and hot to prevent the hot
Carrier sheet from melting. A thin piece of
Fabric - such as a pillow case can also be used
If Teflon is not readily available.
Text to Path - The process of manipulating
Text by curving it around another object such
As a circle. When the text is converted to a
Path, it will maintain its new shape, even
When the object in which it was wrapped
Around, is removed.
Weeding - The act of removing unwanted
Material around the cut design, usually using
The hook tool.
Weeding Lines - Extra cut lines put into the
Negative space of a design to make removing
The excess vinyl easier. This is done by
Cutting the vinyl into smaller sections to help
With faster weeding, in addition it helps
Prevent the adhesive side of the vinyl from
Sticking to and ruining the design.
Welding - When two or more shapes or
Characters are formed into one solid piece
With a single cut line around the entire
Shape. Welded designs will cut as one solid
Piece.
Work Area: The virtual mat area where
Designing takes place in Silhouette Studio.