I’m getting a plotter....

After a lot of thinking, watching videos, and so on—trying to figure out which one I actually needed—I bought one today. It came with a few supplies, too.... I’m soooo excited about the plotter.
I’d actually been saving up all last year, only to find out that the “object of my desire” suddenly cost almost 100€ more at the start of the new year. So I had to find an alternative.
Now I can cut out my paper projects, work with iron-on vinyl, and even design my own stickers....
If anyone has any tips and tricks to share 😁
Bring them on! 

Awesome.

I hope you’ll show off your plotter and share your experiences here in this post. It would be really interesting for me—maybe it’ll help me decide whether to get one or not. 

Hi Steffi,

which plotter did you end up choosing?
I’ve had a Brother for a few years now and really enjoy working with it.
If you plan on doing a lot of work with textiles, I definitely recommend getting a heat press. You can never get the right pressure or the exact temperature for the transfers with just an iron.

Best wishes, and have fun! 

Congratulations! A friend of mine has one and makes really great things with it; I’ve already ironed a few designs onto T-shirts myself.

Just got the shipping confirmation 🥳
It’s just a small one, the “Silhouette Portrait 3”… A4 size is more than enough for me.... I’m just going to let my creativity run wild. I already have tons of paper craft patterns—I can have the plotter cut them all out for me... I also ordered sticker film and transfer film right away.... The iron-on film will have to wait a bit. But hey, then I could finally get a pair of jeans exactly to my taste and won’t have to hear “that’s not in demand right now” at the store anymore... 

Instead of expensive transfer film, you can also use book cover film. Or, for small items, even Scotch tape.

Have fun!

🤷 I should’ve known that before it hopped into my cart 😁
  Do you have “real” weeding tools? I just bought a “pen-like thing”—in a video, someone “modified” an old ballpoint pen by simply replacing the refill with a needle...
There are so many accessories out there—squeegees, brushes, rollers, etc... I already have tweezers and the like here among my craft supplies. 

What do you even need a plotter for?

Dear Steffi, if you’ve had your eye on this machine for so long, then congratulations on your purchase. It’s certainly a great addition for a versatile hobbyist.

You want to let your creativity run wild with it. I’d love it if you’d show us what you’ve actually made with it sometime.

Best regards, Ina

A plotter.... Basically, a cutting machine....
  Send a file from your tablet to the plotter, and it cuts the whole thing out for you. Now I don’t have to cut my “paper lanterns” by hand anymore. And I can create my own designs on my tablet or PC, then have them printed and cut....
Since it’s already “on its way” and the mail is really fast right now... with a little luck, it’ll be here tomorrow 

For weeding, I use those “tartar removers” like the ones dentists use. You can get them for a bargain price at the big “A” store, for example. As soon as it says “weeding tool,” the price goes up accordingly 🤷‍♀️
And my plotter comes with a little “squeegee” for smoothing out the vinyl. But a flat wooden stick (like an ice cream stick) or a plastic one works just as well.

So, I have this squeegee among my paper crafting supplies—I use it to smooth out fold lines.... If I’d bought a set like that, it would’ve cost me over 20€ right off the bat. I’d rather buy paper with that money... I can get quite a lot of paper for that price 😁

First of all, congratulations on the plotter. A machine like that is really great. I’ve had a Silhouette Cameo for 10 years now and I’m still thrilled with it. If you had the time—which you never do—you could make so many amazing things with it…

Instead of buying new cutting mats, I make my own out of window film (4 mm) and a spray adhesive with light tack (removable).

Thanks for the tip....
A cutting mat is included in the package....
I doubt I’ll be able to sleep tonight. Just like a kid waiting for Christmas 😂
I’m soooo excited.... 

Hey Steffi,
congratulations on your new purchase—you’d already hinted at it.
Look at all the “machines” you have at home. Though I’m not really sure what you do with a plotter like that.
Can you use it to sort of “laser-cut paper” (delicate designs), or am I way off? Making stickers sounds great. I’m sure you’ll show us your first attempts—please do.

Well then, have a peaceful night 😄👍

The plotter can cut this lantern, for example... 
It comes out much “neater” than cutting it out by hand, like here... 

Congratulations 😊😊
I’m also thinking about whether I should buy a plotter..... 

I’d like to join in the congratulations and add my own question: Do the files have to be in specific formats for a plotter to cut them, or can you prepare a PDF or JPG file yourself for the plotter?


It’s arrived.... 🥳
Thanks for the congratulations so far....

From what I know so far, I can cut all my SVG files with the Silhouette. I can import JPEG and PDF files into Silhouette’s Design Studio and edit them there. At least, that’s how it was shown in a few videos.... But I’ll have to figure out the “Design Studio” on my own first....
I’ll let you know how it goes 😊

Oh, okay, thanks in advance!
Have fun with your new toy!

Hi everyone... 
I’ve now registered the plotter on the Silhouette website. There was a “coupon”—I get to pick out designs from the shop for about €20 for 30 days.... 
And on my very first try, I didn’t adjust the blade properly and ended up cutting right through the paper and into the mat 🙈 Darn....
The second try went much better. Although next time I’ll have to enlarge the template significantly—the pieces are too tiny to cut with the plotter. 
And I think it’s pretty “loud.” I wonder if mine is the only one that’s this loud 🤔
Tomorrow morning I’ll be “alone” at home 😁 so I can tinker around in peace.... And veeeery important when setting up the “job”: do a test cut. Otherwise, it’ll cut too deep or not deep enough.  It’s great that I can save the settings there. Which paper should be cut with which thickness setting...
Tomorrow I’ll print a birthday card... 
Let’s see if I can edit a PDF file—it’s supposed to work 😉 
Now I’ll just take the dog out for a quick walk and then off to bed (the dog has his own bed) 😁

Good morning, have lots of fun (and success) this morning.

I'm very curious to hear what you (and perhaps others) report.

I'm also one of those people who are considering getting a plotter 😊 and I'm looking forward to more experience reports and, above all, pictures of your work. 

Good morning!

Very important: designs that are too small or intricate won’t work. They’ll tear when you’re weeding them, if not already during cutting. And—if your plotter allows it—for particularly detailed cuts, reduce the speed and the pressure it’s working with.
Otherwise, the rule is: the best way to learn is by doing 😉
Have fun! 

....my new blade is coming tomorrow.... 🙈
Since I cut not only through the paper but also into the mat on my very first cut.... the blade just wouldn’t work anymore....
So....
—too delicate/too small won’t work
—and you have to pay special attention to the setting for “which” material you’re cutting. Always start by doing a test cut to figure out the right settings 😁

Starting tomorrow, I’ll finally get to use the plotter. 👍😁

That looks really good!

Thank you....

That looks awesome! You could never cut that with scissors. It’s really great to have a machine for these intricate cuts. But of course, everything takes learning, exploring, and experimenting. Just owning the machine isn’t enough—you have to get to know it. But that’s also part of the fun; it’s how we keep growing and can keep spinning our creative ideas further.

I hope you continue to have lots of fun with your little plotter. I’m sure you two will become best friends.

Best wishes, Ina

I’ve had the same plotter since December, but I still haven’t figured out where to place the vinyl/the mat so that it cuts on the vinyl and not next to it on the mat. Do you have any advice for me? I’m really at my wits’ end.
  I hope you have lots of fun and plenty of creative time to experiment and make things!
P.S. Mine is pretty loud, too—I guess that’s typical!
Warm regards, Kira 

I actually cut through the mat on my very first cut 🙈

And then just press the up arrow once.... I almost exclusively cut A4 paper.
  It’s really important to position the mat at the second mark—otherwise, the mat will block the automatic settings 😜.
Now that it’s sitting here anyway 🤔, it might as well “do some work” 😁.
I got a file for table lanterns this morning. 

Hi Kira,

I have a Brother Scan’n’Cut, but maybe your Silhouette has a scan function too?
When I’m cutting something but only have a small piece of vinyl that doesn’t even come close to covering the entire cutting mat, I can scan it first and then position the cutting area accordingly.

LG

I can adjust the settings on my tablet or laptop—like resizing and then moving the design around so it fits....
   Right now, I can only work through the app, which really limits my options. My old laptop isn’t compatible with “Design Space”—the editing program—and I just can’t get Windows 10 to install on it 🤷😕
But that’s how it is for now.... The basic settings also work on the tablet and through the app.... 

Oh, thank you so much! I’ll give that a try. When viewed from the left, it has several raised areas—kind of like guide lines—but I could never figure out which ones to align the mat and the foil with!

I feel exactly the same way—I have Windows 11, and for some reason it doesn’t like it. So far, I’ve only been working through the app and sticking the transfer sheet onto the checkered adhesive area. And then comes the alignment part, and that’s where it gets tricky.....

Oh, I’ll have to see if that works for me too! Thanks so much for the tip!