Plotter – how to choose the right layout for cutting? 4

We are going to talk about desktop plotters for artistry, such as Cricut or Silhouette Cameo. With these plotters you can cut various types of materials, and therefore they will help you create completely different creative projects! First, let’s divide the materials for cutting into three main groups:

1 Film (vinyl)

2 Paper (cardstock)

3. Additional materials (for example, thin plywood, felt or foamiran).

Layouts for cutting are also divided into groups, depending on how and where it will be used.

1) Vinyl cutting. Almost all 2D layouts are suitable for cutting vinyl. It can be both inscriptions (text) and drawings (these can vary from simple outline to multilayer colour designs). Layouts “for film” have quite small details, because the elasticity of vinyl allows it to be cut more precisely. But don’t forget: large number of small details makes it more difficult to extract the excess film from the cut design.

2) Paper cutting. Paper and cardboard provide us with great opportunities for expression of our artistic side! Layouts for paper cutting can be either 2D (for example, napkins, tags, multilayer applications, etc.) or 3D (these are all kinds of postcards, boxes, houses, etc.).

Important thing to remember is that it is better to cut the openwork design in a large size – this way there is a higher chance of getting a clean cut without tears and cutting flashes.

3) Cutting various decorative materials: felt, fabric, plywood, etc. For some types of decorative materials, it is better to choose specialized layouts for a certain project, for example, a cutting layout for a fabric toy. But many “paper” layouts are perfect for cutting foamiran or felt. For example, a multi-layered 2D house easily be cut out of felt and becomes a decorative detail for a felt book. Here is another example: you can take a template for a paper flower, but cut it out of foamiran to get more plastic and natural petals.

In the next articles, I give a detailed information about the process of cutting various materials, and about the projects that you can create using plotter!

Thanks for reading us!