Student Material 001: Vinyl Cutter Quick Reference Guide
Material ID: U9M1-MAT-001
Purpose: Quick reference for blade selection, material settings, and design software workflow
Blade Selection Guide
| Blade Angle |
Best For |
Avoid Using On |
| 30° (fine) |
Thin vinyl, window tint, stencil film |
Thick materials, glitter HTV |
| 45° (standard) |
Adhesive vinyl, HTV, card stock, stencil |
Thick craft foam, chipboard |
| 60° (deep cut) |
Glitter HTV, faux leather, craft foam, chipboard |
Thin films (will over-cut) |
Material Settings Quick Reference
| Material |
Blade |
Downforce (gf) |
Speed |
Mirror? |
Cut Type |
| Oracal 651 (adhesive) |
45° |
80-120 |
Medium |
NO |
Kiss cut |
| Oracal 631 (removable) |
45° |
70-100 |
Medium |
NO |
Kiss cut |
| Siser EasyWeed (HTV) |
45° |
100-150 |
Medium |
YES |
Kiss cut |
| Siser Glitter HTV |
60° |
180-250 |
Slow |
YES |
Kiss cut |
| Oramask 813 (stencil) |
45° |
60-80 |
Medium |
NO |
Kiss cut |
| Cardstock (65 lb) |
45° |
150-200 |
Medium |
NO |
Through cut |
| Faux leather |
60° |
250-350 |
Slow |
Design-dependent |
Through cut |
Always perform a test cut when switching materials.
Test Cut Interpretation
| Result |
Meaning |
Adjustment |
| Triangle lifts cleanly, backing intact |
Perfect kiss cut |
No change needed |
| Triangle won't peel off |
Not cut through |
Increase downforce 10-20 gf |
| Backing is scored or cut |
Too much pressure |
Decrease downforce 10-20 gf |
| Corners are rounded |
Blade offset too low |
Increase offset 0.05mm |
| Corners overshoot |
Blade offset too high |
Decrease offset 0.05mm |
| Ragged/torn edges |
Dull blade |
Replace blade |
Design-to-Cut Workflow Checklist
- [ ] Design created or imported (SVG preferred)
- [ ] All paths closed (no open paths)
- [ ] Overlapping shapes welded/unioned
- [ ] Compound paths set for letters with counters (O, A, B, D, P, Q, R)
- [ ] Design sized to correct physical dimensions
- [ ] Mirror enabled for HTV / Mirror disabled for adhesive vinyl
- [ ] Material preset selected or manual settings entered
- [ ] Test cut performed and verified
- [ ] Material loaded on mat, aligned to origin
- [ ] Cut job sent
| Format |
Type |
Scaling |
Editability |
Best Use |
| SVG |
Vector |
Infinite |
Full path editing |
Primary cutting format |
| DXF |
Vector |
Infinite |
Limited in cut software |
CAD-originated designs |
| AI/EPS |
Vector |
Infinite |
Requires Illustrator |
Professional design import |
| PNG |
Raster |
Loses quality |
Must trace to cut paths |
Image-based designs |
| JPG |
Raster |
Loses quality |
Must trace to cut paths |
Photos (not recommended) |
Minimum Feature Sizes
| Feature |
Minimum Recommended |
Notes |
| Text height |
1/2" (12mm) |
Sans-serif fonts are more reliable |
| Line width |
1/4" (6mm) |
Thinner lines tear during weeding |
| Interior detail |
3/16" (5mm) |
Smaller details may not weed cleanly |
| Spacing between elements |
1/8" (3mm) |
Closer spacing makes weeding difficult |
Last Updated: 2026-03-19