# Cameo Cutter_ updates



## ccolors1 (Jan 16, 2011)

I'm seeking any info folks can provide concerning their roughly 3 weeks experience with their cameo. 
Have you tried the contour feature?
Have you successfully cut rhinestone templates using Hartco?
Did it cut Sticky flock fine? 
What software are you using

Thanks for any update you can provide


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## charles95405 (Feb 1, 2007)

I was not aware that the unit had been in use in USA for 3 weeks...my friend is an authorized distributor and he says his first units are shipping around the 21st of this month


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## Dowster (May 27, 2011)

I got mine today, really happy with it. I'll update tomorrow when I've had a proper play with it.


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## ccolors1 (Jan 16, 2011)

charles95405 said:


> I was not aware that the unit had been in use in USA for 3 weeks...my friend is an authorized distributor and he says his first units are shipping around the 21st of this month


The second round of shipments happens in Nov. The first round hit almost mid Oct. is my understanding.


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## Riph (Jan 11, 2011)

I too would be interested in hearing how the Cameo is working for those who have purchased it.

My main interest is contour cutting of inkjet transfer paper, and maybe some low volume t-shirt vinyl cutting as well.

Also, I would be interested in where you buy T-shirt vinyl (other than direct from Silhouette) that is the appropriate width for this machine.

Thanks!


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## mike9 (Sep 21, 2011)

Dowster said:


> I got mine today, really happy with it. I'll update tomorrow when I've had a proper play with it.


would you be able to show a step by step video of you uploading a design in the software, loading the vinyl and then having the cutter do its job?

Would you be able to make a video of the print and cut heat transfer feature as well?


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## ccolors1 (Jan 16, 2011)

Dowster said:


> I got mine today, really happy with it. I'll update tomorrow when I've had a proper play with it.



So, Dowster how is it going with the cameo?


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## Riph (Jan 11, 2011)

Just FYI, for those who might be considering this cutter. You can download the software for it (free) at this link:

Silhouette - Download New Software

I did so, have been looking it over to see if it will work for me. The manual is also available free online at the same website.

Additionally, it looks like they offer a more capable version of the software called "Designer" which they sell online for $50. I have yet to look at it... but it appears to be able to open vector art files (SVG file format). Since Corel Draw saves in that format it looks like it would be a way to bring vector files in directly. All this of course should be verified, I am just reading the specs.

From watching YouTube videos, it is obvious this cutter is no speed demon, but it has other redeeming qualities (price, physical size, Mac compatible software) that may interest others. They interest me.

I remain very interested in feedback from people who have this cutter.


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## Mlabbas (Sep 12, 2011)

charles95405 said:


> I was not aware that the unit had been in use in USA for 3 weeks...my friend is an authorized distributor and he says his first units are shipping around the 21st of this month


I bought mine last week from amazon

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B005Y1CPSU/ref=oh_o00_s00_i00_details

I got it for just over $300, now it looks likes its even less. 

Can't wait to set it up. Been using Silhouette SD for a year and the hardware itself is awesome and lasts like a heavy duty piece of machinery. I'm assuming the Cameo will do the same. 

Will post a review soon.


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## uscutter (Apr 7, 2007)

Just as an FYI, the Cameo seems to have slipped out of Amazon search, but our Cameo bundle is available from this link:

Amazon.com: Silhouette Cameo Wall Art Starter Bundle by USCutter: Electronics


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## LEVELMAN1 (Oct 28, 2011)

So, you can use this to cut out images and put them on your silk screen instead of burning them?


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## Mlabbas (Sep 12, 2011)

LEVELMAN1 said:


> So, you can use this to cut out images and put them on your silk screen instead of burning them?



Cutting out images sure, I don't know about attaching to a screen, I've never seen or done that. But here's the product description with uses mentioned on the Amazon page that UScutter posted a link earlier:

*Product Description*

The Silhouette CAMEO is an electronic cutting tool for personal use. Like a home printer, it plugs into your PC or Mac with a simple USB cable. However, instead of printing it uses a small blade to cut paper, cardstock, vinyl, fabric and more up to 12ins wide and 10 feet long. The machine also boasts a quiet motor and the ability to register and cut printed materials.

*What kinds of projects can I create with my Silhouette Cameo?* Scrapbook layouts and cards - Cut titles, background designs, or shapes to embellish any scrapbook page or card. Rhinestone projects - Add some bling to your projects by cutting a template with your Silhouette CAMEO and brushing Silhouette rhinestones into the design making them easy to layout and transfer! Fabric Ink projects - Create a screen printed look by cutting a stencil using the Silhouette CAMEO and applying inks to your fabric projects. Vinyl projects - Cut out intricate designs in vinyl and apply them to your wall, car or almost any project surface. Heat transfer projects - Create custom apparel, accessories, and home décor by cutting out heat transfer material and ironing your designs onto your fabric project. Paper crafting- Create custom invitations, boxes, and favors.

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## mike9 (Sep 21, 2011)

I have the cameo and honestly I am not that impressed. It works great for cutting vinyl I will give it that. As far as cutting heat transfers it totally sucks. You can not cut a 12" heat transfer if you had it. Because you need to use registration marks, the image is confined to a much smaller area. It is more like 9" max. Another problem I've had with heat transfers is that is does not cut to the trace lines. It works fine with plain computer paper, but once I switch to heat transfer paper it is not calibrated. The calibration mode is not user friendly and I cannot get it aligned correctly. I would recommend this cutter if you only use was for vinyl.


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## ccolors1 (Jan 16, 2011)

I have not tried the contour print and cut feature yet but I must say that the EZ Weed Vinyl works excellent on blade dial of 2 I think it was. It cut hartco 425 green rubber like a charm with perfect holes. I think I may have used a 6 0r 7 blade setting. I am waiting on my order of Sticky Flock to see how it does. Here is copy of a personal Tee I made for myself.


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## dali3 (Jul 19, 2011)

mike9 said:


> I have the cameo and honestly I am not that impressed. It works great for cutting vinyl I will give it that. As far as cutting heat transfers it totally sucks. You can not cut a 12" heat transfer if you had it. Because you need to use registration marks, the image is confined to a much smaller area. It is more like 9" max. Another problem I've had with heat transfers is that is does not cut to the trace lines. It works fine with plain computer paper, but once I switch to heat transfer paper it is not calibrated. The calibration mode is not user friendly and I cannot get it aligned correctly. I would recommend this cutter if you only use was for vinyl.


Agree... same here...


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## jeepers94 (Nov 25, 2011)

He is wrong! I can cut about 11.5 inches with the pnc feature.I don't think it is
reasonable to expect the full 12".Registration marks do take some room! I have
a $1000+ cutter and a $4000+ cutter,both with optical eyes.They can't use the
full width,but you think a $229 cutter should?


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## box1920 (Dec 6, 2011)

i am thinking about getting one myself, but i want to know how i would cut out something like this:

[media]http://images2.fanpop.com/images/photos/7500000/chibi-anbu-kakashi-chibi-7590220-454-483.jpg[/media]

And what if i dont have the vector file, but just that jpg. how would i cut it out on the cameo?


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## Riph (Jan 11, 2011)

Very standard print/cut operation. Your art does not have to be in vector format.

You would open the jpg in Silhoutte Studio (the cameo software) and trace it (using either auto or manual tracing tools), and then print it using registration marks. Then you load into the cutter, find the reg marks, and it cuts it out.

The Silhouette software is pretty good about walking you through the print/cut process.

Also you can download the Silhouette software for fee and try it out before you buy the cutter. That in itself is a really nice thing. 

http://silhouetteamerica.com/software.aspx


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## katruax (Sep 30, 2010)

Just to clear up a few misconceptions perhaps... I too purchased this machine mainly for my finance to learn and play with... I thought if she could learn this perhaps she would be more help with the big one?...

But I also bought this machine because my main cutter did not have a contour cut function and from time to time I did want to print cut on transfer paper...

So I bought the machine and did my first print cut project in just minutes... Works great...

Couple points to make though on the print cut feature... The default print cut setup on the Cameo could use a little tweaking and the Silhouette Studio software allows us to not only adjust the size of the registration marks but also their location...

Now this cutter can cut 12"x120" 10 FEET!... The largest tranfer material you can buy I believe is 11x17... On 8-1/2" x 11" transfer paper I can get a 8.25" x 10.75" cut by adjusting the location and size of the registration marks... 

Keep in mind too the crop marks themselves don't limit the size you can cut in 99.9% of cases. The registration marks can be made very small and positioned very close to the edge of your transfer paper of needed but in 99.9% of the cases your design is not going to conflick with the crop marks anyhow as they are at the very corners of the paper... So you can easily get an adult size transfer out of an 8-1/2"x11" paper...

There is some debate on what is "Adult" size... Some say 10" some say less than that... I like 11"-12"

On an 11x17 transfer paper I can get 10.75"x16.75"... People don't realize that in the software you really aren't limited to a 12" length.. 

You're width is limited to 12" but your length is only limited to 120"... So techinically if your media is long enough you can print cut any length up to 120"

You can add registration marks to any size media up to 120". Of course your printer is not going to be able to print that long but certainly you could take a 11x17 paper cut it down to 8-1/2" x 17" and your printer can print that.... And then you could print cut up to 16.75"! I'm not lucky enough to have an 11x17 Color Laser Printer...

One thing I was so amazed at by this cutter is it's totally light... I mean it weighs NOTHING... We;ll see how it holds up but for what it's billed at which a hobby cutter... For the money... It's great... Certainly beats out a Cricut machine any day of the week... I haven't attempted to cut thick stiff with it like the hartco 425 but the Rhinestone Material I bought with it specifically for the Cameo which is a lighter weight material. Seems to work fine and and the stones seem to fall in line just fine as well.

Kevin


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## illementry (Dec 21, 2010)

i have 2 problems with the Cameo cutter. (note: the transfer papers im using are jet pro sofstretch and Red Grid)
1. when cutting a 11x17 heat transfer, you have to keep the "adjustable roller" at 8 inches
therefore, the roller runs almost halfway through the page(8 inches) and makes a light line from top to bottom when cutting.
where the roller runs through on the page, the cutter misses the cut on that spot. it cuts fine on both sides, but where the roller is, all through the page,that half an inch of space or so, is missed. make sense? 

2. even with the blade settings on 1(the lightest cut) the blade often cuts through the paper. 
when there is a lot of cuts, and the blade punctures the page, the page is very susceptible to shifting. and even with a little shift, the cutting falls out of alignment...and the page is ruined. I know that with an 8x11 heat transfer page, you can use the cutting mat so if punctured it wont shift because of the adhesive mat. 
but with an 11x17 paper, you cant use a cutting mat. anyone having the same problem with jet pro sofstretch and Red Grid paper getting punctured?.....and the paper falling out of alignment? some times the paper even bunches up and i have to completely stop the cut, and scrap it all. 

....also the cutting mat is really sticky, and hard to lift the transfer with out damaging the paper. any tricks?


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## katruax (Sep 30, 2010)

illementry said:


> but with an 11x17 paper, you cant use a cutting mat. anyone having the same problem with jet pro sofstretch and Red Grid paper getting punctured?


I always use a cutting mat....I just use a Cricut 12x24 cutting mat... There are lots of YouTube videos on making mats sticky not sticky... Making Mats out of weird things like placemats even....

But for sure you HAVE to use a cutting mat... You can get two 12x24 Cricut Mats at WalMart generally for $16 or so... You will wand to powder them or something to take off some stickyness... They are super sticky...

Kevin


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## yolo creative (May 23, 2011)

box1920 said:


> And what if i dont have the vector file, but just that jpg. how would i cut it out on the cameo?


The Silhouette Studio software has an Auto Trace tool so you don't need a vector file. We found the following video really helpful so it may be worth watching... How to use the Auto Trace Tool - it shows how to easily find the outline of your image.


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## illementry (Dec 21, 2010)

katruax said:


> I always use a cutting mat....I just use a Cricut 12x24 cutting mat...


what software do you use to cut? 
if you use the Cricut 12x24 cutting mat in silhouette studio, what options do you use? 
any trips and tricks for loading so the mat doesnt get cut, etc?
and any problem with opaque transfers and the cutter being a little off so white shows up on the border of the cut?


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## katruax (Sep 30, 2010)

illementry said:


> what software do you use to cut?
> if you use the Cricut 12x24 cutting mat in silhouette studio, what options do you use?
> any trips and tricks for loading so the mat doesnt get cut, etc?
> and any problem with opaque transfers and the cutter being a little off so white shows up on the border of the cut?



I can only tell you what I do... I use the Silhouette Studio software to cut... There is nothing "special" you have to do to cut...

Rather than choose a 12x12 mat... I define a custom size in my case 12x24.. I'm telling the software my media is 12x24 but really in this case my media is 11x17 but on a 12x24 carrier...

There really is no special trick to not cut through the paper onto the mat... It's basically the same steps as any other cutter... You have to test cut, test, cut, test cut until you find the proper settings... Even when you find the proper settings you are likely to find there are still area where it cuts deeper than others... That's what I've found anyhow.. It seems a bit hit and miss...

The Cameo is probably not the best machine for the task... But... For what it is... It's a great machine...

As far as white border showing up around the edge... That's your fault not the Cameo'ss... LOL

You have to realize there are tolerances involved... It's really no different than feeding labels into a printer... You file has to be setup with some margin of error because your printer isn't going to feed the paper spot on every time...

It's no different with the Cameo when making your artwork you have to allow for what they call "bleed" in the printing world... So if you have black lettering you are cutting out for example... Your lettering should extend beyond your contour cut line... Ideally 1/4" at minimum 1/8"... This way when your Cameo is off just a bit which it will be EVERY time... 

Then you have a little slop area to work with...

Kevin


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## iainlondon (May 11, 2010)

I've only bought this machine in the last couple of days so I'm still getting the feel for it.My question is when cutting Inkjet Paper(in this case for darks) I found that the blade setting of 2 was no where good enough to cut through,I created a "New Media" & went up to 7 and Double Cut this seemed to work out perfectly....


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## yolo creative (May 23, 2011)

iainlondon said:


> My question is when cutting Inkjet Paper(in this case for darks) I found that the blade setting of 2 was no where good enough to cut through,I created a "New Media" & went up to 7 and Double Cut this seemed to work out perfectly....


We find that blade setting 1 works for most of our transfers but it will depend on the paper you are using. Setting 1 is usually enough to cut through the transfer film only to leave the backing paper intact.


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## iainlondon (May 11, 2010)

yolo said:


> We find that blade setting 1 works for most of our transfers but it will depend on the paper you are using. Setting 1 is usually enough to cut through the transfer film only to leave the backing paper intact.


I'm using Coastal's Blue Grid (Dark) I'm finding that Setting 1 barely scratches the surface. Any advice?


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## MarStephenson761 (Sep 19, 2011)

It also looks like, according to Sierra, since it has a Windows Driver that it works with Hotfix Era rhinestone software


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## yolo creative (May 23, 2011)

iainlondon said:


> I'm using Coastal's Blue Grid (Dark) I'm finding that Setting 1 barely scratches the surface. Any advice?


Check that the blade is pushed firmly into the holder and that it isn't dull. We've just tested the blue grid with blade setting 1 and it worked well. Under cut settings, we selected 'Silhouette Printable Heat Transfer Sheet (dark)' and then fed the sheet into the Cameo without a cutting mat. You can see the partially weeded image here.


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## iainlondon (May 11, 2010)

yolo said:


> Check that the blade is pushed firmly into the holder and that it isn't dull. We've just tested the blue grid with blade setting 1 and it worked well. Under cut settings, we selected 'Silhouette Printable Heat Transfer Sheet (dark)' and then fed the sheet into the Cameo without a cutting mat. You can see the partially weeded image here.


 
Ok Great thank's I will try it....


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## iainlondon (May 11, 2010)

Well I'm afraid that didn't seem to work. I can't seem to find 'Silhouette Printable Heat Transfer Sheet (dark) on the settings. I have Heat transfer Paper (Smooth)Blade 2 & Print Heat Transfer Material for (Darks) Blade 1. My next problem was that when I loaded the Paper into the Cameo and hit the registration marks the paper just went through the back of the machine & fell to the floor.....


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## yolo creative (May 23, 2011)

iainlondon said:


> Well I'm afraid that didn't seem to work. I can't seem to find 'Silhouette Printable Heat Transfer Sheet (dark) on the settings. I have Heat transfer Paper (Smooth)Blade 2 & Print Heat Transfer Material for (Darks) Blade 1. My next problem was that when I loaded the Paper into the Cameo and hit the registration marks the paper just went through the back of the machine & fell to the floor.....


We would recommend selecting 'Print Heat Transfer Material for (Darks) Blade 1' and making sure the blade is actually set to 1. You have to add the registration marks to the image before printing the image. You then feed the printed image with registration marks into the cutter. Before asking the cutter to actually cut, you have to select the cut lines to show it where to cut - this is easy if you have a vector file but you can use the trace tool to find the outline if the image is just a jpg. Once you've done this, you send this information to the cutter - it should be able to find the registration marks and cut accordingly. You can see our image set up here.


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## iainlondon (May 11, 2010)

yolo said:


> We would recommend selecting 'Print Heat Transfer Material for (Darks) Blade 1' and making sure the blade is actually set to 1. You have to add the registration marks to the image before printing the image. You then feed the printed image with registration marks into the cutter. Before asking the cutter to actually cut, you have to select the cut lines to show it where to cut - this is easy if you have a vector file but you can use the trace tool to find the outline if the image is just a jpg. Once you've done this, you send this information to the cutter - it should be able to find the registration marks and cut accordingly. You can see our image set up here.


 
I have no problem cutting Vinyl or even messing around on "Print" paper It's just the Inkjet paper I'm struggling with and even then I have no problems cutting out Images, just Fonts & Text .The fonts I am messing about with are just 4/5 regular fonts I took off my Laptop..


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## backtovermont (Jan 23, 2013)

mike9 said:


> I have the cameo and honestly I am not that impressed. It works great for cutting vinyl I will give it that. As far as cutting heat transfers it totally sucks. You can not cut a 12" heat transfer if you had it. Because you need to use registration marks, the image is confined to a much smaller area. It is more like 9" max. Another problem I've had with heat transfers is that is does not cut to the trace lines. It works fine with plain computer paper, but once I switch to heat transfer paper it is not calibrated. The calibration mode is not user friendly and I cannot get it aligned correctly. I would recommend this cutter if you only use was for vinyl.


Are you using the Studio Designer softwear?


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## iainlondon (May 11, 2010)

backtovermont said:


> Are you using the Studio Designer softwear?


 

Yes (Sorry for the Delay)


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## mukka01 (Mar 31, 2013)

Hi Mike9. Are you aware that you can set the registration marks to the very corner of a page? I have the designer edition of the programme i am not sure about the standard version. The registration marks are not in my way they are very close about 1-1.5mm from the edge of the page. So virtually the whole a4 page can be cut, with print and cut. All the best. Gary.


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