Have you guys used Cricut Maker 3 for adhesive vynil?

[Rafael]

I've done some tests and I ended up using less-pressure, with the only option for 'adhesive vynil' available in the search for materials.

But still I have different results, depending on which letters and font is being used.
Also, I don't even know if the fact the mats are very worn off makes a difference, trying to avoid wrinkling, or not deep enough cut... wrinkling is the worst for me.

I found these two tutorials that explain a lot, including getting a deep cut tip, to enhance the ability to address corners, but I will not buy anything of that sort at this point (maybe later)

https://www.diycraftsy.com/diy-vinyl-lettering/

(also this other one, very good ones)

https://sniptoit.com/how-to-cut-small-letters-on-a-cricut/#section3tinyfonts

I'll try them next time (maybe tomorrow)

Anyway, just wanted to hear your experiences and thoughts.

Hope you're having a great day!

--

Rafael Karosuo
Ing. Computación

Mi Perfil LinkedIn

[Eric Ose]

I wish I had good advice. I think the brand of vinyl matters. My limited experience with the Cricut Maker was not enjoyable. For vinyl I would be surprised if a deep cut blade would be necessary.

Eric Ose

Robot Ambassador

Sometimes cool things just happen, but usually you have to plan them.

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[Rafael]

Apologies for the delay.
Thank you Eric, for the feedback.

Didn't purchase the deep cut blade, I did change however:

- The font, which was a huge game changer for good (thicker strokes and cursive was easier to cut, than straight corners and holes in Arial like fonts)

- The settings (indirectly by changing to a different material, the washi sheet has way less pressure configured, than vynil), which works better for weird fonts

- The way to stick the vinyl into the mats... boy, the fact those things are so worn off and not sticking is a PAIN! I've lost so many good cuts just because the stupid thing would slide and wrinkle due to not sticking.

This for sure made look HSL's vynil cutter from a different angle, and appreciate the ability to turn more knobs.
Also, to appreciate the magic spread sheets with all the settings that worked for previous people.

I'm looking forward to use it

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[Katy Osterwald]

I have a Cricut Joy at home - the mats need to be washed every 5-6 cuts to keep them sticky. I use just some regular dawn dish soap on mine, rub them gently under cold water with my fingers to get any fuzz/residue off, then hang up to dry. I still use washi tape to hold down my vinyl though even on clean mats, especially if its wanting to roll up (some sticker vinyl is worse at this than others. Iron-on vinyl is usually fine). Using a brayer can help get it to really adhere flat, and pre-cutting down to just the size you need.

Eric is correct, you shouldn't need to use a deep cut blade or higher pressure to cut most vinyl, those blades are for doing stuff like cardstock. On my Joy I use the "Premium vinyl" setting with "less" pressure for sticker vinyl, and for iron-on I use the "Iron-on" setting with default pressure. If it's cutting through the backing of your vinyl, you're using way too much pressure. I do try to design my designs to avoid making very small or thin bits, it does struggle with anything smaller or thinner than about 2 mm, at least on my machine.

One other thing to keep an eye on is that there's no little bits of vinyl stuck up in the blade housing, that can stop it from rotating freely or cause it to skip, or pull up bits of your vinyl as it goes along. I try to check mine when I clean my mats as part of maintenance.

[Katy Osterwald]

I have a Cricut Joy at home - the mats need to be washed every 5-6 cuts to keep them sticky. I use just some regular dawn dish soap on mine, rub them gently under cold water with my fingers to get any fuzz/residue off, then hang up to dry. I still use washi tape to hold down my vinyl though even on clean mats, especially if its wanting to roll up (some sticker vinyl is worse at this than others. Iron-on vinyl is usually fine). Using a brayer can help get it to really adhere flat, and pre-cutting down to just the size you need.

Eric is correct, you shouldn't need to use a deep cut blade or higher pressure to cut most vinyl, those blades are for doing stuff like cardstock. On my Joy I use the "Premium vinyl" setting with "less" pressure for sticker vinyl, and for iron-on I use the "Iron-on" setting with default pressure. If it's cutting through the backing of your vinyl, you're using way too much pressure. I do try to design my designs to avoid making very small or thin bits, it does struggle with anything smaller or thinner than about 2 mm.

One other thing to keep an eye on is that there's no little bits of vinyl stuck up in the blade housing, that can stop it from rotating freely or cause it to skip, or pull up bits of your vinyl as it goes along. I try to check mine when I clean my mats as part of maintenance.

To view this discussion visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/heatsynclabs/CAOO2k%2B1qGFvWncsgeG77sUw85ncVGzc50Kvqi_q5KKdSkHaV0A%40mail.gmail.com.