Frequently Asked Questions

First, if you are using the original Silhouette, please ensure the blade position is correct. Please visit the online Silhouette tutorial for blade placement instructions. You will want to make sure the notch on the blade (the black "fin" on the base of your blade) is turned to the right, facing the blue power light in the 3 o'clock position (see page 11in the Basic Instruction Guide). When the notch is faced in this direction and locked into place, the blade will be lowered slightly and thus deliver more cutting force. Again, this would be for the original Silhouette only. However, regardless of which Silhouette model you have, blade position could still be an issue if the blade had been removed recently to change the cap. The blade may not be fully seated in the holder and thus not delivering clean results when cutting. To check this, unlock the blade and while holding the lock lever in place, twist and push the blade down to make sure it is seated all the way down in the holder.

The second thing you may check would be your media settings. If you are cutting with a depth that is too shallow or the cap is a thinner cap (blue or yellow), you may need to adjust your cutting settings or blade cap according to the type of paper or media you are trying to cut. We would suggest using the "Test Cut" button to ensure your settings are set up correctly for the media type you are using prior to going through the entire cutting process. If the test cut does not work, you most likely need to re-adjust the settings again and try the test cut again. If the test cut works, the actual cut job should work.

If the test cut works, but the job is not working, try cutting another image known to be good (such as text or a shape from your library). If you find for any reason that there are areas not giving a clean cut, you may also wish to select your image, go to the “Edit” menu and select “Copy”. You will then immediately go back to your “Edit” menu and select “Paste.” Doing this will have the Silhouette cut your image twice, thus ensuring any problem areas are given an extra pass during the cut job.

Please keep in mind that certain materials may be too thick for the Silhouette. As there are wide variety of materials, we unfortunately cannot list every material type the Silhouette can cut. We can tell you, however, that the Silhouette should a range of materials from vellum to 80 lb cardstock, such as Bazzill cardstock.