To turn off Registration marks, please go to the "Edit" menu and select "Registration Mark Settings". You will then need to un-check the box labeled "Use Registration Marks" in the upper left-hand corner of the settings window.
If you are purposefully attempting to do a "print and cut" job and the Silhouette is unable to read the registration marks, we might first suggest using the following alternative method of having the Silhouette find your registration marks.
After you have loaded your printed design onto your cutting mat and into the Silhouette, call up the Controller screen as you normally would to cut. However, rather than clicking directly on "Cut" to search for the Registration Marks:
1. Uncheck the "Search Registration Mark" option
2. Manually position your blade within the upper right-hand registration mark (as shown below as the green area) by using the "Blade Position" arrows.
3. Once your blade is within the upper right-hand registration mark, click on the button marked "Registration mark reading".
4. After registration marks are succesfully found, click on the "Cut" button.
If the Silhouette is still not finding the registration marks, please check the following:
- Paper is being loaded correctly - If you are using the Silhouette SD, please ensure you are loading your printed paper on the cutting may with the "Load w/Carrier" option.
- Paper used is a light color - There may be an issue with reading registration marks that are printed onto darker colored papers. The Silhouette may not be able to read the black lines on darker or other select colored papers. This is especially true with green tone colored papers.
- Registration Marks are clear on printed paper - The optic scanner is only able to read marks that are clearly printed. Your printer may be printing the lines too lightly if your ink or toner cartridge is low, or it is possible that your printing preferences are set to a lower quality. The Silhouette's optic scanner is also unable to read marks that may have been smudged or have bled into the material¹ you have printed on. This has especially been found with certain cardstock materials. A good test if you are using cardstock would be to re-print your job onto a regular piece of copy paper and re-try the job. Make sure the Registration marks are readable and that you are attempting to cut in a well lit area so that the optic scanner can accurately find the Registration marks.
- Registration Marks are centered as paper is loaded into the Silhouette - Sometimes the marks are off-centered as your paper is lined up onto the cutting mat. Please ensure the registration marks are aligned between the white rollers. To do this, begin to load your cutting mat as you would normally do, and then place your paper onto the cutting mat with the registration marks lined up within the white rollers. When lining your paper with the marks lined up within the white rollers, make sure that the right-hand side of the paper is lined up justified against the right-hand side of the cutting mat. It is also vital that the paper is not slanted as it is placed on the mat. It must be straight in order for all registration marks to be properly found. You may also attempt to load the paper about a half inch from the top of the sticky part of the cutting mat and then attempt to line up the blade over the marks as previously suggested. Though it seems this would be the same as loading the paper normally and then manually moving the blade into position, it actually seems to make a difference in assisting the optical scanner to properly read the registration marks. You will of course also want to continue to ensure that the Registration Marks are centered as paper is loaded into the Silhouette (where the registration marks are aligned between the white rollers). Also, if your cutting mat is older and not holding paper well, you may wish to explore using a new cutting mat.
- Paper size matches the Document Settings - You will want to ensure that the actual paper size and the paper size defined in the "Document Settings" (found in the "File" menu) are matching up correctly. Once you have defined your paper size, you may wish to check your "Registration Mark" settings and select "Fit to Document" to make sure the registration mark settings are printed out in the correct location. Once you have re-printed your job to the printer after making these adjustments, you will want to make sure that you are not making any further adjustments to the document settings in the Silhouette software to reformat the paper size.
- Blade is placed in proper position to search for marks - Once your paper is placed onto the cutting mat correctly and you have opened the Controller, before you click on the "Cut" button, you will want to use the blade position arrows to position your blade over the top right or left registration mark, with the blade tip set as close to the inside of the corner of the registration mark as possible. If the Silhouette fails to find the registration marks, try positioning the blade over the mark on the opposite side. The optic sensor needs to be lined up as closely as possible to accurately find the registration marks.
- Marks need to be adjusted - We might also suggest doing the following if you continue to experience further problems after following the suggestions above:
1. Once your document is ready to print, go to the "Edit" menu
2. Select "Registration Mark Settings"
3. In the Registration Mark Settings window, alter the "Distance (1-2)" to a lower number (such as "7 inches")
4. Likewise, alter the "Distance (1-3)" to a lower number (such as "9 inches")
5. Click "OK"
6. Ensure your image is within the newly spaced Registration Marks and re-print your job
¹ Registration marks will not work on textured surfaces, such as textured cardstock, or other select cardstock materials. QuicKutz cannot guarantee that registration marks will work on all cuttable materials.