How to Print & Cut Larger in Silhouette

I loved that the Silhouette Studio offers the feature of print and cut for projects. There are just some times that it is much easier to print out a detailed design than to layer it with adhesive vinyl or HTV. It also gives the project a little different look.

For the basics of this feature – check out the
“Let’s Explore v4 – Print and Cut Basics” post HERE.
This is where I would encourage any new user to start or if you have been having issues getting an accurate cut.

Do some test print projects and get that baseline developed for the print and cut. Just like any new project, I would encourage you to get a feel for how it works and turns out before you start adjusting things.

But, what if you want to print and cut larger? Is it possible? Yes! Let’s explore how.

This tutorial is written using the v4.3.370 Silhouette studio software. For versions prior to v4.3 you may see a few differences in the software, the steps will be the same. However, you may find this Print and Cut Part 1 tutorial to be helpful too.
Affiliate links may be present in the following blog post and as an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

What is the largest you can print and cut with the Silhouette?

Well, the first answer to that is – what size can you print?
Do you have a large format printer?

That is going to be the first limit you have. How large can you print?

I have the Canon TS9521C Crafting printer and I hesitated at first to invest in it. But, I have not regretted that purchase one bit. I have gotten great quality prints out of this printer and love it.

You can find this printer on Amazon HERE.

Let’s start with a 12″ x 12″ print and cut project.
I am just using white Recollections cardstock from Michael’s. It works well.

First, I use the rear tray when I am printing on cardstock or for the larger formats. Even if I’m using letter size cardstock, I find that the rear tray where it feeds in straight and doesn’t have to curl inside the printer turns out better. I get less errors on the prints or jams in the printer.

Open a new design mat.
On the Page Setup Panel, choose the Media Size of the paper – in this case a 12″ x 12″ media size.

Check the box next to Show Print Border & Show Cut Border.

The gray outline that shows up on the design mat is the Print border. This is set by the default printer that is connected to your computer.
Currently the printer is set to print on a Letter size sheet of paper.

To print larger, that needs to be adjusted.
Click on File in the top left corner of the Silhouette software & choose Print.

This will open up a Printer menu. Note that the printer menus may be different depending on computer and printer model.
I am using a Windows PC with the Canon TS9521C printer.

Then click on the Preferences option
(could also say Advanced Options or another term – depending on the printer).

If there is the option to “Preview before printing” I suggest choosing that. It can save you a lot of headache on a mis-print.

Then make sure there are no features checked such as “borderless printing” or “fit to page” – these can alter the page from printing accurately and can cause registration errors.

Choose the Media type – in this case it is Cardstock.

Set the Printer Paper Size. The list that pops up is going to be determined by the options  available for the current default printer chosen. I chose “Square – 12″ x 12”.

Set Paper Source. I selected “Rear Tray”.

Then click on Ok. And then click Apply.

Now, notice that the Print Border has now adjusted to a 12″ x 12″ page.

Let’s set up the Print and Cut now.
Click on the Page Setup Panel – Registration Marks Tab.

Choose “On” for the registration marks and then I highly recommend clicking on the “Restore Defaults” button. This will help you in establishing a baseline for your print and cut. I print almost all my projects at the default Registration Marks and I have no issues getting it to register.

While the registration marks can be moved, the farther they are moved increases the chances of an inaccurate cut. I recommend to start, use the defaults and as you get more comfortable, you can start changing things.

Notice the Cut border now changes to line up with the Registration Marks.

Now, let’s add designs to the page. If you are opening designs from the Library, right click on the image and choose “Merge” – this will place it on the current design mat we have set up. If you open a file from outside the library, go to File > Merge and then locate the file to open.

Changing Scene Birthday Llama by Lori Whitlock – Design #304249

Double check that the cut lines have a line width of zero under the Line Style Panel before printing. And also that no part of your design appears in the cross-hatched area of the print and cut. This can affect the reading of the registration marks.
Check out more tips HERE.

Then choose File > Print and if you have set up the print preview it will spool the print job and a preview will pop up on the screen. This is a great habit to get into as you can often spot an error before you’ve sent the entire job to print.

Keep in mind that the time to spool from the computer to the printer can vary. This will depend on the amount of data you have in the file and also whether the printer is hard wired or wireless can affect it as well.

Double check that the bottom left registration mark shows it will print completely. This is one of the top errors I see with print and cut is the default registration marks may be outside of the printer margins. This will vary by printer, so some users may experience it more than others.

If you need to change something or it doesn’t look right, choose Cancel Printing.
If it all looks good, then click on Start Printing.

Place it on the cutting mat, exactly as it shows on the design screen. Make sure you are lining the paper up so that it covers the grid lines on the Silhouette cutting mat.

These turned out so cute! I will definitely be making more of Lori Whitlock’s changing scenes cards.

Now, let’s talk bigger.

I have a sheet of 11″ X 17″ media. I changed the cutting mat to a 12″ x 24″ mat and set the Printer Page Setup under File > Print the exact same way as outlined above, except I chose the 11″ x 17″ paper size.

Notice the Print border adjusts according to the page size set under the File > Print setup.

Turn the Registration Marks on and then add the design(s) to the page.

Again, I always like to turn the Print Preview on as my last fail safe to catch an error before it prints the entire sheet.

Once it’s done printing, place it on your mat, choose your Cut settings and send it to cut.

Print and cut can be used for so many different projects from cards, stickers, printable heat transfer, etc.

Now, with the larger machines being released – Cameo Plus 15″ (available) and the Cameo Pro 20″ (coming soon) – the big question is “How big can you print and cut?”

Again, the 1st answer is – How big can you print? That will be the first limit.

And then, the 2nd answer is – How big is your media you are printing on?
That will be the next limit.

I printed on both a 12″ x 12″ piece of cardstock and then a sheet of 11″ x 17″ heat transfer paper. Is your media bigger than that? Both of these were cut on a Cameo 4 machine which has a cutting width of 12″ and it could also be cut on either of the larger machines coming out.

Here is an image of the design space of a Cameo Plus. If you are using higher than v4.3.370 of the Silhouette software, you would be able to change to this in the software even without owning a Cameo Plus.

Notice that the Print border stayed at my 11″ x 17″ size. I did not change it so, it stayed the same, as it recognizes what the default printer is set at. But, if I add the registration marks to the page, you can see that they will show up.

Again, it will depend on both the size of media you can print on and the size of media you have available to print on.

Have some time? Just sit down and play in the software. You never know when you will stumble across something new!

For more print and cut help check out these posts as well
Let’s Explore v4 – Print and Cut Basics
Print and Cut Part 1
Print and cut Part 2 – Text
Print and cut Part 3 – Images
Print and cut with Heat Transfer Paper

Save this for future reference by pinning the image below.

I would love to see what you create!
Feel free to post on my Facebook group at Silhouette Secrets with EllyMae.

Enjoy!

**This post may contain affiliate links. What that means is that I may receive compensation if you purchase through the links I have provided. The price you pay for the product or service is not higher but I may get compensated for sharing.