New! Silhouette Heat Pen Setup & Foiling

The Silhouette Heat Pen is compatible with the new Cameo 5, Curio 2, and Portrait 4 (with adapter included with machine).

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I’ve been testing out the new heat pen and wanted to share how to set it up in the Silhouette software. I will be demonstrating on the Curio 2, but the setup process is the same in the Silhouette software no matter which machine you are using that is compatible.

This written tutorial will be photo heavy.
I also have a video tutorial on the Silhouette Secrets+ YouTube channel HERE
and a printable PDF available as a free download exclusively for confirmed newsletter subscribers.

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Built with Kit

Supplies Used in This Tutorial

• Silhouette Curio 2 (also compatible with Silhouette Cameo 5 and Portrait 4)
• Curio Debris Tray – *only required for the Curio 2 for use with the heat pen & power engraver
• Silhouette Heat Pen set
• Silhouette Autoblade (or other blade style)
• Silhouette cutting mat
• Recollections Cardstock
• Silhouette Spatula
• Hi by Diva Watts Design – Design #399489

Optional supplies:

• Spellbinders Hot Foil
• We R Makers Hot Foil
• Silhouette Gold Foil
• Silhouette Silver Foil
• Washi Tape
• Scraper in craft tool kit – miracle tool *see the end of the tutorial for why

How to Set Up the Silhouette Heat Pen for Foiling

Step 1 – Set up cutting mat by placing cardstock on the cutting mat.

For Curio 2 users only – tape Silhouette cutting mat to debris tray securely.
It is NOT recommended to use the heat pen on top of the electrostatic bed. You do not want to damage the electrostatic bed or it will not function properly and will need to be replaced.

Step 2 – Unpack the Silhouette Heat Pen set and select the items you want to use.

The Silhouette Heat Pen set includes a 1 mm heat pen, 2.5 mm heat pen, roll of Silhouette masking tape, roll of gold foil, and roll of silver foil.

I used the 2.5 mm heat pen and the gold foil for this tutorial.

Step 3 – Install the Silhouette heat pen in the Tool 2 carriage and a Silhouette blade in the Tool 1 carriage of the machine.

The Portrait 4 only has 1 tool housing and will need the power adapter installed prior to installing the Silhouette heat pen (power adapter is included with the Portrait 4 – do not throw it away or lose it). Check out the Portrait 4 unboxing HERE for more information.

Do not worry if the light does not turn on immediately on the front of the Heat Pen. It will come on as the project is set up.

Step 4 – Set up design in the Silhouette software to foil & then cut.
You do not want to cut the foil. Silhouette makes it easy for us to set it up for one action and then the other.

First, set up the Page Setup Panel for the machine you are using, the cardstock size and orientation.

I selected the design I wanted – Hi by Diva Watts Design – Design #399489 and drew a rounded rectangle around the design with the Drawing Tools on the left side.
Then with both the design and the rectangle selected, I used the Center Align tool in the top Quick Access Toolbar (QAT).

Placing the design at the bottom of the sheet of material can make it easier to set up the foiling process and you don’t have to work around the housing. With the Cameo and Portrait machines, it will also make it easier to remove the foil as you do not want to unload the mat between the foiling and cut process.

Select the design and open the Specialty Tools Panel in the top right corner, directly below the Page Setup Panel. Choose the Heat Pen Panel and choose your fill pattern and spacing. I used the cross-hatched pattern and the default fill which showed as 0.016″.

Then I changed the line color of my foiling design to blue using the QAT Line Color option in the top left corner. This is going to allow us to use the Send by Line Color option and set up the design for foiling first and the cut second.

Click the Send button in the top right corner.

Choose the Line option at the top right of the Send tab. Uncheck the red color. Keep the blue color checked and select the “2” option for Tool 2.

*Tip – I do not use the pause option between foiling and cutting as pause does not always work properly.

When the Silhouette Heat Pen is recognized in the software, a pop up will come up and ask if you want to start heating the Heat Pen.

There is no default material setting for the Silhouette Heat Pen currently in the software, but that is no problem. We can create one simply by clicking on the More button in the bottom right of the Send tab. This opens up the Advanced Material Settings and we can set up a material for our foiling.

Click the plus sign on the right side to create a new material. Name the new material to designate what you want. Choose the machine model when asked and then select Carriage 2.

Next, select the larger + sign and select Add Foil Action.

With Carriage 2 still selected, click on the Sketch Action and choose Remove Action.

Adjust the settings for the foil, choose Save, and click the X in the top right corner.

I started with a Force of 10. The only way to know what will work for your material, foil, design, and heat pen is to test it. Start with a small design and test, test, test!

Next, select the new material you created. The setting will be at the bottom of the materials list as a user defined setting.

Verify that the correct color is the one you are changing and that the blue is the color that will be sent to foil.

Step 5 – While the pen is heating, add foil on top of the cardstock in the exact location of the design.

Start by taping the diagonal corners and pulling it as smooth as possible.

Then tape the other 2 corners. Adjust as needed until it is securely held and as smooth as possible. Any movement in the foil can cause the heat pen to catch and the project to be lost.

Step 6 – When the Silhouette Heat Pen shows as Ready, click the Send button to send the job to foil.

If using the Silhouette Curio 2, you will need to do the manual height detection. The height detection does not work accurately on clear or shiny surfaces, so you want to follow the directions to manually detect the height in the software. Check out the video tutorial for a visual on how I do this HERE.

With the Heat Pen set up properly, the auto height detection is automatically disabled to allow for you to set the height manually. This is important to get an accurate reading of the thickness of the material with the Curio 2.

Peek at foiling job when complete. Sometimes if it didn’t foil properly, you could send again if you don’t move the foil too much.

If it’s successful, remove the tape, save and reuse it.

If using a Silhouette Cameo 5 or Portrait 4 , do NOT unload the cutting mat.

Step 7 – Send the job to cut.

Uncheck the blue cut line and check the red cut line. The blue lines will turn off and the bold red cut line should turn on. Select the appropriate cut setting for your material. Then click Send.

Step 8 – Carefully remove the cut piece.

Keep in mind that if you have the force too high, it can cement the cardstock down to the cutting mat. Be careful removing it and a Silhouette spatula works nicely to help lift it without damaging it.

I also tested with Spellbinders hot foil and We R Makers Foil Quill Foil and both worked well.

If cardstock does stick to the cutting mat, this little scraper tool is amazing for helping to remove the cardstock but keep the adhesive in tack.

Just be careful and do not dig into the cutting mat with it.

Ta-da! Clean mat!

This little scraper tool is also amazing at removing little bits of a cut design quickly and easily. Check out this video where I show that HERE.

Have fun and just play!!!

Check out the video tutorial on the Silhouette Secrets+ YouTube channel HERE
and grab the printable PDF available when you confirm the newsletter subscription HERE.

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Enjoy !

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**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.