Silhouette Specialty Tools Panel – Score & Emboss

Under the new Specialty Tools Panel on Tab 2 in Silhouette Studio, is the Score & Emboss Panel.

This tutorial was written in Silhouette Studio version 4.5.770. The Specialty Tools Panel was released in v4.5+ software versions. If you don’t see it on the right side of the Silhouette Studio, your software version may be older than v4.5.

Affiliate links may be present in the following blog post and as an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.

The score & emboss process is designed to cut a shallow line before embossing, intending to deepen the embossing.

This option is available to Silhouette Curio 1, Silhouette Curio 2, and Silhouette Cameo 5 model owners. If one of these machines is not plugged in and recognized, the panel will gray out, and you may not be able to select the options.

Specialty Tools Panel – Score & Emboss – Tab 2

Here is a look at the details of the Score & Emboss Panel.

1 – Tool Selection – Choose either the Fine or Wide Embossing tool according to what you are using.

Fine Embossing tool is a 1 mm tip and designated by a light blue/green top.
Wide Embossing tool is a 3 mm tip and designated by a darker blue top.

2 – Passes – choose the number of passes for the tool to complete from 1 – 10
3 – Fill – check this to add a fill to the object selected.
4 – Apply Score & Emboss Lines – selecting this confirms to the software that you want to apply both these actions to the selected object

Score & Emboss on the Send Tab in Silhouette

Once you apply the Score & Emboss, clicking on the Send tab will display both a red cut line and a blue emboss line around the design.

Carriage 1 performs the red cut line with a blade installed, and Carriage 2 performs the blue emboss line with the embossing tool.

To be honest, I tested both with and without the Score line and it did not make a difference that I could tell with my cardstock, except that scoring increased the time & caused more debris. All cardstock will vary and testing is the only way to know what will work best with your brand and thickness of cardstock.

Here is a look at just embossing cardstock with the Silhouette Curio 2.

Here is a look at the Score & Emboss results. I noticed that it created debris and separation in some areas where it scored and embossed.

Results may vary depending on the actual cardstock being used. Silhouette does have a Score & Emboss paper that they recommend for this method. However, you can test with any cardstock and simply select the Score & Emboss Paper as the material on the Send tab.

Tips to Keep in Mind with Score & Emboss

When using the Score & Emboss feature, keep in mind that it increases the time for the project to complete because you have 2 tools working consecutively. Depending on what you tell the software to do, it can be a lot of data to process, so be patient with your computer if it is thinking.

Embossing is available on the following Silhouette model machines: Curio 1, Curio 2, Cameo 5.

The Silhouette Embossing tools (fine & wide tip) work in conjunction with the Silhouette 12″ x 12″ Embossing mat.

At the time of publishing this post, a bug persists in the Silhouette software for the Silhouette Cameo 5 causing it not to emboss where it shows on the screen. I will not release a tutorial until this bug is fixed, as I don’t want users to ruin their $30 embossing mat, as I did on the first try.

If you do attempt to do this with the Silhouette Cameo 5, I would highly recommend that you use a full 12″ x 12″ sheet of cardstock to protect the entire emboss mat surface.

Cutting completely through a material on top of the Silhouette Embossing mat is not recommended as it can damage the embossing pad and tear it up.

As new information is released and the bugs are fixed, I will add additional resources for embossing.

• Silhouette Cameo 5 additional resources found HERE
• Silhouette Curio 2 additional resources found HERE

Silhouette Studio Specialty Tools Panel Tabs (coming soon)

• Specialty Tools Panel – Tab 1 – Emboss Panel details HERE
• Specialty Tools Panel – Tab 2 – Score & Emboss – details above
• Specialty Tools Panel – Tab 3 – Power Engraver – details HERE

Save this for future reference by pinning the image below.

Enjoy !

THANK YOU for your support! How can you help? Click HERE & buy a coffee.
Every little bit helps with the cost of running the site.

**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.