Silhouette cutter – Cutting with or without cutting mat

For the impatient: All vinyls by HappyFabric can be cut without a cutting mat if they are big enough to fit under both white rollers because they have carrier that "replaces" the mat. The carrier gives the vinyl stability and prevents small pieces from falling into the cutter. Especially when you are using leftover vinyl from other projects it is important to use a cutting mat. You can use the squares to position your vinyl exactly where it is shown in the software. The cutting mat will ensure that the vinyl is safely loaded and will not move.

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When you try to figure out if you should use the cutting mat or not, it can be helpful to understand what the mat ist for.

How a Cutting Mat Works

• The cutting mat protects the cutter from the blade tip: If a material does not have a carrier (e.g. paper, cardboard, fabric), the blade cuts through the entire material. It is possible for the blade to cut or scratch the cutting strip (especially if the blade setting is too high)
• The cutting mat prevents small pieces form falling into the cutter. Imagine the cutter cuts small circles from a cardboard. As soon as those circles are no longer connected to the rest of cardboard, they would fall down into the plotter and you might not be able to get them out.
• The cutting mat stabilises the material: When you cut designs from small rests, the cutting mat will help load the material safely into the cutter, making sure it does not move out of place or get stuck. The lines on the mat also help finding the right position for the material.

Textile Vinyls are Special

All our flex and flock vinyls have a carrier. The carrier is not cut (at least it shouldn't be if everything is done correctly). Thus it fulfills the same functions as a cutting mat. Because of that our vinyls sheets and rolls can be cut without a cutting mat. But you should use a cutting mat for rests because of the reasons listed above.

With or Without a Cutting Mat?

To conclude: If you need a cutting mat or not depends on the type and size of the material you want to cut. If it's got its own carrier and fits underneath both rollers, it can be cut without a cutting mat.

How to load the cutting mat/material