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How to Use the Offset Window to Make Cut Lines in Silhouette Studio Designer Edition Software

Do you need to make some cut lines for an .svg file that you imported that won’t cut?  I needed to!  There are other reasons you might need to make cut lines.  Maybe you just want to cut something out that you created.  Am I right?  Well, whatever the reason here is how to do it. 😉

The Offset Window Button

Like that weird relative, this button is a little "Off"set.

To Create Cut Lines for Your Image:

  1. Open the Offset Window. (Itlooks like a white mat, or a door with a doorknob.)
  2. Click the image you want to have cut lines.
  3. Click the Offset button.
This is a full view of my screen BEFORE using the Offset button.

After clicking the Offset Button

Did you end up with something crazy?

You’re not done yet.

Silhouette Offset Distance
AFTER USING THE OFFSET BUTTON.

Now it looks like a hot mess but we’ll fix it!  To shrink those out of control cut lines, you need to adjust the Offset Distance.  See it next to the arrow in the photo above?  Adjust it until you like how much white space it will leave between your image and the cut line.  I decided to place the distance at 0.005 because I wanted a really close cut.

How To Adjust Cut Lines:

  1. Adjust the Offset Distance. (See arrow in photo)
  2. Determine desired white space between image and cut line.
  3. Click Cut Style Window to view the cut lines you created.
We’ve Got Cut Lines! Now Get to Cuttin’.

   You should play with the Internal Offset and Offset buttons and see all the things that can be done.  It’s pretty cool.  After you get yours adjusted for your particular project you’re ready to cut!  Just click the “Send to Silhouette” button and you’re off and running…or cutting.

Here’s a link to all of my Silhouette Studio Designer Edition tutorials.

Happy Silhouetting!

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21 Comments

  1. sueremembers says:

    Joy, I’m getting my Cameo next week so I’ve been absorbing all sorts of info about it. I have so many svg files that I will defintely upgrade to the Studio Designer software. I like all your info because it saves me the time having to “discover” all these tricks by myself.

  2. Hi Joy,

    I’m new to electroni cutting. I did the offset trick to make an imported .svg file I purchased from svgcuts. However the cutter appears to be cutting two lines. I can’t get the cameo to cut from the .svg files, ( no cut lines appear) so I tried the offset at .0005. but it cuts twice. I zoomed in on the cut line and behold there appeasred two cut line. Any tips on how to make one of them disappear?

    1. Trish,
      You might try going to your project and dragging the base layer out of the way to see if you somehow have two of what you are trying to cut. I had something like that happen to me once and was able to just delete the additional image. I hope that works.
      I haven’t called them but people say that Silhouette Customer Service is very helpful. You might give them a call if you’re still having trouble later.
      Here’s their info: Phone: 801.983.8937 OR 800.859.8243 Toll-free (US only)
      Email Customer Service: [email protected]
      Let me know how it goes. 🙂
      ~Joy~

  3. thank you for your tips-much appreciated. When my silhouette cuts the svg, it leaves most of the red line showing. I tried
    moving the offset right next to the image, but the silhouette didn’t seem to recognize the red line and would not cut.
    Is there a way to cut without the red line showing?

    1. Marggordo1,
      From what I’ve noticed so far the red line has to show in order to perform cutting. If I learn any more that might help, I’ll be sure to post it. 🙂
      ~Joy~

  4. Thank you! I got my Cameo a few weeks ago and am slowly learning how to use it. This post helps immensely!! 🙂

    1. Hi Catherine!
      I’m so glad this post helped you. 🙂 Congratulations on your new Cameo!
      ~Joy~

  5. I am so ready to pull my hair out. I have been wanting and waiting for so long to get my silhouette and now that it is here I cannot for the life of me figure out how to use it. I want to create some centerpieces for my daughters 4th birthday. I did a google image search for some lalaloopsy clip art and picked out some of the dolls I wanted to cut. I want to do a sticker cut. where there is a small white border around the cut and cannot for the life of me get it to work. Do I need Deigner studio to do this?

    1. Hi Christy,
      You’ll need the Designer Edition to import .svg files. Here’s a link to the comparison of the two softwares they offer. You can add a white line around your stickers by going to the “Offset Window” in the top right hand corner of your software. Next, select your image. If it doesn’t seem to be able to be selected, ungroup it. Right click on your mouse for those options or go to the “Object” tab and choose it from the dropdown box. Back to the “Offset Window”…Adjust the “Offset Distance” using the slider bar. You should see the cut area around your selected item change. That will be the area that is left white when you create your sticker. Here’s a post about creating stickers using the Cameo. I hope that helps!
      ~Joy~

  6. OMG! THANK YOU!!!! You saved me hours of beating my head against a wall.

    1. So glad I could help, Heather! 🙂 YAY! Now you can fashion a crafty ice pack for your head banging! LOL!
      ~Joy~

    1. I’m so glad I was able to help, Caryn! Thanks so much!
      ~Joy~

  7. Thank you so much for the info. I wanted to use designs I created but now I suppose I have to buy the studio designer software. My husband bought me this for Christmas. I bet he didn’t know I have to purchase all the designs to use it. And another software program. Oops

    1. You’re welcome, Lisa! One nice thing about buying most of the designs is that you can buy what you need one at a time at a low price. Yay to that! Plus, you can create your own designs too! Here’s a link to some free designs I offer to get you started! 🙂 (That link will take you to my .svg Pinterest board so you can easily see what files I’m sharing.) Happy crafting!
      ~Joy~

  8. Hi Joy, so glad I found your Cameo site. After 2 cricut expressions, I also have a Cameo which I love. My big question is on shapes. When I click the rectangle box and make the rectangle, how do I stop the line? It just wants to keep making lines or shapes. HELP! thanks for this site, helps a lot!

    1. Jan,
      I’m not sure if I’m answering your question correctly but you let go of the mouse and choose the pointer instead of the rectangle. Other than that, I’m not sure why it would keep making rectangles. Hmmm…

  9. I’m having a terrible time with this! Are the offset lines supposed to print? – this seems unnecessary. Also, once I created the offset, they did not turn to cut lines, so once I printed, and then loaded to cut, it gave me and error of “no cut lines”.

    When i try to create cut lines, it cuts both the image and the offset line.

    Please advise!
    Thanks

    1. Hi Emily,
      Offset lines are supposed to print, unless you click that line and chose the “no cut” button for that line. The option of printing those lines comes in handy when you want your image to have a border. For the image you’re using you may need to “ungroup” the lines. Right click the image to do that. Sometimes it’s necessary to also “release the compound path”. Right click the image to do that. After doing those things you should be able to see all the lines. Select the ones you want to cut and choose “cut”. Be careful about moving your image in this ungrouped state. Select them all to move them around on the mat. Be sure to check what lines will cut by looking at the image in the “Cut Style” window. The dark red lines will cut. Here’s how to print and cut. I hope that helps.

  10. Thank you SO much for posting this! I struggled for an hour trying to find a way to convert my png file to something cuttable and when I’d finally figured out how to make a proper svg file in Illustrator after many failed attempts to just trace the png file in Silhouette Studio, it wouldn’t add cut lines to the thing! So so grateful for this post as it was the only one I could find that even began to explain how to get a solution to this problem and my project now looks just like I wanted it to. Thank you!

    1. Tabi,
      So thrilled I could help and that you could finish your project and have it look like you wanted it to! That’s awesome! Thanks for letting me know that my tutorial helped! 🙂 Happy crafting!

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