Fields Of Heather

Quick Tip - Flatten Text To A Shape For Print Then Cut

If your print then cut project is cutting out every letter individually, your text is not flattened to a shape.

You cannot just flatten text in Design Space. It must be flattened to a shape.

If you click "make it" and your text suddenly looks very blurry, that is most likely because "Bleed" is on, and cricut plans to cut every letter individually. (Bleed is only applied to cuts, so anywhere you see that fuzzy bleed, the machine plans to cut)

Unless you want cricut to cut out very letter of your print then cut project individually, you must flatten to a shape. Check your layers panel, every item in that list is going to cut. If you want just one shape cut, with the letters printed on that shape, there should only be ONE item in your layers panel. If not, choose select all and flatten.

For a quick shape behind your text, you can use the offset option, then flatten your text to the offset shape.

About Bleed

Many cricut users have very strong opinions one way or the other on "bleed". It's purpose is to make sure there is no white outside of your cut. It gives the machine a little extra margin when making the cut, just to make sure it doesn't cut too close and end up with white on the outside of your design. I've used bleed, and I've shut it off - with no noticeable difference. How much difference you see may vary by machine and how well your machine has calibrated itself. I think it's always safest to leave bleed on.

For more Tips For Solving Simple Print Then Cut Problems:

https://fieldsofhether.blogspot.com/2019/03/solving-common-print-then-cut-problems.html

If you have an HP Printer, check out instant Ink.

It's SO much cheaper. You pay by the page, not the ink cartridge.

So you can always print in best quality, for the same price as draft.

See the details here:

try.hpinstantink.com/pNJBV

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Find an index of all of my Quick Tip Cards, here:

https://fieldsofhether.blogspot.com/2019/01/quick-tip-cards-for-cricut-newbies.html

Quick Tip - What To Do If Your Text "Fills In" When Welded

Quick Tip Card - What to do if our text "fills in" when you weld

You CAN attempt to manually space your fonts, or change the spacing between letters - but why choose a beautiful font and then ruin it by not spacing it properly?

Instead, make the font ridiculously large. 200 wide, 400 wide - whatever it takes. Weld it, then size it back to "normal".

For more tips on using text in design space - How to curve, weld, add swirls and tails, use writing fonts and more -

https://fieldsofhether.blogspot.com/2017/12/using-text-in-design-space.html

Quick Tip - How To Use The Draw (pens) Feature In Cricut

Set your text, to "Draw"

Set your shape to "Cut"

Then select both and attach, so that the machine knows to write your text exactly where you placed it on the design screen.

NOTE - the Menu at the top will now read "Operations" instead of Line Type. Design Space frequently changes this menu - but you will still be looking for "Draw", and "Cut".

When writing with cricut, if you are using a system font, the pen will follow the path of the blade, causing an outline, or “bubble text”. There are more than 100 FREE fonts that will “collapse on themselves” and appear single line. Find a list, with examples by pen size, at:

https://fieldsofhether.blogspot.com/2017/11/6-single-line-fonts-that-will-write.html

Find an index of Tips, Tricks, and Project Ideas using the pens in cricut here:

https://fieldsofhether.blogspot.com/2019/02/using-draw-feature-in-cricut.html