Can someone tell me if the silhouette cameo is easy to use?

[talanhart]

Thanks everybody. I am excited that I have a new machine for cutting vinyl. I will probably be asking a lot of questions about the new software that I will be downloading to use with the Cameo.

[lindamac]

I love my Cameo! It is easy to use after you learn how to use it. I was so lost until my friend came over and showed me in person. There are lots of tutorials on you tube.

[Sweetness4713]

Todd when you download the software that comes with the software I suggest you upgrade to the paid version.. It's sooooo worth it and does a lot more..

[Jax]

Cool another vinyl person!! Yeah!!! So here is what I've found out...

This machine is great for cutting vinyl without the mats...I've used regular Oracal 651 and 631 and they feed great but make sure if you are doing long pieces you line the roll up so it feeds straight other wise it will shift and screw up the cut...I use a blade depth of 2 and what ever the standard settings are...

I also cut the thin vinyl for doing etching (shelf liner). I found that a blade setting of 1 and a pressure setting of 25 is working for me. I would go to 2 but even at a light setting it seems to go through the backing.

The one great thing I found about this machine is that the small pieces come out great. The detail of the swirls or small circular pieces are really nice and yes circles on this machine are "circles"...

Needless to say this is a great machine and have been really enjoying it.

[Sweetness4713]

I also love the print and cut feature.. I love the fact you print an image.. place it on your mat.. and the machine has little lasers that detect after hitting your print and cut button where the print actually is.. No second guessing yourself..

[HeatherM]

Todd!!! Welcome back!

Here is the link to upgrade from SCAL2 to SCAL3 for free. http://www.craftedge.com/purchase/craft ... grade3.php

Also, you can send your designs directly from AI to SCAL3 now. http://www.craftedge.com/download/download_extras.html

[talanhart]

Heather,
Thanks for the links. I am really looking forward to my new machine. I just wish I had a project to do right now.

[angel]

Wow, lots going on in this thread! Well I have been playing with my new cameo, and I have to say I love it, and I so love that it detects the registration marks by itself also, but......it doesnt work on colored paper is my only complaint where as my eclips will.

Im finding the software to be a little buggy on windows 7 64 bit, and slow on some certain 3d designs I downloaded.

I tried using MTC to cut to it but couldnt figure it out, the registration marks were backwards on my screen compared to where they were on my paper. I also think that software is hard to use if you didnt grow with it from the beginning but Im still trying.

Im thinking of getting scal, i hate to waste more money on more software.... is it easy to print and cut from scal? does it work well? I still have my ecal software but cant cut from there. I really would like to use just one software most of the time, and be able to export as svg, I really didnt think design studio was worth the extra fifty bucks but I wanted to be able to import my svgs I already had.

[DogCarbon]

Todd... welcome to the other side....and welcome back, you have been missed.

Now I forget what I was gonna say....

OH, i do have SCAL3 on my laptop, but I have upgraded to SSDE (Sil Studio Designer Edition) when a sale was going on for just $25 (reg is $50).

To be honest, I do most all of my cutting from SSDE. But for designing, it is about 50-50 with SSDE and Inkscape. I can just do the designing faster in Ink, but then all the massaging when it comes into SSDE sometimes is a pain... and I think I should have just done it in SSDE. I do love the PNC with the Cameo using SSDE.

Oh, one more tip with cutting vinyl with vs without a mat. With a mat, you can do a full 12" wide cut. Without a mat, you can do about 11-11.5" wide because the rollers seem to leave a mark on the vinyl or stretch it.

I use my Cricut mats with my Cameo. I do have two Sil mat, but just don't like the feel of them.

I can't really say when the last time I used SCAL3. You can keep SCAL2 on your computer while you install SCAL3 also.

Welcome back. Keep visiting. We miss you.

[sandyj]

I use SSDE as well for the Cameo (as well as the SD I keep in my desk drawer at work, lol!), but I do a lot of print and cut. I just got in the habit of using inkscape for designing and I find it much easier to use than any of the cutting programs. Except for print and cut - the sil software is just too simple compared to other software. Should you decide to try print and cut, read Jins tutorials, she has it down cold.

The nice thing about loading vinyl on the cameo, is if you find you didn't get it in nice and taught, you can use the lever on the right side to lift the presser bar on that edge, pull the vinyl over so it is flat and then drop the lever. So much easier than the SD.

If you are interested in the pro version of the sil software, svgcuts usually has it for around $30 everyday, plus you get a $10 gift certificate for their designs. But if you're not in a hurry, you might find a sale for less.

http://punkinpatchstamps.com/silhouette ... -download/