Vinyl cutting and weeding

Design for vinyl

1. Start with Vinyl cutting as the process.
2. Choose Adhesive vinyl for decals and stickers or Heat-transfer vinyl for fabric.
3. Use only cut layers. Vinyl cutters cannot engrave; engrave lines are exported but flagged.
4. Keep strokes and gaps at least 1.5 mm. Thinner details tear or refuse to weed.

Mirror heat-transfer vinyl

Heat-transfer vinyl is cut from the back, so the design must be mirrored. With nothing selected, switch on Mirror output in Fabrication. The preview and files are mirrored; your canvas stays readable.

Layered decals

For two or more colours, put each colour in a separate design or separate area, cut each colour from its own vinyl, and stack them with transfer tape. Add small registration marks (for example 5 mm squares on the corners of each layer) to line them up.

Weeding

1. After cutting, peel away the vinyl you do not want, starting at a corner.
2. Work on letters with counters (O, A, B) carefully; a weeding hook helps.
3. Apply transfer tape, burnish, then apply to the surface.