New cricut user, wasting LOTS of paper!

Yes, santa left one at my house this year however he didn't leave an "Idiots Guide to Using the Cricut" along with it! I've read the instruction book, checked out the website as well as read several pages of info in this forum with no avail. I'm having trouble getting the speed/pressure/size perfected for the different types of paper. I understand the heavier pressure for heavier cardstock and slower speed for more detail, but my cuts look terrible, rip, aren't cut deep enough, etc. etc. Should I choose larger sizes for more detailed cuts? Would it be in my best interest to have the cricut tool kit? Is there a chart out there somewhere that is better than what is in the instruction book on what speed/pressures to use?

Any and all help will be greatly appreciated. If I don't use this thing to its full potential, I'll never hear the end of it from "santa"!


Note: I added a new question a few posts down! Thanks

I vaguely remember someone posting a list of different brands of paper and the pressure/speed for each, but now I can't find it. It may have been posted on the cricut website instead of here. I do remember that the list had several brands of paper that I don't normally buy (Bazzill, American Cardstock), and did not list the brands I do buy.

I tend to buy the same 2 or 3 brands of papers, so I made myself a little book. I cut a few items from the carts in each of my papers and wrote down the speed and pressure as I went. I put these into a 8x8 sb with page protectors . If I forget what to use, I look in that. I don't see this as wasting paper, it's useful.

Some of the newer carts have really detailed images, so it's easier to cut those larger. The smallest 'doll' I can cut and piece together is 3 inches (from Paper Doll Dress Up). I can cut the head of Tinkerbell (from Tink & Friends) at 2 inches, but use markers or paint for her eyes and mouth. I cut McQueen (from Cars) at 5 inches for a b-day card for my dad. Some of his pieces would have been waaaaay too tiny at a smaller size (the decals on the car). This does take trial and error, and wastes paper, but it's a learning experience.

The only tool I would suggest getting is the spatula (you can buy it separate from Walmart for about $5). It's really handy to peel the images off the mat. A darning or embroidery needle is also useful for punching out the tiny cuts (lace, eyes, etc).

Thanks Tivi! I think I will invest in the spatula and great idea for having a book that has the paper and spec's on it.

Hi! Here are some paper settings that might help. I printed them out...made a cute little file folder with my fab finds cartridge, and keep this next to my carts. I hope this helps with rips, etc. Also, another thing to use to not waste paper in other ways is to press the 'paper saver' key...if you don't need the negative space for anything then this setting is awesome to save paper. HTH! Enjoy your new bug!

These were originally posted by hannahsaucier here at sb.com . (Thanks again hannahsaucier...these are so helpful!
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Speed Adjustment Chart:
1 min - extra slow for vellum or very detailed cuts
2 low - slow for lightweight paper or detailed cuts
3 med - factory default setting for printed papers or normal cuts
4 high - fast for cardstock, textured paper or simple cuts
5 max - extra fast for heavy cardstock or very simple cuts

Pressure Adjustment Chart:
1 min - light for vellum
2 low - for lightweight paper
3 med - factory default setting for printed papers
4 high - firm for cardstock, textured, high fiber content papers
5 max - extra firm for heavy cardstock

As far as the blade depths it doesn't give a chart, but you can pretty much go by the same thing.
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Thanks Rhonda!

Thanks for this chart-I too wasted paper at first but am getting better w/ practise. I did get the tool kit inaddition to the spatula but other than the pick, I am not sure of how to use the others-need a demo

I played around with mine quite a bit New Year's Eve because I only worked half a day, woohoo! Anyway, I found that I am wasting paper when I do different colors for trucks, or animals, that sort of thing. I wish it came with an option of ONLY printing off a duck's beak instead of the whole duck in both colors.

Oh, and I didn't know you could adjust the blade depth, only the speed and pressure. So, I will have to look into that because it was still not cutting through the heavy cardstock completely in some areas even at the highest speeds for both.

So, having more problems now, seems worse than when I posted my original question, I am having a hard time with vellum and heavier cardstock (both ends of the spectrum) Vellum should be cutting at 1 or 2 and I can't get it to cut until I'm up to 5 on the pressure, but then it is too much that it tears! Heavier cardstock doesn't cut all the way through? The blade has been used maybe 10 or so times... do I have a faulty blade?

The heavy cs is a pain! I set the blade at 6, speed at the slowest, and pressure at the highest, for the DCWV Glitter CS. For their (DCWV) regular CS, I move the blade to 5 but leave the other settings the same as for the glitter cs.

I know what you mean about cutting some animals. There was something I was cutting last week where the key had 2 or 3 things on it, but I wanted each of the 'things' a different color. I had to cut it 3 times and waste the paper. I think this is why ProvoCraft started selling paper, too!

I'm trying to save the scraps of paper I have too that are at least a little over an inch wide and tall so it will cut an inch of something, but it's a bit frustrating with that. I made a truck with the New Arrival cartridge, so I cut the truck in black so the tired would be black, then the truck in green, then a little baby in blue so I can put him in the back of the truck (for his ride home). So... wasted a few pieces there, but I guess, it's cute.

Does using ProvoCraft paper seem to help with the waste? I don't see why it would, but since you mentioned it...

• genni Said:

You may need to call cricut. I have heard others says that their blades were bad. This may be your problem. Make sure you have the blade installed correctly first though. It is the furthest down it will go in the casing? Set to 4?

• ScrappE Said:

No, it doesn't change the waste factor. I was just commenting that since there IS wasted paper, maybe PC just wants more of our money! Their paper is already cut to 6x12, I think they also have 12x12. I'm just not impressed with their paper - the patterns, colors, or the price. When you break down the price for a 6x12 sheet from their pack, it's about 35 cents compared to 30 cents for a 6x12 sheet of Bazzill (60 cents per 12x12 sheet).

• Bran Said:

Just to state the obvious... You have settings for speed, pressure, and blade depth. When you cut vellum, are all 3 settings in sync with each other and set for vellum? For vellum, the blade depth usually should only be 1 or 2, pressure should be 1 or 2, and speed depends on what you are cutting (try a slower speed, then gradually increase it).

What happens when you cut other types of papers? Does it cut or tear? If the blade tears all kinds of paper, then you probably should contact PC. There was a huge batch of Cricuts that had defective blades and they sent replacement blades.

Let us know!

• Tivi Said:

That was my second thought of what you were saying, but I wanted to check the less obvious one first, I guess. I haven't bought paper from them... I enjoy going to the scrapbook store s and picking out my own paper for whatever I'm working on at the time.

I'll have to try adjusting my blade depth though too to see if this is going to help cut through the thicker cardstock. I haven't even attempted vellum or anything else yet!

Yes, I had everything set in sync with no luck. Then, I kept the speed slow for the detail, but turned up the pressure to get it to cut through the vellum/paper all the way. I'm glad to hear that there was a problem with several blades, so maybe that is just all it is. Dh ordered it of ebay, it was from a store, new in the box, but you never know!

There really are many many people who get bad blades from cricut directly. I would call them with your issue and see if they can help. I have heard they CS is incredible!!!

P.S. - on the waste factor, I found my cricut very useful in cutting down waste especially when used along with DSS. I can cut my scraps instead of throw them away PLUS I can move my cuts as closely as possible in DSS to really save space and paper.