For Silhouette Studio you can use your own images, including crafts and graphics from Creative Fabrica. All images in PNG or JPG format can be used for the Silhouette Studio software.

Follow the steps below in order to create a cuttable image for your Silhouette cutting machine!

Upload an image and convert to cuttable image

1) Upload your file via File > Open option.

2) Use the 'Trace' feature to create the lines that Silhouette will recognize as cut lines. The Trace feature can be found in the upper right corner of the screen.

3) A panel will open on the right-hand side of the screen where options are provided to trace imported images in order to create cut lines. Make sure that you use an image that is suitable for cutting.

4) Click on the 'Select Trace Area' option 'Draw a box' around the image where you want to create the cutting edge.

5) If desired, adjust any of the tracing filters. These are the filters you can choose between:

High Pass Filter - Allows the trace lines to be set. You may not want to use this option if you don't want to create a frame outline for your image.

Low Pass Filter - Does the opposite of the High Pass Filter where tracing begins at the center points of your image parts and then works towards the outside of the image as the filter setting is raised.

Threshold - Determines how broadly the trace filter is applied to your image, beginning with the darkest colors at low settings moving to lighter colors at higher settings.

Scale - This setting adjusts the smoothness of pixelated edges of your image. It is only necessary to use if the image in question is low quality and highly pixelated.

6) The trace filter will produce a yellow area covering the image. This is a preview of where your cut lines would be created. 

7) When the trace area has been drawn, and the desired filter setting is in place, select one of the tracing methods under 'Apply Trace Method'. You can choose between these trace methods:

Trace - This option will trace all outer and inner lines. This is generally preferable if you are attempting to create a regular cut image with multiple parts and specific details to be cut.

Trace Outer Edge -  This option will create a cut line only around the outer edge of your image. This is best if you are attempting to create a Print & Cut image.

Trace and Detach - This option will punch the image out from the white background space. This can be  used when you want to remove the white background so you can mover images closer together or have them overlap for Print & Cut jobs.

8) You now have created cut lines for the uploaded image and can start cutting!

If you want to import SVG files directly to Silhouette

If you wish to use Adobe Illustrator, CorelDraw or another major vector imaging programs with  Silhouette Studio (to bring in the file types that can be cut directly without tracing), you might want to consider upgrading to the Silhouette Studio Designer Edition. This version provides the additional ability to import SVG files directly which  have created in another vector imaging program (such as Adobe Illustrator or CorelDraw) or downloaded from Creative Fabrica.

If you don't want to go through Silhouette

Instead of going through Silhouette Studio Program, you can use an alternate plug-in called Silhouette Connect that allows users to send jobs directly from Adobe Illustrator or CorelDraw to your Silhouette cutting machine.

If you want to read more about how to upload an external image to Silhouette, you can read this article. 

Do you have any further questions? Feel free to contact us at hi@creativefabrica.com.