Cricut Print and Cut not Cutting Right? A Step-by-Step Guide for Beginners!

Cricut is a machine that cuts several materials like vinyl, paper, thin wood, cardstock, and light fabric. We can also cut fun shapes for our scrapbooks. A separate printer is needed to link with the Cricut if we want to print on cardstock or paper before cutting it out. Sometimes, there is an issue regarding “Cut†not cutting right. To solve the problem, let us just straight dig into it.

Cricut Print and Cut Not Cutting Right  

If the Cricut is not working right, tearing the paper, or cutting the inside of the print, then you have to check the setting. Make sure that you have selected the correct material setting in the design space. Moreover, open blade B and remove the blade housing. Flattening text to empty space is also very necessary.

If you are doing “Print Then Cutâ€, maximize the print area size to 9.25″x 6.75″. The most fundamental thing to consider is that the machine should read the registration marks. You have to load the print into the machine by placing it onto a mat and locate it where the black box is. It will help Cricut to scan and cut the image right. 

NOTE: Print Then Cut is not available on Android Yet.

Replace the blade occasionally

After doing all the things mentioned before, you would have to change the old blade of Cricut by the brand new Cricut blade for more precise results. Blades are becoming dull over time. If you can change them with sharp blades, your problem may get solved.

Replace the mat: 

As I suggested to you earlier, to replace the blade of the machine, the replacement of the mat can be considered as a lifesaver also. You can change the mat if you are using the Cricut for a long time without failure. It will increase its productivity and may also help in the reduction of Cricut cutting failure issues.

Leave the edges/bleed for cutting: 

If you are facing the issue that the Cricut cuts the image from inside, then you have to leave the edges of the paper so that the machine can have room to cut. This extension provides extra space as an outline of the image. 

Understand the Print size game

If you have printed the paper using instructions like fit to page or shrink to the page, it may create a hindrance in the cutting process. You should have to unselect all these instructions and make sure that the paper size for printing an image is fit for the letter. It means you should have to print the paper at the actual size.

Check the Lighting issues 

Direct light can become an issue for the sensor while you are doing “Print Then Cut†by Cricut. Direct-facing lights, sunlight, and reading lamps can interfere with the light sensor. So, you have to take care of any sort of lighting that has the direction toward your machine. It will solve the issue of wrong cutting for sure.

Cut sensor light should be clean 

It is very important to make sure, before using the Cricut machine, that the cut sensor light is clean. For cleaning the light, use a small, delicate, clean, nice, and dry watercolor paintbrush. 

After finishing cleaning, check if the “print then cut†sensor light is coming on the material while scanning for sensor markings. 

Choose the right paper 

To help out the sensor and make the process of differentiating between the registration marks and the paper, you would have to choose the right paper. A good paper that will help you avoid this issue is white or very light-colored paper. Do not use glossy, dark-colored, and shiny paper. It will make the process difficult for the Cricut to read the black boxes or registration marks. So always use simple, light-colored, or white paper for getting a better result. 

Place the material in the right position 

Place all the material exactly on the top left side of the mat, on the cutting mat adhesive space. Take a keen look and align the material with the marking present on the mat grid.  Also, try to remove any sort of wrinkle in the material because incorrect mat placements and wrinkles present in the material may cause interference in reading the cut sensor marks. Follow this step for a smooth cutting procedure.

Solid background is mandatory before flattening 

You all know flattening is important, but the key is before doing the flattening process, you would have to make sure that the image should be on a solid background. If you ignore this easy but important step when you cut the image, then the inside and outside of the image will cut rather than the outer edge of the image. So, always keep this hack in mind before flattening the text or image.

Suggestion: Verify that the problem is actually in your Cricut or not: 

If your Cricut is not working well, then, first of all, just to make sure that the actual problem is with your Cricut cut or with the material that you have cut.  

For this cause, place another material instead of the original one. Try it with some cardstock or normal printing paper. If it works well on these papers, you have to figure out what is the issue with your paper using the described instructions in this article.

Cricut is not cutting on set spots 

If you are facing the difficulty that your Cricut is not cutting on the right margin or spot, then it is the alarm that your machine needs calibration. Cutting “offset†is the basic indicator for calibration.

Calibration is quite simple as we used to change the ink cartilage in our printer. You just have to keep the fundamentals in mind. For calibrating, a special page will be printed, which you will have to load on the machine by following the guidelines of loading the paper on the mat of the machine, and then the Cricut will scan it for you. Calibration is complete.