Print Then Cut - Compatible Materials

Edited: October 8, 2024

Materials for Print Then Cut should be non-reflective or have a matte finish. Reflective materials - such as those with a metallic, glitter, or glossy finish - are not supported. These will interfere with the Print Then Cut sensor in the Cricut machine, causing it to not be able to read the cut sensor markings or to cut off-set from the printed design.

Compatible colors

Cricut Explore Air 2 and older machines: Can print on non-reflective white materials only

Cricut Venture, Cricut Joy Xtra, Cricut Explore 3, Cricut Maker 3, and Cricut Maker machines: Can print on non-reflective white, lightly colored, and simple patterned materials.

Tips for printing 

Cricut Maker, Cricut Maker 3, Cricut Explore 3, Cricut Venture, and Cricut Joy Xtra contain a more powerful Print Then Cut sensor which allows you to Print Then Cut on colored paper and cardstock!

Things To Remember

1. Choose the option to use your system dialog to print, and adjust your printer to use the highest print quality setting (available settings will vary by printer model). This will use more ink and will print more slowly to reduce streaking, but will allow for bright, crisp prints with more even distribution of ink. 
   
   
   
   
2. Lighter colors of materials are best. Darker colors do not allow enough contrast between the paper and the printed sensor marks.
3. You may find that you can Print Then Cut on some patterned papers. The sensor wasn't designed with this functionality in mind so there is no guarantee that it will work, but you may have some success.
   • Always do a Print Then Cut test with your material first to be sure it will work.
   • Simple, subtle, light-colored patterns are better. Busy patterns may confuse the sensor, and dark patterns do not allow enough contrast between the paper and the printed sensor marks.
   • Patterns with dark vertical and horizontal lines may confuse the sensor as it scans for the printed sensor marks.
4. Print Then Cut does not support reflective materials such as epoxy papers, glitter paper/cardstock, some embossed papers, and other materials with a metallic or glossy finish. These may reflect the light from the cut sensor, causing it to fail when scanning for the cut sensor marks, or to cut offset from the printed design. Again, you may have some success with Print Then Cut on these materials, but the results may vary from one attempt to the next. Always complete a Print Then Cut test first to be sure it will work with your material.
5. Cricut Explore Air 2 and older machines must use white materials for Print Then Cut.

How do I set my shape to not print in color when printing on colored paper?

Most standard printers do not have white ink - usually, they use just black, cyan, magenta, and yellow - so in Design Space, select your shape in the Layers panel and set the color to white.

1. You can, 1) Select the white tile from the basic colors palette; 2) Slide the custom color picker to select white; or 3) Manually enter the hex color code for white which is #FFFFFF. Because the printer doesn't print with white ink, the shape will not print in color, but your machine will cut around the shape.
   
   
   
   
2. On iOS or Android, select the shape, then at bottom of the screen go to Edit > Operation. Then select the white color tile, or slide the custom color picker to select white, or manually enter the hex color code for white which is #FFFFFF. 
   
   
   
   
3. Then Flatten your text or other images to the white shape, and you are ready to Print Then Cut!

What if my printer does print with white ink?

Unfortunately, aside from using a printer that does not use white ink, there is not a workaround for this. Design Space does not have an option for setting the color to "no color" or "transparent", and if your printer does print with white ink, and you set your shape to white in Design Space, it will print the shape in white on your colored paper.