Edited: October 8, 2024
Print Then Cut calibration ensures your machine cuts precisely along the edge of your printed images. Select a link below for step-by-step instructions or troubleshooting help.
Important: Use only a calibration sheet printed from Design Space during your current session, or the calibration sheet attached at the bottom of this Help Center article. Do not use an old printed sheet or a sheet acquired from any other source as this may affect the success of your calibration.
Printer setup for Print Then Cut calibration
Make sure your printer settings follow these guidelines before printing your calibration sheet. Refer to your printer user manual as needed, or reach out to your printer manufacturer, for assistance accessing your printer settings outside of Design Space.
- Print in Portrait mode
- Print with black ink cartridge only
- Make sure the printer is not low on ink
- Select 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.
- Print only on white, non-textured copy paper
- Do not use narrow margins settings
- Print Layout should be 1 page per sheet
- Do not adjust page scale (i.e., do not enlarge, do not "fit to page" or "shrink to fit")
- Do not use edge printing
- Do not center align
- The ideal margins from the top left are 0.5" to 1.5" down
- The ideal margins from the top left are 0.5" to 1.5" right
How to calibrate for Print Then Cut
- Sign in to Design Space and go to the menu to select Settings.
- Go to Machines > Machine Calibration > Select Cricut device.
- Once you've selected your machine, click Start. Depending on which machine you have connected, you will be asked which calibration you want to complete. Choose Print Then Cut.
- Choose which printer you'd like to use to print your calibration sheet. Once printed, select Continue.
- Place the printed calibration sheet onto your machine mat, positioning it as shown on the screen (for Cricut Venture, align to bottom left corner of mat, for all other smart cutting machines, align to top left corner of the mat). Select Continue.
- Ensure that your Cricut machine is powered ON and connected to your computer via USB cable or Bluetooth pairing. On the next screen, select your machine from the drop-down menu, load the mat into your machine, and press Go.
- Your machine will begin to scan the sheet for calibration markings. Once done it will cut around the small square near the center of the sheet. Without unloading the mat, look at the cut to see if the cut touches the printed line all the way around. If it does, select Yes in Design Space, then Continue to proceed to the next step.
Note: If you select No, Design Space will proceed to the next step in an effort to get the cut closer to the line. Once that is complete, you will be guided through the calibration once more to fine-tune it.
- The machine will begin the calibration cuts along the top and side of the page. Once done, and without unloading the mat, look closely at the lines along the top and side of the page. Some will not touch the printed lines, and others will. Each cut line "belongs" to a printed line, even if it does not occur on top of the printed line. There should be a cut on or before line 1, AND on or after line 21; additionally, there should be a cut on or before line A, AND on or after line U. If the cuts on your calibration sheet do not meet these conditions, click here for troubleshooting.
If the cuts do meet those conditions, select which cut is closest to the center of the printed line for the top and right sides of the calibration sheet. When you are done, select Continue.
- The machine will then perform a confirmation cut around the large rectangle on the sheet. When it is done, unload the mat, remove the calibration sheet and respond to the final question in Design Space.
- If you are happy with the cut, select Yes, cut is close enough to the center and the calibration is now complete!
- If you select No, I'd like to do another calibration, you will be guided through the calibration process again to refine it.
- If you are happy with the cut, select Yes, cut is close enough to the center and the calibration is now complete!
Note: Depending on your current offset, you may find more than one calibration is needed. Choose to refine the calibration as needed until you are satisfied with the cut results.
Note: Prior to beginning the Print Then Cut calibration, ensure that your machine is paired with your mobile device.
The following screenshots are from Android, but the steps are similar on iOS.
- Sign in to the Cricut Design Space app and tap on the menu in the upper left. Then select select Settings > Print Then Cut Settings.
- Select Calibration.
- Select Send to Printer or I have a calibration sheet.
- The next screen shows a preview of the calibration sheet, and will be slightly different depending on your device.
In this example if your printer is not already selected, tap "Select a printer." Select your printer from the list of options, then print the calibration sheet on your home printer. Then select Next.
- Place the printed calibration sheet onto the machine mat, positioning it as shown on the screen (align to top left corner of the mat). Tap Next.
- Select the appropriate material setting (if needed, such as on Explore Air 2 machines), load the mat into the machine, and press Go.
- The machine will begin to scan the sheet for the calibration markings. Once done it will cut around the small square near the center of the sheet. Without unloading the mat, look at the cut to see if the cut touches the printed line all the way around. If it does, tap Yes in Design Space, then Next to proceed to the next step.
Note: If you tap No, Design Space will proceed to the next step in an effort to get the cut closer to the line. Once that is complete, you will be guided through the calibration process once more to fine-tune it.
- The machine will begin the calibration cuts along the top and side of the page. Once done, and without unloading the mat, look closely at the lines along the top and side of the page. Some will not touch the printed lines, and others will. Each cut line "belongs" to a printed line, even if it does not occur on top of the printed line. There should be a cut on or before line 1, AND on or after line 21. Additionally, there should be a cut on or before line A, AND on or after line U. If the cuts on your calibration sheet do not meet these conditions, click here for troubleshooting.
If the cuts do meet those conditions, select which cut is closest to the center of the printed line for the top and right sides of the calibration sheet. When you are done, tap Next to proceed.
Note: The above image is only an example; the number and letter will vary with machines and calibration attempts.
- The machine will then perform a confirmation cut around the large rectangle on the sheet. When it is done, unload the mat, remove the calibration sheet and respond to the final question in Design Space. If you are happy with the cut, tap Yes.
Note: If you tap "No," you will be guided through the calibration process again to refine it.
- Select Close to finish. You are ready to Print Then Cut!
Tip: If needed, print the Calibration PDF file attached below.
Troubleshooting Print Then Cut Calibration
The first step of Print Then Cut calibration, called "Assessment 1," cuts around the small square in the middle of the page.
- If the cut lines are touching the printed lines all the way around the square, select YES when asked.
- For all other cases, select NO.
If the cut around the square is significantly off the printed lines in any direction, you are experiencing a large offset. Follow the steps below until the cut is again touching the printed square and then do a fine calibration as shown above.
Note: Multiple calibrations may be required to resolve a large offset.
When the cut is misaligned to the left, it will look like the image below. To move the cut back towards center, choose line 21.
When the cut is misaligned to the right, it will look like the image below. To move the cut back towards center, choose line 1.
When the cut is misaligned downwards, it will look like the image below. To move the cut back towards center, choose line A.
When the cut is misaligned upwards, it will look like the image below. To move the cut back towards center, choose line U.
Once the center square cut is again touching the printed square, switch to doing a fine calibration as shown above.
If you need further assistance with Print Then Cut calibration, please contact Member Care.