Edited: March 19, 2025
- Understanding Cuttable Area
- Auto-Resize design or Change Page Size
- What if I don't want to print; I just want to cut?
Understanding Cuttable Area
- Your Cricut machine type
- Your material page size*
- The proportions of your specific project
Some of the area on a page is reserved for Print Then Cut sensor markings to print around your design. Because of this, the cuttable area on any given page size is not a full rectangle or square. Instead, the cuttable area looks like this:
Understanding this cuttable area will help you optimize space as you create your Print Then Cut projects. For example, a square or rectangular design that uses the maximum vertical size of the cuttable area, may not be able to utilize the maximum horizontal size of the cuttable area.
Maximum vertical Maximum horizontal
See the table below for information about maximum cuttable dimensions.
*Note: Print Then Cut supports many standard material sizes, but may not support all possible material sizes your printer can use. To know which material sizes are supported for your Cricut machine type, check Print Then Cut page size settings in the Design Space menu (steps included below).
| Compatible Machines | Material Size | Maximum Vertical | Maximum Horizontal |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Cricut Joy Xtra Cricut Explore series Cricut Maker series Cricut Venture |
8.3 in x 11.7 in 21 cm x 29.7 cm (A4) |
10.62 in 26.98 cm |
7.2 in 18.3 cm |
|
Cricut Joy Xtra Cricut Explore series Cricut Maker series Cricut Venture |
8.5 in x 11 in 21.6 cm x 27.9 cm (Letter) |
9.94 in 25.25 cm |
7.44 in 18.9 cm |
|
Cricut Explore series Cricut Maker series Cricut Venture |
8.5 in x 14 in 21.5 cm x 35.6 cm (Legal) |
12.94 in 32.87 cm |
7.44 in 18.9 cm |
| Cricut Venture |
9 in x 12 in 22.8 cm x 30.5 cm |
10.94 in 27.79 cm |
7.94 in 20.1 cm |
| Cricut Venture |
11 in x 11 in 27.9 cm x 27.9 cm |
9.94 in 25.25 cm |
9.94 in 25.25 cm |
|
Cricut Explore series Cricut Maker series Cricut Venture |
11 in x 17 in 27.9 cm x 43.2 cm (Tabloid) |
15.94 in 40.49 cm |
9.94 in 25.25 cm |
|
Cricut Explore series Cricut Maker series Cricut Venture |
11.7 in x 16.5 in 29.7 cm x 42.0 cm (A3) |
15.44 in 39.2 cm |
10.64 in 27 cm |
| Cricut Venture |
12 in x 12 in 30.5 cm x 30.5 cm |
10.94 in 27.79 cm |
10.94 in 27.79 cm |
| Cricut Venture |
12 in x 18 in 30.5 cm x 45.7 cm |
16.94 in 43 cm |
10.94 in 27.79 cm |
| Cricut Venture |
13 in x 19 in 33.0 cm x 48.3 cm |
17.94 in 45.57 cm |
11.94 in 30.33 cm |
| Cricut Venture |
16.5 in x 23.4 in 42.0 cm x 59.4 cm (ISO A2) |
22.34 in 56.74 cm |
15.44 in 39.2 cm |
| Cricut Venture |
24 in x 12 in 60.1 cm x 30.5 cm |
10.94 in 27.79 cm |
22.94 in 58.27 cm |
| Cricut Venture |
24 in x 28 in 60.1 cm x 71.1 cm |
26.94 in 68.43 cm |
22.94 in 58.27 cm |
Auto-Resize design or Change Page Size
If your printable project is too large to fit inside the cuttable area for the material size you have selected, a warning icon will appear in the Layers panel and you'll be prompted to resize your design or change your material size. Follow the steps below to auto-resize your design or change your material size for Print Then Cut.
- Make sure your machine selection on the Canvas is correct.
- Add your project to the Canvas, size it as desired, and make sure it's set to Print Then Cut. Designs that are too large for Print Then Cut will have a warning icon next to them in the Layers panel.
- Click on the warning icon. The message tells us that the printable image is too large for the material size we have selected, and offers two options for quickly resolving the issue: Auto-Resize Image and Change Page Size.
- Auto-Resize: This option quickly resizes the object smaller so it fits within the cuttable area on the selected page size, while retaining the object's proportions.
-
Change Page Size: Choose this option if you need your printable design to remain at the designed size. This option opens Settings so you can choose a page size that's large enough for your project. Only the material sizes that are compatible with your machine selection will be listed. Choose a page size that is compatible with your printer, and matches the actual piece of material you plan to use.
- Once you have resized your image or chosen a different page size that can accommodate your image as designed, the warning icon will be removed from the Layers panel, and you can proceed to make your project.
To figure out how many stickers you can fit on a page, create a single sticker the size you would like, and click Make. On the Prepare page, increase the number of project copies and click Apply until you've filled a page with stickers. If needed, go back to the Canvas and adjust the size of your stickers to fit more on a page.
- In the Design Space menu, make sure your machine selection is correct.
- Next, add your project to the Canvas, size it as desired, and make sure it's set to Print Then Cut. Designs that are too large for Print Then Cut will have a warning icon next to them in the Layers panel.
- Open the Layers panel and tap on the red warning icon. The message tells us that the printable image is too large for the material size we have selected, and offers an option for quickly resolving the issue: Auto-Resize.
- Auto-Resize quickly resizes the object smaller so it fits within the cuttable area on the selected page size, while retaining the object's proportions.
- If you need your printable design to remain at the designed size, you can change your material size instead. To do this, open the Design Space Menu and go to Settings > Print Then Cut Settings > Default Size. Only the material sizes that are compatible with your machine selection will be listed. Choose a page size that is compatible with your printer, and matches the actual piece of material you plan to use..
- Once you have resized your image or chosen a different page size that can accommodate your image as designed, the warning icon will be removed from the Layers panel, and you can proceed to make your project.
To figure out how many stickers you can fit on a page, create a single sticker the size you would like, and click Make It. On the Mat Preview page, tap the mat icon at the top left.
Then, increase the number of project copies and click Done until you've filled a page with stickers. If needed, go back to the Canvas and adjust the size of your stickers to fit more on a page.
What if I don't want to print; I just want to cut?
When Design Space tells you that the Printable Image is too large, this means that the image you are trying to cut is set to Print Then Cut, but the image exceeds the Print Then Cut size limitations. If you do not wish to Print Then Cut, and would rather cut only, you can easily change your image's Operation from Print to Cut. Follow the instructions found here to change the image Operation type.
Note: Cut images do not retain any internal patterns or colors. When you change an image from a Print Then Cut image to a Cut image, internal patterns and colors will disappear.
If your image does not have the shape you wish it to have after changing it to a Cut image, upload the image again and proceed through the clean-up steps. This time, be sure to use the Preview option in the cleaning step. This option shows you the current cut paths of your uploaded image. You may need to erase some of the background or areas inside the image to achieve the desired shape and cut result.
When you have finished cleaning the image, proceed to the next screen and select Save as a Cut image before saving the image to your library.
Tip: Click here for more information about uploading images into Design Space.