How to Print Then Cut with Cricut Explore 5

What you need | Printer Setup | Design & Print Then Cut

Bring your designs to life with vibrant, full‑color details using Print Then Cut. Explore the links above to learn how to prepare your artwork, print it, and cut it precisely with your Cricut machine. 

What you need

*Inkjet printer (recommended). Laser printers not for use with heat-sensitive materials.

** Print on white, lightly colored, and simple patterned materials. Non-Cricut materials with darker colors, high-gloss finishes, or holographic patterns may cause issues with sensor scan accuracy.

Printer Setup

For best results, make sure your printer settings follow these guidelines before printing your project:  

• Print in Portrait mode
• 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. To adjust these settings while making a project, select the option to "Use System Dialog" from the Print Setup in Design Space. 
  
  
• 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 in (1.25 cm) to 1.5 in (3.8 cm) down
• The ideal margins from the top left are 0.5 in (1.25 cm) to 1.5 in (3.8 cm) right

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.

Design and Print Then Cut

This process includes three major stages:  

1. Design – Create or import a printable design on the Canvas.  
2. Prepare – Arrange how the design will appear on cutting mats.
3. Make – Print, set materials, load tools, and cut your project.

→ Design

1. Add images, text, shapes, or uploaded images to the Canvas.  
2. Make objects printable:  
   • Single-layer designs – select the object, open the Operation menu, and choose Print Then Cut.  
   • Multi-layer designs – Select all layers, then click Flatten to merge them into a single printable layer.
3. Use print-ready designs from the library:  
   • Select Images.  
   • Open Filters > Operation Type > select Print Then Cut.  
   • The library will refresh to show only print-ready designs.  

Tip: The Stickers & Labels guided flow automatically converts any object added to the Canvas into a printable layer.

4. Upload your own images:  
   • Upload images you own or are authorized to use.  
   • Save them as Flat Images (ready for Print Then Cut)
   • Visit this help article for instructions on how to upload your own images into Design space.  

Important: Cricut encourages you to respect the intellectual property rights of others and only upload images you own or are authorized to use.

→ Prepare

After finishing your design, select Make to move to the Prepare screen. Here, you fine‑tune how your items will be cut.

On this Prepare screen, you can:  

• Adjust the number of project copies
• Move, hide, or rearrange objects on the mats
• Adjust material size to match your printable material

When you’re finished, select Continue.

Note: If using A4 size material, notice that we rotate your material on the mat preview so that the long edge is positioned horizontally. Due to the Print Then Cut sensor configuration in the machine, A4 material must be placed on the mat this way for optimal Print Then Cut performance. 

→ Make

In this stage, you’ll complete the actual printing and cutting of your design.  

Important: Complete Print Then Cut in one session. To avoid errors, complete your project in a single flow on the same device. You may save your project in Design Space, but  printing it as a PDF outside the Design Space process may result in incorrectly-sized cut‑sensor markings. For best results, finish the entire Print Then Cut process in one Design Space session.

1. Print
   • Select Send to Printer. A modal explains that cut sensor markings and a directional arrow will be printed with your design to aid in cut accuracy.  Select Next.  
   • Choose your printer and review print settings (bleed, copies, system dialog). Select Print.
   • Compare your printed sheet to the print quality preview. Select Done.
2. Prep the mat  
   • Place the printed sheet on the machine mat, aligned to the top left of the adhesive area.  
   • Make sure the directional arrow printed in the top left cut sensor marking is pointing toward the top of the mat
   • For A4 sized material only: place the material with the long edge running horizontally on the mat ("landscape"), positioning the printed directional arrow in the upper-left corner, arrow pointing up.
3. Choose material settings
   • In Design Space, select the material that matches what you printed on (e.g., Printable Sticker Paper).
4. Load tools and mat
   • Follow on-screen prompts to load the cutting tool into the clamp.  
   • Load the mat and press the Go button to start. The machine will start to scan the cut sensor markings and cut your design.
   • When complete, press the Unload button.
   • Remove material from the mat. 

Enjoy!