This page is dedicated to the 'beginners' and will tell you the 'tricks of the trade' to a successfull cut!

I ruined a great deal of card in my 'beginner' phase and have had to learn these 'tips' by expensive trial & error!  Now I am passing that knowledge on to you in the hope that some of these tips might save you the frustrations and expense that dogged me in those early days!

The things that I have found that impedes cutting are:

1/  Sometimes, even if a blade looks sharp, it isn't necessarily, always
make sure that your blade is SHARP.  To sharpen a dull blade, take it out of
the machine, take the cap off, and run it over a folded wad of tin foil
(just gently draw some straight lines on it a number of times).  A blade
will last you approximately 6 to 12 months (depending on what you cut and
how much you cut.  Also, occasionally, gently wipe the blade on a piece of
lint free cloth with some surgical spirit on it to remove any residue glue
that might have got on it from the carrier sheet.  Also, take the cap off
and give it a good 'blow', as I have found that sometimes tiny fibres of
paper can get stuck in the cap, or on the blade itself and this will also
impede a good cut.

2/  Always make sure that your carrier sheet is in good condition and that
it is sticky enough (sometimes when the sticky is going, the card will
'slip' and not cut properly).  If the sticky is going and the carrier sheet
is still in good condition, wipe it over with a clean baby wipe, or, if the
sticky has gone completely, lightly spray it with a fine spray of
'repositionable' adhesive.

3/ Use the right cap and pressure for the material you are cutting (this is
trial & error mostly, I'm afraid).  If the pressure is up too high, or the
wrong cap is on, it can 'drag' your card and you end up with a bad cut.  Or,
alternatively, if the pressure is not up enough, or the wrong cap is on,
then obviously, it will not cut right through.

4/ I always use a speed of about 5 for anything that is not too intricate,
but I will even go down to about a 2 or even a 1 if it contains small or
'fiddly' pieces.

5/ Sometimes a file might have been designed with a much larger end product
in mind and you are trying to cut it too small (sometimes the mistake is to
resize something to fit a number on a page, when it has been designed to
fill a whole page with one).  The Craft Robo doesn't like anything that is
too fiddly, to be cut too small!  Also, small pieces are more likely to get
damaged when trying to lift them off the carrier sheet.

6/  I'm afraid that sometimes the Craft Robo just 'doesn't like' the
particular card that you are trying to cut . . . . perhaps it SHOULD do, but
the sad fact is that, it doesn't!  Again this is just trial and error!
Sometimes, putting it through the Robo twice helps (select all, copy, and
paste and this will put another copy of your file directly on top of the
first copy, which will force the Robo to cut it twice), just remember
though, that if you do this, when you close the template down, DO NOT save
changes, otherwise the layers will just build up over time and cause even
more cutting headaches!!

I cut this file on 160gsm smooth white card, speed 5, thickness 27 with the yellow cap, but this is just a guide, you are free to use whatever material you wish.

I ensure I have a sharp blade and I use a 'special tool' to lift it from my carrier sheet (an old store loyalty card, filed down on one edge) to get underneath any bits to lift without tearing from sheet. 

Then I use another 'special' tool, (a straightened out paperclip) to 'weed' (poke out any little fiddly bits), again to avoid tearing anything!

When you need a selection of letters and not the whole alphabet, zoom right in close on the letter that you want, click on your 'select' tool (the black arrow at the top of the toolbox) draw around the letter that you want.  Copy and then paste that letter into a new document (you can minimise my template and just bring it up when you need to select another letter).  Just keep repeating the process until you have all the letters you want.  You can make the letters any size you wish, small for whole words, or large to fill a card with just one or two letters.  Don't forget that if you want to make a 'whole' word and you resize it, select ALL the letters that you are using and resize them TOGETHER, that way you won't end up with letters of different sizes!

*** NOTE ***  If you wish to edit the file in any way, you do need to 'ungroup' it first and then you will be able to do what ever you like with it.  BUT REMEMBER, if you DO resize or change it in any way when you close the template down and it asks if you want to save changes, CLICK ON NO.
 
Then close my template down and when it asks if you want to save changes, just click on NO.

I cut these out of 160gsm smooth white card, speed 5, thickness 27 with the yellow cap, but this is just a guide, you are free to use whatever material you wish.

When you need to use just one or two of the greetings, or if you want to make them bigger (I don't recommend going much smaller, as they are very fine and might tear),  zoom right in close on the greeting that you want, click on your 'select' tool (the black arrow at the top of the toolbox) draw around the greeting that you want.  Copy and then paste that greeting into a new document (you can minimise my template and just bring it up when you need to select another word).  Just keep repeating the process until you have all the greetings you want.  You can make the greetings any size you wish, or large to fill a card with just one or two greetings.
 
*** NOTE ***  If you wish to edit the file in any way, you do need to 'ungroup' it first and then you will be able to do what ever you like with it.  BUT REMEMBER, if you DO resize or change it in any way when you close the template down and it asks if you want to save changes, CLICK ON NO.

*** PLEASE NOTE ***

The greetings are very fine, it is recommended that you do not go any smaller, or they may tear.  I use an old loyalty card (with the edged shaved down thin) to gently lift the greetings from the carrier sheet (especially if it is new and very sticky still).  Then when I have gently lifted the greetings from the carrier sheet I use a 'special weeding tool' (a straightened out paper clip ;-))  to poke any little bits out between the letters.  Another couple of tips, one, use tweezers to handle greetings (like you would peel offs) and two, use a 'Quickie Glue Pen' to stick the words to the mats as it acts like a ballpoint pen and is easier to use on the fine parts.

I cut these out of 160gsm smooth white card, pink cap, thickness setting 30, speed 5.  However, this is only a guide to a sucessful cut.  You are of course free to cut from anything you like.  It particularly looks good cut from patterned paper or card or gold or silver card.

You can resize the template to suit what you want.  However, I do NOT recommend you go too much smaller as it is intricate in places and it might tear.  

*** NOTE ***  If you wish to edit the file in any way, you do need to 'ungroup' it first and then you will be able to do what ever you like with it.  BUT REMEMBER, if you DO resize or change it in any way when you close the template down and it asks if you want to save changes, CLICK ON NO.

I ensure I have a sharp blade and I use a 'special tool' to lift it from my carrier sheet (an old store loyalty card, filed down on one edge) to get underneath any bits to lift without tearing from sheet. 

Then I use another 'special' tool, (a straightened out paperclip or a pin) to 'weed' (poke out any little fiddly bits), again to avoid tearing anything!  Be VERY careful taking it off your carrier sheet, as this pattern is fine in places and can be a little bit 'fiddly'.  You might also need a pair of very pointed tweezers!!

I cut these from 230gsm smooth white card, pink cap, thickness setting 33, speed 5.  However, this is only a guide to a sucessful cut.  You are of course free to cut from anything you like.  It particularly looks good cut from patterned paper or card or gold or silver card.

You can resize the card to suit what you want.  *** NOTE ***  If you wish to edit the file in any way, you do need to 'ungroup' it first and then you will be able to do what ever you like with it.  BUT REMEMBER, if you DO resize or change it in any way when you close the template down and it asks if you want to save changes, CLICK ON NO.

I ensure I have a sharp blade and I use a 'special tool' to lift it from my carrier sheet (an old store loyalty card, filed down on one edge) to get underneath any bits to lift without tearing from sheet. 

Then I use another 'special' tool, (a straightened out paperclip) to 'weed' (poke out any little fiddly bits), again to avoid tearing anything!  Be VERY careful taking it off your carrier sheet, as the words/cut-outs are very fine and can be a little 'fiddly'.

I cut these files from 230gsm smooth white card, pink cap, thickness setting 33, speed 5. 

However, this is only a guide to a sucessful cut.  You are of course free to cut from anything

you like.  It particularly looks good cut from patterned paper or card or gold or silver card.

You can make a card and a sheet of greetings/toppers  (for use with other cards) by cutting

just the card out of one sheet and the greetings out of another by copying and pastings as

many as you want into another document.   

When you need a to use just one or two of the greetings/toppers, or if you want to make

them bigger (I don't recommend going much smaller, as they are very fine and might tear),

 zoom right in close on the greeting/topper that you want, click on your 'select' tool (the

black arrow at the top of the toolbox) draw around the greeting that you want.  Copy and

then paste that greeting into a new document (you can minimise my template and just

bring it up when you need to select another word).  Just keep repeating the process until

you have all the greetings/toppers you want.  You can make the greetings/toppers any size

you wish, or large to fill a card with just one or two greetings/toppers.

*** NOTE ***  If you wish to edit the file in any way, you do need to 'ungroup' it first and then

you will be able to do what ever you like with it.  BUT REMEMBER, if you DO resize or

change it in any way when you close the template down and it asks if you want to save changes, CLICK ON NO.

******* IMPORTANT *******

(A template NOT for the faint hearted!!), but stunning & worth the effort!

I cut these out of 160gsm smooth white card, pink cap, thickness setting 30, speed 5.  However, this is only a guide to a sucessful cut.  You are of course free to cut from anything you like.  It particularly looks good cut from patterned paper or card or gold or silver card.  Lightweight materials are best and you can use it as a 'wrap' for your blank card.  Or using a thinner card and adding more weight to it with a 'liner'.

You can resize the template to suit what you want.  However, I do NOT recommend you go any smaller as it is a VERY intricate pattern.   Also, remember, intricate files will take a very long time to cut!

*** NOTE ***  If you wish to edit the file in any way, you do need to 'ungroup' it first and then you will be able to do what ever you like with it.  BUT REMEMBER, if you DO resize or change it in any way when you close the template down and it asks if you want to save changes, CLICK ON NO.

I ensure I have a sharp blade and I use a 'special tool' to lift it from my carrier sheet (an old store loyalty card, filed down on one edge) to get underneath any bits to lift without tearing from sheet. 

Then I use another 'special' tool, (a straightened out paperclip or a pin) to 'weed' (poke out any little fiddly bits), again to avoid tearing anything!  Be VERY careful taking it off your carrier sheet, as the pattern is VERY VERY fine and can be VERY 'fiddly'.  You might also need a pair of very pointed tweezers!!