Many have discovered that Silhouette Studio is a great tool for designing print projects such as chalkboard art and other frameables. Silhouette Print and Cut enthusiasts also want to outsource their printing sometimes to save money or work around home printer issues. But its not immediately obvious how to get high resolution files saved out of Silhouette Studio so you can share them with others or have them printed remotely. I’ve prepared a series of videos to show how to do this.
For Windows to save for standard or large prints:
Staples, Office Depot, etc usually prefer PDF format while photoprocessors like Walgreens, Costco, etc. require JPG format (follow same instructions as in video but select JPG instead of PNG). If you are publishing a printable for home printing, PNG is the generally preferred format.
Important: New versions of PDF Creator do not support high resolution output. Please download version 1.7.3 from this link. Do not download this or any other software if your virus and anti-malware software is not active and up to date or if you are not familiar with safe downloading practices.
Note to Windows 10 users: PDF printing is built in, but you may need to activate it. To do this open the Control Panel and navigate to Programs > Programs and Features. Click on Turn Windows feature on or off in the sidebar and make sure that Microsoft Print to PDF is checked.
For Windows, to outsource your printing for print and cut projects:
PDF format must be used for print and cut. Any PDF printer will work. Be sure that you let the tech know to print at 100%, not fit to margins, etc.
For Mac, to save for standard or large prints and to solve the “grid problem”:
The above procedure would also be used for print and cut. All necessary software is built in to a Mac.
Marie says
Thank you! That worked! I could cry at all the time I wasted on such a simple fix.
Rose says
My machine cut perfectly on the cross lines. I printed a PNC from the SIL store (a pink owl)
and it’s still not cutting properly. It seems to cut off the same amount each time. It worked at
one time, ages ago but i have not been able to get it to again. It’s so frustrating because it is
a feature that I would use ALOT! Thank you for all your tutorials and help. I don’t know what to do from here.
Kay says
Be sure you have gone through the entire checklist systematically http://www.silhouetteamerica.com/faq/solution/registration-mark-reading-or-print-cut-misalignment-issue
Bernadette says
I’m sorry if this has been addressed before.
But I’m having a problem printing from Silhouette Studio.
I keep getting random horizontal (sometimes vertical lines) when printing. And these lines appear even in print preview, and after converting a file to PDF.
Bernadette says
Nevermind that. I should have watched everything. Thank you for sharing these. 😀
Natasha says
Thank you so much for this great explanation and your tutorial for the mac!
Connie says
I realize this is an old post, but the link for PDF Creator 1.7.3 download no longer works. They don’t offer it on their website. I get version 3.2.2 when I downloaded it just now. Is 3.2.2 acceptable now? Can you recommend another PDF printer?
Kay says
Hi Connie. I generally recommend Win2PDF now because it can also save as SVG, but I haven’t tested it for resolution. Bullzip is another good PDF printer but last I checked they were charging for high resolution. Because Win10 has PDF printing built in, you also have the option to save as PDF, then convert the PDF to PNG/JPG with an online converter.
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colleen says
When I import my pdf as a vector (mac)the the grey lines are there right away. They also print on the paper. I tried what you said at the end of the video and it didn’t change anything. Any tips?
Kay says
This process does not produce vector PDFs. If you need that, you will have to purchase Silhouette Studio Business Edition shrsl.com/10amz