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MTC 3.0 beta solves print and cut

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Update: MTC 3 is out of beta. Download MTC 3.2 to take advantage of these and many more features.

I played around with the beta version of Make-The-Cut 3 last night and I am amazed at the results. 2 issues have been standing in the way for reliable print and cut on the Cricut. One is being able to print at a specific size and position on the page and the other is the inaccuracy of the Cricut, especially its tendency to get further off course as you move away from the starting point. Somehow Andy (MTC’s developer) has magically overcome both of these problems to create a simple, flexible and accurate print and cut process using any printer and a Cricut machine.

Here’s a quick video

And here’s the step by step because I go really fast.

1) Open MTC and click on the Pixel Trace button and navigate to where your graphic is stored and click open. (I recommend you start with a simple graphic with a well-defined outline for your first try). I picked one from Lettering Delights, of course.

2) Set the threshold to 254. You want to be sure you capture the entire outer edge of the graphic.

3) Check the “Set Image as Texture” checkbox and click Import.

4) Click on the imported graphic to select it and click on the Blackout button.

5) Uncheck “outline shapes” at the bottom of the Visual Mat tab.

6) Choose File>Print and print to the printer of your choice. I used the default settings on both a Brother and an Epson printer, but you want to be sure anything that would change the size of the print (such as shrink to fit, etc.) is deselected. You also do not want it set to borderless printing.

7) Place the printed paper on the Cricut mat carefully aligned along the outlines in the upper left hand corner (as shown in photo above).

8 )Select Cut with Provocraft Cricut and cut using settings appropriate for your type of paper.

That’s it you’re done!

Note: If you don’t get satisfactory results using the simple process above you may need to make adjustments to your printer or cutter. I’ve put together a step by step process for finding and fixing problems here.

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Comments

  1. WOW – and to think I have been wanting an Imagine. This is even better than an Imagine because I can use clip art I already have! This really has my juices flowing – will have to see if I can find some time to try this TODAY. And I have definitely marked my calendar to attend the webinar tomorrow night – it should be very exciting.

  2. Thanks for the great tutorial. I can hardly wait to try it out. Aren’t we so lucky to have Andy and Make the Cut and all of his wonderful helpers. Smiles Carolyn

  4. Great vid and directions… simple and straightforward… easy to follow – gotta go try mine!

  5. Awsome Demo – Thanks so much!

    Is it possible to do this without leaving the white border around the clipart as well?

    • Yes. There is no white border on this one. The white inner border and blue outer border is part of the graphic.

  8. The tutorial is really great, worked like a charm but can you tell me how to resize the imagine when you bring it in, or do I have to have it set to the right size before I import.
    Thanks
    Charlotte

  9. Just tried MTC. I had a problem with re-sizing the graphic (too large) and the texture within it. I found the problem was solved on this video posted yesterday on MTC: http://screenr.com/KqZ Not complicated, but not entirely intuitive about scaling the graphic and then the texture. Thanks again for the info. Going to finally purchase MTC (longtime SCAL user).

  10. I am BEYOND excited! I was drooling over the Imagine just last night, trying to figure out who loved me enough (and had the money) to get me one of these for an “early” Christmas present. You just gifted me!!!

  12. Thank you so much for the video. I am so excited about this because I was bummed I couldn’t buy an Imagine. Now I don’t have to!! I did try this last night and I was having trouble lining up the printing and the cut. I think it’s my printer that’s printing in the wrong place. Is there any way to fix this? My printer is an HP2200 (yeah a few years old). Thanks again!

    • Assuming the size of your image is correct but the printer is just offsetting the image on the page, then you just compensate for the offset by moving the graphic on the page before cutting or by loading the paper on the mat differently. Here is Dana’s tutorial on making the corrections.

  13. Thanks for the awesome tutorial!!! Is there a way to change the colors or textures of a LD or clipart design once you import it into the program?? ( I see that you left the colors of the cute owl as is but what if I wanted to change the pink to a print?) TIA

    • Yes, you would just trace as normal, break apart and then apply the color or texture to each piece individually, just as it was done before MTC added textures. MTC still can’t trace by color, though, so this would be much easier starting with a dingbat character or line drawing than with clipart that is already colored.

  16. I just bought MTC last night and am completely thrilled with the decision to switch from SCAL.

    But… I’m having one problem that I can’t seem to find the answer to:
    if anyone can lead me to the right answer, I’d appreciate it!

    I have a file I created in Inkscape that I used in SCAL. It imported into SCAL with no problems, but with MTC, it only imports one piece (there are 4 pieces on 2 layers)… what modifications do we need to make to Inkscape files to have them import correctly into MTC?
    I tried “Grouping”, “Combine”, and “Union” (in Inkscape) and none of them seem to want to work! Still only getting one of the pieces…
    My email is hestiashelper at gmail dot com if you want me to send you a copy of the file to see if you can figure it out or if you want to reply to this question privately. Thank you to any and all who can help!!!

  17. Hi Kay,
    I have bee playing with this all afternoon and I have been unable to get a good cut. I followed the instructions in Dana’s Tutorial by adjusting the placement of the image on the mat by measuring the x and y locations, adjusting the placement and then cutting, but I still have white space which is not part of the image.
    I will try again tomorrow evening, I’m sure it is “operator error”.
    Thanks for all your hard work in putting these tutorials together.
    DebbyS

  18. Just a question — I can’t seem to enlarge a picture after I import it to the mat — only an outline gets larger and the picture stays the same. Other than that, that’s neat how it works. Mine doesn’t cut outside the edges unless I make a shadow — so I’m still working on it. Thanks for sharing your tutorial!

  20. I use SCAL but really want to maybe get MTC because it looks as if it has alot of great functions and this print and cut is awesome. I downloaded the trial but its not the beta 3.0. Where can I get that so that I can try this print and cut before buying. I just want to make sure and do my research before buying another software. I really hope this print and cut is as easy as you showed so I’m excited to try it. If you can help me with getting the beta file to try?

  21. great news! I’d not been around for a bit – Print and Cut is something I’d always stayed away from on Cricut as it seemed so fiddly and didn’t give the great results I get with my ROBO but I’ll have to have a good play now and being able to cut larger sheets of card is a plus. Thanks for your hard work and great explanations – Andy and his team have really done us proud this time.

  22. I have seen many ways to do the print and cut, but this is by far the best that has worked for me!! My printer and cricut don’t like one another, so my printer wins and my cricut has to be the adjuster. Tried the new printer driver and it made a bit of a difference. Totally stoked it works better!!! Now I don’t need the Imagine!!!! Thanks Andy!! Would prefer to give my money to you!

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