Cricut Settings Table

One thing that is absolutely critical to making the Cricut cut properly is to have the pressure, speed and depth of blade correct for the type of paper you are using. This, by far, is what makes or breaks your Cricut experience. No one wants to ruin expensive paper by accidently having the wrong settings in place and then shredding their paper! It's certainly happened to me enough times, especially when switching amongst different types of paper like going from heavy cardstock to thin patterned paper.

So as not to forget to check the settings each time before I cut, I created the table shown above, which visually reminds me to check the settings and also tells me what settings are appropriate. These are some good guidelines to follow, but may need some tweaking as the machines can be a little different from one another.

Another important tip to remember is to make sure the blade housing number is SQUARE ON facing you. I had mine slightly off center and none of my cuts looked good! I was ready to throw the Cricut out the window until a friend looked at it and immediately diagnosed that as the problem. Thank goodness for Tammy!

A good guideline to follow also has to do with how intricate the cut is that you are trying to make. The more detailed the cut, the SLOWER the speed. And vice versa. Keep that in mind when setting your machine.

Finally, I love to test my cuts on cardstock from Walmart. You can get a pack of 150 sheets of white cardstock (8.5 x 11) at Walmart for less than $6 and it has saved me from numerous mistakes. Look in the office suppy area for this. Another idea is to set your blade and pressure at 1 and watch how the cut moves across the page. It won't cut the page but will give you an idea of the size of the cut.

To snag a copy of my Cricut settings table, click HERE! I hope it helps you in your Cricutting adventures!