The ONLY Way I Weed Heat Transfer Vinyl

Wanna know the trick that will make it easier than ever to weed HTV? 

It's all about your heat press...so read on for this pro tip for easy weeding! 

Silhouette Studio "Will Not Open in a Future Release of macOS" Warning: How to Fix It on Mac

If you're a Mac user and you've opened Silhouette Studio lately and a scary looking error message has popped up - you're not alone.  But there is a fix. 

The message says something like this:

Support Ending for Intel-based Apps
This version of "Silhouette Studio" will not open in a future release of macOS.

This isn't a Silhouette Studio problem and it isn't your machine. You're just running an old version of Silhouette Studio on a newer version of the Mac iOS (operating system) and the two are about to become incompatible. 

The fix takes about five minutes.

How DTG Printing Works: The 4-Step Process for Dark Shirts (Video)

Thinking about buying a DTG printer? It's not just print and press, especially on dark shirts.  

Here's the real step-by-step process and the honest trade-offs, from someone who's been printing direct to garment since 2020.

How to Make Your Own Laser Cut Blanks (In Any Shape)

If you have a laser you don't need to buy acrylic blanks for your UV printer or sublimation printer. You can cut your own, shaped exactly like the design you're printing.

And the best part is - you don't have to build a separate cut file to do it. You can make the cut line from the same PNG you're going to print. 

I recently made some acrylic magnets and also some acrylic Christmas ornaments. All of the acrylic ornaments were cut on 3mm clear acrylic on my xTool P2 and printed on my xTool Omni UV printer (which I am obsessed with). Any CO2 laser will work for this - including the lowest price CO2 laser I've found - the Flux Beamo.  

Rise and Shine Coffee Time Freebie Friday Silhouette Cut File

Happy Friday! It is time for another free Silhouette cut file.

This week I have one for all of my coffee lovers - Rise and Shine, It's Coffee Time! 

How to Put Foil on Paper with a Heat Press and Laser Printer (VIDEO)

If you have a heat press and a laser printer you can add foil to paper for stunning accents. 

This is yet another way I use my iColor 560 White Toner printer although this could be done with any laser printer....as the key to this foil is it likes to stick to toner. 

Silhouette U Turns 10! 2016 Rollback Anniversary Sale Pricing 'til 10/10

It's hard to believe it's been 10 years since we launched Silhouette U - Silhouette School's premium membership-only platform. 

Ten years later we've not only welcomed tens of thousands of members, we've also expanded and grown both our library of videos and resources, but also the services we provide to our members.  We're celebrating with a Roll Back to 2016 Anniversary Sale! 

What has actually changed since 2016

When Silhouette U opened in October 2016, it was a library of mostly Silhouette tutorials and options for personalized help through live chat, Q and A videos and a member-only inbox. 

Most of you had a CAMEO and that was the machine on your craft table. But that's not what many of your craft rooms look like anymore. 

Now it is a CAMEO plus a laser or a CAMEO plus a sublimation printer and a heat press. Or you've swapped your desktop cutter for a DTF printer or a Roland or a UV printer.  You started as a hobby crafters and somehow found yourself selling to neighbors, friends, and on Etsy. You've mastered Silhouette Studio but are now looking for assistance with Embrilliance or xTool Studio or a DTF rip software. 

As you've grown and expanded so has Silhouette U..and so have our support options. 

Silhouette Studio PNG Bug: Why Drag and Drop Fails (Video)

Have you pulled a PNG into Silhouette Studio and now you can't click it, move it, or do anything with it?  

It's a known quirk that only affects PNG files, and the fix takes about 30 seconds.

3 Reasons Not to Use the Silhouette Design Library

If you're still using the Silhouette Studio library as your main file organization system - it may be time to consider an alternative. 

In my fifteen years of doing this I can't tell you how many times I've been asked: how do I build a big, organized library inside Silhouette Studio. My honest answer is that you shouldn't.

Home Sweet Haunted Home Freebie Friday Silhouette Cut File

It's Freebie Friday and since October has officially begun, we are getting ready for Halloween around here!

This week I have a spooky cute design for you - Home Sweet Haunted Home!

How to Download Embrilliance Essentials (Free Version and Paid Upgrade)

Embrilliance Essentials is a sewing and embroidery design software - compatible with both Mac and PC - that will give you a lot of flexibility if you are trying to merge applique or embroidery designs. 

I use it with my Brother SE2000 and my older Brother SE600, which Brother has since replaced with the SE700. 

Embrilliance Express is the free version. It opens and converts embroidery files, but you can't merge designs, add lettering, or resize with stitch recalculation. Essentials is the paid upgrade, and it's a one time purchase rather than a subscription. 

In this tutorial I'll show you how to download Embrilliance Essentials for beginners on a Mac. The process is essentially the same on PC. 

Embrilliance Express vs Essentials: What you Get

Express is the free version and it's free - no email signup, no strings. Essentials is the paid upgrade and it's a one time purchase, not a subscription. Here's where the difference between them:  

Feature	Express (free)	Essentials (paid)
Open and view embroidery files	Yes	Yes
Save stitch files for your machine	Yes	Yes
Install and type in BX fonts	Yes	Yes
Runs on Mac and Windows	Yes	Yes
Combine and merge multiple designs	No	Yes
Resize 50% to 250% with stitch recalculation	No	Yes
Stitch editing	No	Yes
Lettering and monogram tools, 21 built in fonts	No	Yes
Applique tools	No	Yes
Thread color changes and brand conversion	No	Yes
Remove hidden and overlapping stitches	No	Yes
Print full size templates	No	Yes
Built in stitch simulator	No	Yes
Send designs to Brother and Baby Lock over wifi	No	Yes
One licence, unlimited computers, Mac and Windows	-	Yes

The short version: if you only need to open a design and send it to your machine, Express is enough. The moment you want to combine two designs, resize one, add a name, or do applique, that's Essentials.

The one that matters most if you own a Silhouette: Essentials can generate applique cut files straight from the placement stitches, so your CAMEO cuts the fabric and your embroidery machine stitches it. Here's how to use PES embroidery files in Silhouette Studio.