Can You Cut HTV with Silhouette CAMEO 5 ElectroStatic Mat?

If you've become a fan of the Silhouette CAMEO Electrostatic mat like I have, you are probably wondering: what can be cut on the ES mat?

I have tried lots of different material from paper to fabric. But what about HTV? Read on to find out why you can cut some HTV, but not all with the CAMEO 5 ES Mat.

I've been really into HTV applique with my Brother SE2000 recently and have been finding it easier and faster to just slap the HTV down on the ES mat to cut then applying to a mat that has to be loaded and unloaded every time.

I first tried using the ES mat with a sheet of patterned glitter HTV. This material does not have a carrier sheet on it so it's cut with the pattern side up. The adhesive side of the HTV can face down onto the ES base. I had no problems cutting it on the ES mat.

Next I tried a piece of smooth HTV that I cut off a roll. This piece was traditional HTV where the clear transfer sheet is on top, covering the front of the HTV. As you know, this shiny side has to be cut face down. Unfortunately this piece I could not get to stick to the ES mat no matter what I tried.

At this point, I wasn't sure if the reason the smooth HTV wasn't being held by the static charge was due to it being cut off a roll (aka curled) or from the smooth, slick adhesive side of the HTV.

I tried a piece of glitter HTV and it

For my third test I tried placing a flat sheet of smooth heat transfer vinyl on the ES mat. I was really hopeful, but unfortunately it didn't work. My best guess is the glossy transfer sheet doesn't cause enough friction for the static to hold it in place.

Want to know what other materials passed and failed the test on the ES Mat? Check out this quick youtube video where I bunch of popular materials to the ElectroStatic mat test.

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