How to Print then Cut Stickers on Cricut
Learn how to print then cut stickers on your Cricut machine with this fun tutorial and free printable. Learn what is print then cut on Cricut first if you’re not yet familiar with it, then scroll down for this how-to. This post contains affiliate links.
If you’re a creative planner like I am, you might be frustrated with the amount you spend on pretty stickers. Okay, it’s fun to shop for them, but somehow you always end up with piles of “dentist appointment” stickers, not enough “carpool” ones, and seriously? Pay bill? Does anyone not auto-pay anymore?
So learning how to print then cut stickers on Cricut machines can really help you get your planner in order. It’s also great for creative journaling, or if you just like decorating all your stuff with stickers.
Stickers are also an easy thing to make and sell at home – it’s cheap and quick to produce, and it’s inexpensive to ship, making it a very sell-able item.
So get ready to learn how to print then cut stickers on Cricut cutting machines!
Which sticker paper is best for Print then Cut Stickers?
There are so many types of sticker paper and quality matters – to a degree!
First of all, make sure you’re getting the right sticker paper for your printer type – laser or inkjet.
Next, understand your intended use for the stickers.
For personal use, I just get the cheapest sticker paper. It doesn’t stick as well as other brands to more complicated surfaces (such as curved, non-paper surfaces) but it’s fantastic for planners and journals.
For decals to be used on devices, water bottles, and similar items, you want the top end of the range: printable vinyl.
And then there’s the in-betweens: good quality sticker paper. You can get clear (transparent) sticker paper or white sticker paper.
Does the Cricut Print then Cut stickers?
There is confusion among some as to what the Cricut does. Many people call it “printing”. However, the Cricut does not print. It cuts or writes using pens and markers. Writing means outlines – not complex blocks of solid color.
Once a design is a bit more complex, you may want to print it and then just have the Cricut cut the outline. There are many other applications for Print then cut, but in the context of Print then Cut stickers, you’re likely just trying to keep things flat and assembly-free.
What the Cricut does do is have software that is printer compatible. That means that you can have a flattened design, that is not separated in layers; all the colors are combined into one layer that prints.
The Cricut will then prompt you to send it to your existing paper. It will add registration marks – that is, a rectangle around your image. This serves the purpose of telling the Cricut where exactly on the paper the design is so that it knows where to cut.
As a graphic designer, I completely appreciate this technology. It’s a big deal. I’ve used it in many 3D crafts, such as this space ship box.
For print then cut stickers, it means that you can print them on the paper of choice, and then, instead of having to cut them out by hand, the Cricut will do it for you. You can have invisible borders if they are white. The Cricut will cut around the edges of the pixels of your design. The background needs to be transparent. Any area that is transparent will not be on the final sticker. Any area that’s white will NOT be cut out.
If you’re new to learning how to print then cut stickers on Cricut, you would probably be best off first using stickers from other designers before trying to design your own. You can get these on Etsy, but first download this set for free to give it a try!
Download your free print then cut stickers below
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Your file will arrive in a ZIP folder. Learn how to unzip files here.
Supplies Needed to make stickers with your Cricut
- Sticker Paper of Choice
- Cricut Maker or Explore machine
- Fine Point Blade
- Color Printer
- Blue (LightGrip) or Green (StandardGrip) mat
How to print then cut stickers on Cricut
Uploading Your Stickers:
1. Open design space and click upload
2. Click Upload Image
3. Click browse or drag and drop to upload the free file you downloaded from this post. Note: it needs to be unzipped first! You can choose to upload individual sticker images or the combined PNG (which takes shorter but doesn’t allow you to print more or less of individual stickers – it’ll print it as a set.)
4. Click on complex – this means that it keeps all the detail in your image.
5. Then choose print and cut. This means that it’ll keep it as one flat image that you can print and then cut. But if you look at the “cut” option, you’ll already see the shape that the Cricut is registering as the outline to cut when you send it. Don’t click it, just make a mental note if you’d like.
6. Now we want to resize your image. Make the width a maximum of 6.75 or the height a maximum of 9.25 inches. Size your sticker to the size you’d like it to be, as long as it’s within those parameters. The image of all five stickers is designed to be set at 6.75 inches wide.
7. When you send your image to cut, you’ll be prompted to print it first. Load sticker paper into your printer. In your settings, choose the correct printer. I like to keep bleed “on” but in an image that has a white outline printed on a white paper it doesn’t make a difference.
8. After printing, place the sticker sheet printed side up, in the correct direction on the top left corner of your mat.
9. Load it into your machine and choose the cut setting that works best for your sticker paper. You may need to play around a little and do a few test runs to get it right, as it can vary by machine. The heavy cardstock setting will cut right through the backing, so that you have individual loose stickers. The washi tape setting with “more” pressure is great for a kiss cut on more intricate stickers (“kiss cut” means it only cuts the sticker layer and not the one beneath).
10. Click the go button and let your machine do the work! To avoid curling as you remove your stickers from the mat, flip the mat over (sticker side down) and peel the mat away from the stickers, and not vice versa.
You’ve learned how to print the cut stickers with Cricut! What else do you love to print then cut? Comment below!
