55 thoughts on “Photo Gallery”

1. DO THIS SOFTWARE WORK WITH THE CRICUT

2. No, it does not. For the Cricut, I currently recommend a program called Make the Cut.

3. Is this like the cricut expression, I would not want to have to of the same machines. I am just getting into doing rhinestones and like what I see here with the KNK.

4. There’s really no comparison. KNK’s have more cutting force, a wider cutting range, faster cutting speed, and additional settings to make sure your rhinestone patterns are cut accurately. And this doesn’t even touch on the software differences. You will want a program that will allow you to outline and fill any pattern you need. And you can see that I spend a lot of my time finding unique ways of doing that in KNK and ACS Studio. VERY fun stuff to explore! : )

5. If you’ve purchased a Klick N Kut and haven’t taken any lessons from Sandy you are missing out on a entire world of information that can make an incredible difference in your level of work. Whether you’re a hobbyist or have aspirations of building a business you have to walk through her world of knowledge with her. It’s amazing how much I’ve learned in such a short period of time and believe me, I’m not comfortable on the computer. I am navigating my machine at a wonderful pace which has lifted the bar on my creative possibilities. I can’t thank her enough. It baffles me just how much she knows and how well she teaches someone like me with no computer background. Thank you so much Sandy, I’ll continue with my lessons until you tell me to stop!!!

6. Sandy: I just purchased soem vinyl from the local scrapbook store and would like to start by making a nice picture mat for a wedding gift. I would like to put their names on it and Est. 2010. Since I have never cut vinyl before, can you give me some tips, etc.? Also I never change the speed of my cutting (I always have it at 25) – why would you ever change it? And, one more question – how can you cut vinyl WITHOUT a cutting mat? Don’t you always need that? wouldn’t it break your blade? thanks so much!

7. Vinyl is extremely thin and has a backing sheet that you do NOT cut with the blade. Instead, you adjust your blade exposure so that only the tippity tip of the blade shows and there’s only enough blade to cut through the vinyl. I always joke that if you can SEE the tip of the blade, then you have too much showing… but I’m not exaggerating that much. I definitely cannot see the tip, but I can feel it with my finger. That’s how little you need.

   Also, set the pressure REALLY low. Do you have the original KNK? Sorry… but I don’t which Denise you are! lol If it’s the original KNK, then try a force of 140. If you are cutting with some other machine, let me know which one it is.

8. Thanks Sandy for the info. I have just the KNK (smaller one – not one of the big ones). Most of my cardstock and things – I use the a force of 340-400 all the time and the slowest speed (25). Why would you ever use a faster speed? (Just trying to figure this machine out some more.)

9. You will definitely want to reduce the force down to 140 for vinyl and, again, just barely have the blade tip peeking out at the bottom of the blade holder. Otherwise vinyl is VERY easy to cut. : )

   Owners will increase the speed because they want their items cut faster! lol That’s the only reason. Although, according to Accugraphic, when using the fabric blade you want to use a much higher speed as it actually cuts better. Go figure.

10. i am interested in making rhinestone shirts and decals, where do i start?

11. Email me privately at smccauley45@cox.net and we can talk about what you already have and what you’re going to need. If this is completely new to you and you do not already own a machine, then you should do just great with a KNK Groove-E. But I can explain why you might want to have a Maxx.

12. Hi Sandy.

    I am very new at all this and have a question for you. I was wondering if I can us a Silhouette Digital Craft Cutter to make stencils to be used for stenciling with paint on material.

    I was going to order custom stencils for my pillow business but they are very expensive so I am researching making my own stencils. I am concerned about the type of materials that goes through those kind of machines and whether they are durable enough to use with paint and even re-use.

    I hope you can shed some light on all this for me.

    Thank you,
    Cheryl Monroe

13. Hi Cheryl,

    The Silhouette doesn’t have the cutting force needed unless your stencil material is very thin and easy to cut. But I have several customers using the KNK’s for cutting and selling Mylar stencils. If you have a particular material in mind, you can send it to me for testing. I have both the Silhouette and the KNK I can use. Just email me at smccauley45@cox.net.

14. Hello Sandy

    In one of your videos you show how you can punch with the KNK to do some of the dutch paper designs. Do you have a video or tutorial on how to achieve this result, showing how you make the file and what settings to use?

    Thanks

    Kylie

15. I don’t have a video… I need to do that sometime! But it is covered in the Maxx/Groove-E User Manual (last chapter), plus you can email me and I’ll answer some of the questions you have. In the case of the flower, I designed it using the Star shape and then used the Punch tool menu listing under Cut>Plotting Defaults. However, since that time, I’ve switched to using the Pounce function and then setting a very small dash (0.01″) and then the spacing I want. You might need to turn on Multi-cut to get a sharp enough hole punched. If you are wanting to do thicker materials or want the holes larger than just pin holes, then instead you use the Fit Object to Path Function to distribute tiny circles along the path instead. This works really nicely and you can actually continue just using the cutting mat instead of the rubber punch strip. Again, feel free to email me. I’m at smccauley45@cox.net.

16. Thanks Sandy

    I will have to have a play and see how I go. And if you ever do a video, let me know please.

    Kylie

17. Hi Sandy,

    I’m considering purchasing either the e-Groove or the Maxx but since all the settings seem to be the same except for the alignment, and size (13″ vs 15″) I really am not sure why I’d want to move up to the 15″. Any advise there? My main hobby is greeting cards and making my own stamps would be great if that can be done! Also.. I live in Canada.. what’s the shipping costs, warranty, support? Sorry I have soooo many questions..

    Thanks!!

18. Hi Sass!

    Those buying the Maxx are usually wanting the laser light for faster print and cut applications. The alignment pin on the Groove-E is equally accurate, but takes a little bit longer to use. Another reason is that they want the extra 2″ cutting width… for cutting fold up projects such as gift bags or boxes. Also the Maxx comes with a $300 bonus package which includes a second blade holder and 10 extra red capped blades. I’ll email you this info, as well, but feel free to ask more questions if you have them! : )

19. I just purchased the 24 inch maxx and tools + the 30 foot roll of green material for making templates. Now all I have to do is learn to use it. I hope i’m smart enough. Ed B.

20. Just take it one day at a time and take advantage of the support I’ll be providing you.

21. Hi Sandy, can you tell me what the max thickness of the material the klic-n-cut cutters can handle?

    I am looking to cut some foam rubber (neoprene) in various thicknesses from 1/16″ up to as thick as the machine will allow.

    thanks!

22. I’ve cut materials that were 1/8″ thick but not with much detail. Also, that was using our original blade holder in which you could cut with the cap not attached, thus exposing more blade. Our newer blade holders will not work that way. I recommend you contact Accugraphic at 800-268-3672 and discuss your application, as they have more experience with other materials and will know what maximum thickness you’ll be able to cut.

23. Hi,

    I’m a graphic artist who works mostly on paper ads materials. Usually design POS materials. recently some of my friends and most of my client want to know if I could incorporate some pop up on their ads. I was wondering if you have a model that would cut on paper using a pattern base on the graphic we created. I look at cricut but they are mostly cartridge base not customize. And saw some big flatbed machine that is way to expensive. And the market here is to small for a full scale machine.

    Any recommendation, I usually use Adobe illustrator

    thanks

24. You can export anything you create in AI as an AI version 8 file (or other formats) and then import into our software to cut out from paper and other materials to one of our KNK machines. I’ll email you privately for more info.

25. Hi, what would be a good starter machine to purchase, my main interest is cupcake wrappers … So confused, please help. Thanks in advance

26. The Groove-E would probably be perfect. It has all of the functionality you need and cut materials up to 13″ wide. The software is perfect for designing your own cupcake wrappers plus the entire collection of Judy’s designs are at your disposal. They were created in this same software. : )

27. Hi Sandy! I was wondering if you could offer my any advice. I’m using an ACS to cut vinyl to put on shirts and what not. As you know vinyl is very thin! When I’m just cutting one design I usually just cut out the amount of material I need and then stick it onto a board. However, I would really like to put the roll of vinyl in when I cut a lot of graphics out of the same type of vinyl. I can’t use the board when I’m working with a roll, but I find that the vinyl is so thin that the rollers can get a grip on that material. Is there a way to adjust the rollers?

28. If your rollers are positioned under the white rectangles, they should definitely be tight enough to hold the vinyl during cutting. We have a lot of customers who do cut vinyl, iron-on transfer, and even rhinestone template materials without using a cutting mat. If your pinch rollers are not gripping the material, then contact Accugraphic at 800-268-3672.

29. I am just getting started with appliqueing felt on plush creatures. I’m excited to find out that the knk machines will cut felt. I want to be able to use my own design, can I import it into the machine?
    I’m am looking to cut upholstery vinyl for teeth. Will any of your machines accomplish this?
    thanks

30. Yes… you can import your own designs. Because all blade-based die cutters use vector graphics for cutting, you will need to use the tracing tools in KNK Studio or Make-The-Cut to vectorize any raster images (such as .jpg, .bmp, .png, etc). But that’s a fairly easy process to learn to do. : )

    I’ll have to ask about upholstery vinyl. I don’t recall testing it before, but we can do that for you, if you have a sample you can send in. If it cuts easily with an Xacto knife, then it won’t be a problem with the KNK’s!

31. Thanks for getting back to me so quickly. Where can I send the sample and what size sample should it be? I really like the Zing. Can you let me know which machine would be the best choice for me?

32. I’ll email you privately!

33. thanks!

34. Hi Im getting into airbrushing and am very tempted to buy knk zing, u mention Mylar is able to be cut with the knk, is 100 micron mylar able to be cut with the zing? I wanna do all sorts of things from stencils to decals to shirts hats and signs

35. Yes… should work just fine. I have customers cutting 5 mil and 7 mil Mylar which converts to 125 microns and 175 microns, respectively.

36. Hi Sandy,

    I am considering buying the KnK machine so i just wanted to find out if its possible to use it for cutting wooden jig-saw puzzles?

37. No, not wooden. While you can cut 1.5mm balsa and a little thicker than that, the likelihood of splintering increases with small intricate cuts, such as with jigsaw shapes. A rule of thumb to use when knowing what materials will cut with one of our blade-bases cutters is to test yourself with a craft knife (Xacto knife). If you can cut it by hand, in several passes, then that’s how the cutter will also cut the material. Hope this helps!

38. Hi Sandy,
    My husband calls me the Research Queen. Unfortunatley, I have a habit of researching till I confuse myself. I can’t decide between the Silhouette Cameo and the KNK Zing. I don’t want to buy more than I need but at the same time I have heard some disturbing things about Silhouettes Customer service. I work at my local Farmers Market. I have a Holistic Remedy business for Dogs and I would like to add some Heat transfer gift items as well as some car magnets to get ready for the Christmas season. Can you make this decision any easier? Please!

39. You definitely should go with a Zing. The Cameo is a hobby cutter and not designed for production work at all. Since you’ll want to be cutting multiples of items, you’ll want a cutter built with entirely all metal parts, not plastic. Also, I’m not sure the Cameo can cut the thicker magnet material used as decals for cars. It has substantially less cutting force than the Zing.

40. Thank-you Sandy! I also noticed that the ongoing materials (blades etc) are more expensive with the Cameo.

41. Hi Sandy,
    I just purchased Lettering Delights Simple Shapes Super Plus Bundle. It has single-layer shapes that come with an optional “pen-layer. When doing the layers on my 24 KNK Maxx the cut is off. I’ve WYSIWYG and knife point. What am I doing wrong?

42. I assume you are just inserting the pen directly into the grip? The reason it’s off is because the tip of the pen is in a slightly different spot from the tip of the blade. There are several solutions to this. I suggest starting with Michele Harvey’s solution which is to create your own holder that will center the pen in your Maxx to match the blade holder: http://teamknk.com/?p=3486

43. Sandy, please give me your professional opinion. Which software has more capability – the KNK Studio or MTC?
    The level of difficulty is not a problem for me. What I want to know are the advantages and disadvantages of either software as pertains to their capabilities. I’m looking at the KNK Groove-e machine.

44. Hi Murray,

    Here is a comparison of the two programs.

    http://www.iloveknk.com/wp-content/uploads/Info/MTCversusKNK.pdf

    Note there’s a link to an even more detailed comparison. I use both programs now. I like MTC for it’s auto-tracing and Print and Cut functionality. I like KNK Studio for its designing and node editing. Together they make a superb software. What is your planned application? I can usually recommend one or the other a little better if I know what you are needing.

45. I am looking to:
    Emboss copper/silver sheet and aluminum 1/8″ plate.
    Cut intricut stencils to be used to sandblast glass
    Cut multicolor stencils, by color, to use to add powdered glass to glass painting
    To draw designs on glass to cut out with glass saw.

    and I’m sure other uses.

46. Also Sandy, I notice that Studio will import .jpeg files directly into the workspace, but I can only seem to get MTC to bring them in using Pixel Trace.

47. I would be inclined to recommend KNK Studio then. It has the ability to do fill-style engraving and MTC does not unless you use Inkscape first and then import the file.

48. That is true. But you still need to vectorize ANY JPG files before they will cut to blade-based cutters as these machines only use vector graphics.

49. Hi Sandy

    I want to ask which cutter machine will be good to cut fondant ?
    i was thinking of the silhoutte but it cut so thin gumpaste as i see in the net.
    or does it cut thicker gumpaste like cricut ?
    and the silhoutte need another blade to cut gumpaste

    and i like how the cricut cut gumpaste but it cut just from Cartridges so bad

    I’m so confused can you help me what the best cutter for me ?

50. Hi Riva,

    Just about any of the cutters on the market can cut gum paste, fondant, icing sheets, etc. They require very little cutting force and the blades will last a very long time. But do stay away from those that are cartridge-based because you want the ability to use software to design what you need and you’ll save a LOT of money by not buying cartridges and using the tons of free files available in other programs.

    I don’t recall reading the thickness of gum paste that can be handled by the Silhouette. With the KNK Zing you can cut up to 0.09″ or ~2.5 mm.