If you're a sticker maker, but exclusively looking for "sticker designs" you're really limiting yourself.
Any design or image can be turned into a sticker by adding a border in Silhouette Studio. So whether or not your design is "sticker ready" is really irrelevant - because you can make it sticker ready!
Read on for the step by step on how to turn any image into a print and cut sticker.
In this example I'm using an alphabet set letter from So Fontsy. Each letter is it's own file and each design has lots of elements like little stars. Many of those elements are not connected to each other which means they would all cut separately (perfect for layered vinyl but...) making this a terrible sticker.
If you go to the Send panel you can see where all the cut lines are.
This would create a mess of a sticker..and actually give you about 10 individual stickers - not what you're going for here.
The solution is to add an offset around the entire design. But it's not quiet as simple as that - there are a few things you need to be aware of.
Setting Up the Silhouette Studio Work Area
Before you begin adding white borders, it's best to adjust the background transparency of the work area. This just allows you to see what you're doing.
By default, Silhouette Studio's work area is white - well when it's white you can't see a white offset very well.
To change this, open the Page Setup panel (first icon on the right toolbar) and move the transparency bar to the right. Now you'll have a gray mat, instead of a solid white mat.
Creating the Offset
With your design selected, open the Offset panel by clicking the star icon on the right toolbar.
When you first click Offset, Silhouette Studio applies a very small offset that - likely will not work if you have a design that has a bunch of elements that are not touch.
In order to make an offset around the entire design, to make a single border around the sticker, the offset needs to be large enough that it encompasses all of the design elements.
If you have decorative elements like hearts, stars, or flourishes that are separate from the main design, a small offset will leave them disconnected.
This means you need to increase the offset distance - by typing in a number or dragging the distance bar - until every element connects to at least one other element, creating a single outline around your shape.
Your offset lines may start overlapping and may look like a big mess -but don't worry they will auto weld when you click Apply.
The exact distance varies by design. Some might need 0.1 inches while others require 0.15 or more. The design itself tells you when you've gone far enough.
Understanding the Offsets
Once you click Apply, the offset creates a transparent outline around your entire shape. Now if you're printing and cutting on white paper you don't need to do anything else - the border around your sticker will by white simply due to the white paper that's left unprinted between the sticker image and the new outline you just created.
Move to the Send panel.
Select the sticker image (not the offset line) and change that line to "No Cut". The only cut line should be the offset line you just created.
That's it! You can group the offset line and the sticker image together as you move through the rest of your print and cut set up.
Now if you have unwanted inner cut lines you can clean them up! I go into detail on this part of the process in this exclusive video on Silhouette U. You'll learn why compound paths are so important and how to set up cut lines exactly the way you want them to create custom contour cut stickers for your business or crafts!
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