Is Silhouette Studio Business Edition Worth it Without a Silhouette Machine?

If you own a Roland, an xTool laser, DTF or UV DTF printer, a sublimation printer or any machine that isn't a Silhouette cutter, you may not have given Silhouette Studio a second thought.

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As someone who has used a lot of different printing, design and rip software for a lot of years - I can tell you with certainty - even the free version of Silhouette Studio is actually one of the most underrated design tools for non-Silhouette machine owners.

If you don't have a Silhouette machine - that makes Silhouette Studio Business Edition even more worth it for you specifically for the file formats it can export.

What is Silhouette Studio Business Edition?

Silhouette Studio is free to download and use. Business Edition is a one-time paid upgrade (not a subscription) - currently around $50 - that unlocks a whole bunch of extra features. It's the highest of three paid upgrades and gives you access to every feature in the software.

The features it adds include PNG, JPEG, PDF and SVG export, rhinestone tools, advanced knife tool, and a host of other advanced functions. For most non-Silhouette machine owners, SVG export is the primary reason to upgrade.

This makes it extremely useful as a design software for everyone from Cricut crafter to those with laser engravers, DTF printers and even Roland print and cut machines.

Why SVG Export Matters for Roland Users Specifically

Roland's VersaWorks RIP software is excellent at printing and cutting, but it's lacking in the design area and it's a D+ at best at adding cut lines. For any print and cuts with Roland, you'll need to add a cut line that has a specific stroke color and 95% of the time, you'll need another software program to do it.

Affinity Designer - which handles the spot color naming - can't easily create an offset from a PNG. There's no trace or offset tool for raster images in Affinity. So you need another design software for that step which is where Silhouette Studio shines. But, Silhouette Studio can't name a stroke color in a way Versaworks can recognize it so you need to export from there in SVG format for Affinity.

The whole workflow takes about two minutes once you've done it a couple of times. However, it's not possible at all without Business Edition unlocking the ability to export as an SVG.

What else Business Edition unlocks

SVG export is the main reason non-Silhouette machine owners upgrade, but Business Edition also adds a whole lot of other features including advanced options for rulers, the knife and more. I go into full depth on the benefits of Silhouette Studio Business Edition here.

For Roland users the SVG export along justifies the one-time $50 fee.

Is it actually worth $50?

If you're regularly printing and cutting stickers with Roland or needing to trace / vectorize files to create cut lines Business Edition is worth it. The alternative is piecing together other tools or using Illustrator (significantly more expensive) just to save as an SVG.

If you only occasionally need SVG export or you're not sure yet how often you'll need it, it's still a low-risk purchase given it's a one-time cost rather than a monthly subscription.

See the full workflow in action

If you want to see exactly how Silhouette Studio Business Edition fits into the Roland white border sticker workflow - from opening a PNG in Studio all the way through VersaWorks - that full process is covered in the latest Silhouette U video for Roland members.

Silhouette U members get access to 700+ step-by-step tutorials including the complete Roland white border workflow, plus same-day support from Melissa when you get stuck. Watch it here if you're already a member. If you're not yet, you can learn more about Silhouette U here.

Note: This post may contain affiliate links. By clicking on them and purchasing products through my links, I receive a small commission. That's what helps fund Silhouette School so I can keep buying new Silhouette-related products to show you how to get the most out of your machine!

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