Specialty Vinyl Designs: Two, Three and Four Color Cuts
By: Tay Silver | Creative Cuttables & Commercial Vector Designer
Tay here, to answer your burning questions about how to duplicate many of the multi-colored designs posted in the gallery:
I’m very excited about this post because doing multiple-colored vinyl designs is my absolute favorite! It’s a bit time consuming but considering how long you’ll display your finished vinyl craft, it’s well worth the time and effort spent.
First let me post an image of how vinyl looks when it comes out of your vinyl cutting machine. It’s the same sheet of vinyl now with lines sliced through it. The machines don’t weed and tape for us!
Luckily this is what allows us to swap out the colors. While there are various ways you can combine vinyl colors, I am going to focus on the most popular which is also the most tricky: multi-colored holiday & craft designs.
First you will need to take precision measurements of the wall, board or block you are going to apply the vinyl to.
Once you have this measurement, you need to calculate the size your vinyl cut should be to fit the space. (Usually the vinyl is one-half inch shorter in height and width to fit the space intended.) For example, our 5.5 inch square block required a 5 inch BlockART vinyl cut.
Now that you have your vinyl measurement, you’ll need to import the WordArt or graphic you’re going to cut and use the machines software to set the desired cut size. (See your user’s manual for directions on how to do this for your specific machine.)
Once the graphic is ready to be cut, you’ll need to decide how many different colors will be on the final piece. If you’re envisioning a two-color design, you’ll need to cut the graphic twice, one cut in each color. If you’re wanting a three or four color design, you’ll cut the graphic out once in each different color.
Important: You must cut each graphic at the exact same size in each color for all of the pieces to match up from one colored sheet to another. This is why your initial measurements must be correct. Altering the size of the graphic means you will need to re-cut that new sized graphic in all two, three or four colors.
Cut the first graphic and STOP to weed it. Very gently peel up one element that you do NOT want to remain in that color (ie: a brown heart you will swap for a pink heart) and view the etching lines on the vinyl backing paper. It is extremely important you be able to see these score lines left behind because they are the guides you will use to place the other colored vinyl pieces exactly where they should go. If you cannot see any score lines, slightly increase your cutting blade’s depth setting. (See your users manual for instructions on how to do this.) Here is a close-up photo of the etch line left on the backing paper after a polka dot has been removed:
Once you have cut and weeded all the pieces, it’s time to begin swapping vinyl colors. I do this by using my needle-pointed weeding tool (called a Bubble Popper, sold at SignWarehouse.com) to gently lift each vinyl element and replace it with the same shape from one of the other colored sheets.
When you’re satisfied with the final appearance after swapping the colors, cover with application tape and apply as usual. And there you have it, our trick for perfectly-spaced multi-colored vinyl designs!
Don’t miss other related articles:
- Introduction to Vinyl Cutting Machines: Tools & Supplies You’ll Need
- How to Cut Vinyl With Your Cricut, Silhouette or Wishblade Machine
- Custom Vinyl Cutting: Out of the Machine and onto the Wall
- New Uses for Vinyl: Home Décor & Craft Kits
- Creating Decor: Wood Blocks using BlockART
- Vinyl Lettering: Adding Glitter to Your Vinyl Projects
- Vinyl Lettering: Embellishing Vinyl Craft Projects
- Starting Your Vinyl Lettering Business: Where to Sell Online
- Starting Your Vinyl Lettering Business: Finding Local Customers
- Selling Vinyl Wall Art: 3 Easy Steps to Overnight Business Success
