User Manual
Contents What’s in the Box? .....................................................................................................................................1 Remove Packaging from the Machine ..................................................................................................2 Register Your Machine .............................................................................................................................3 Download and Install Silhouette Studio®...........................
Silhouette Cameo® 4 User Manual What’s in the Box? The Silhouette Cameo® comes with the items shown in the following list. Check that all the items have been included before you proceed to use the machine. If you are missing any items listed below, please contact support@silhouetteamerica.com.
Silhouette Cameo® 4 User Manual Remove Packaging from the Machine There are strips of tape, cardboard, and foam to hold the moving parts of the Cameo in place during shipment to prevent any damage to the machine. Take the Silhouette Cameo® from the box and remove the strips of tape that are holding the lid and any machine pieces in place.
Silhouette Cameo® 4 User Manual Register Your Machine Go to SilhouetteAmerica.com/setup to go through all the proper steps to set up your machine. The first thing to do is create a Silhouette account, if necessary, and register your machine. Completing this step is what will allow you to access your 100 free designs in your Silhouette Library. This is the first screen you’ll see. If you already have a Silhouette account, click the Sign In link. Fill in your information.
Silhouette Cameo® 4 User Manual Download and Install Silhouette Studio® Go to step 3 on SilhouetteAmerica.com/setup to download the latest version of Silhouette Studio®. Click on your operating system (Mac or Windows) and follow the prompts on your computer to finish the installation. The software is necessary to run your Cameo 4 cutting machine, so don’t forget this step! You’ll learn more about how to use the Silhouette Studio® software later in the manual. For now, finish the machine setup process.
Silhouette Cameo® 4 User Manual Claim Your Free 1-Month Basic Subscription Once you register your Silhouette machine, you’re eligible to receive a free 1-month subscription to the Silhouette Design Store. Make sure to retrieve the promo code that was sent to your email address after you completed the registration process. With a subscription, you’ll get a certain number of credits every month to purchase designs. The number of credits you get depends on the subscription tier you have.
Silhouette Cameo® 4 User Manual Access the 100 Free Designs in Your Library After you register your Cameo 4, you will be able to access the 100 free exclusive designs that come with your machine. To view your free designs, go to the Library tab in Silhouette Studio®. The software will prompt you to sign in to your Silhouette account if you haven’t already done so. Next go to the folders on the left-hand side. Click “Free with Machine” and then “Silhouette Cameo® 4.
Silhouette Cameo® 4 User Manual Navigate Silhouette Studio® Now that you’ve downloaded Silhouette Studio®, it’s time to learn how to use it. To open Silhouette Studio®, locate the Silhouette Studio® icon on the desktop or in the Start Menu on your PC or in the Applications folder on your Mac. Double-click the icon to run the application. Once Silhouette Studio® has loaded, you will notice a blank 12-inch-by-12-inch design area on your screen as well as tools that surround that area.
Silhouette Cameo® 4 User Manual Navigation Tabs There are four tabs along the top right-hand side: Design This design area is your workspace to create projects. This area houses the toolbars, the white design page, and the gray holding area. When you are in the Library, the Silhouette Design Store, or the Send menu, click the Design tab to return to your design page.
Silhouette Cameo® 4 User Manual Design Area The Design area is the first area you’ll see when you open Silhouette Studio®, and it is the area you’ll likely spend most of the time in, so it’s important to learn how to use it to create your designs. Panels Each Silhouette Studio® Tool icon opens its own panel. Panels open on the right side of the design space, next to the Silhouette Tools icons.
Silhouette Cameo® 4 User Manual Drawing Tools The toolbar along the left side of the software houses the tools needed to create and alter basic shapes and text. Select Tool Edit Points Line Tools Drawing Tools Freehand Tools Text Tool Draw a Note Eraser Tool Knife Tool Note: If you have other editions of Silhouette Studio® (e.g. Silhouette Studio® Designer Edition), you may see more drawing tools than you see listed here. You can learn more about those tools in the Silhouette Studio® software manual.
Silhouette Cameo® 4 User Manual Text To cut letters or words using any font on your computer, choose the Text tool from the toolbar on the left-hand side of the screen. With the Text tool selected, click anywhere on the page and begin typing. The font will be a default font, but you can easily change this in the Text Style panel that pops up. After clicking on the page with the Text tool, a blinking cursor will appear. Begin typing any letters, words, or phrases you choose.
Silhouette Cameo® 4 User Manual Library Sign In The Library is where you’ll find any designs you’ve acquired from the Silhouette Design Store. You can also save your own designs to your Silhouette Library. When you click on the Library tab, you may be asked to sign in to your Silhouette account if you haven’t already done so. Input your email address and password, and click “Sign In.” If you don’t already have a Silhouette account, you can click the “Sign up FREE” link.
Silhouette Cameo® 4 User Manual Organize Your Library You can organize your designs within your Library by creating new folders for your designs. Drag any design from the right-hand window into your newly created folder in the Folders panel on the left. The numbers in circles next to each folder indicate how many designs are included in each folder. When you purchase designs from the Silhouette Design Store, those designs will show up in your Recent Downloads.
Silhouette Cameo® 4 User Manual Search Library for Designs Designs that you purchase from the Silhouette Design Store have certain keywords associated with them, and this makes searching for a specific design simple. If you want to search for a design, open your library by clicking on the Library tab. Go to the search box on the top right-hand side and type in your keyword. Use Designs from Library Once you find a design you’d like to use, double-click the design to place it on your page.
Silhouette Cameo® 4 User Manual Show Library Split Screen To view your designs space and your Silhouette Library at the same time, you can use the Library Split Screen feature. To split the screen, you must go to the Design screen. Go to the bottom left of the screen and click the folder with the down-pointing arrow (otherwise known as the Library icon) or click the triangle pointing to the right. This will open up the split screen.
Silhouette Cameo® 4 User Manual Silhouette Design Store The Silhouette Design Store contains over 150,000 designs—including simple cutouts, intricate patterns and designs, fonts and phrases, 3D designs, and more—to cut with your Silhouette machine. Most designs are only 99¢. There are sales that happen in the Design Store regularly, and generally there is a free design posted every week. To access the Silhouette Design Store, click the Store tab in the upper-right corner of the software.
Silhouette Cameo® 4 User Manual Download Designs For now, try downloading a free design by clicking this week’s free design. You can also find the Free Design on the Deals page. When you click a design, a window will pop up to give you more information about that design. Here you can see what type of design this is, the file type, and the price. To add the design to your shopping cart, click the blue cart icon.
Silhouette Cameo® 4 User Manual Send Panel When you click the Send tab, you’ll see a grayed-out version of the Design screen on the left and the Send panel on the right. The Send panel allows you to make adjustments to your cut settings so that you can make the perfect cut. There are four actions you can choose in the Send tab: Simple, Line, Fill, and Layer. Each action allows you to adjust specific cut settings.
Silhouette Cameo® 4 User Manual Prepare the Cameo 4 Place Material on the Cutting Mat Remove the nonstick liner from the cutting mat. A new mat will be very sticky at first. To avoid damaging any materials you place on your cutting mat, place the mat, sticky side down on a surface that doesn’t release too much lint, such as denim or microfiber. This will make the mat less sticky but still allow it to grab on to materials without damaging them.
Silhouette Cameo® 4 User Manual Load the Tool Choosing a tool or blade is an important step in preparing your Silhouette to cut. Since your machine comes with an AutoBlade, you can insert that. Different styles of blades are adjusted by different methods. Instructions for adjusting alternate blade types will be included on the blade packaging. AutoBlade Adjustment Socket Indicator Line If you’re using the AutoBlade, the blade will automatically adjust when you send your design to cut.
Silhouette Cameo® 4 User Manual Auto Tool Detection New to the Cameo 4 is Auto Tool Detection. This feature allows the software to detect what tool is inserted into the machine, and the software automatically populates action options in the Send panel. This feature is available only with the Cameo 4 and the Cameo 4 tools. You can see a little metal strip on the back of the tools and the tool adapters. This is what tells the machine—and in turn, the software—what tool is inserted into the tool holder.
Silhouette Cameo® 4 User Manual Adjust the Rollers By adjusting the rollers on the main roller shaft, the Silhouette Cameo® can cut the following media sizes: A4, letter, 12 inches, and 13 inches. White Rollers Lever Locate the release lever on the right side and turn it clockwise. The roller may move out of position if not locked firmly in place. Roller Head Lock Grasp the roller body and press the lock button. Roller Body While holding the lock button, slide the roller to the desired position.
Silhouette Cameo® 4 User Manual Use the Roll Feeder The built-in roll feeder is located inside a tray at the front of the Cameo 4. To open the roll feeder, gently slide out that tray completely. Note: When opened all the way, the roll feeder tray sticks out about 8 inches from the machine. If you find that the tray is sticking out about only 4 or 5 inches, the tray may be caught and may not be sliding out all the way. Gently continue to pull on the tray until it is out all the way.
Silhouette Cameo® 4 User Manual Use the Crosscutter If you are using a lined material on a roll without a cutting mat, you can use the crosscutter on the back of the machine to trim your project after it’s done cutting. The crosscutter is already attached to the Cameo. Lock Lock Crosscutter Track Crosscutter Make sure to set things up in Silhouette Studio® so that your cut will feed through the Cameo properly. First, set your cutting mat to “None” in the Page Setup panel.
Silhouette Cameo® 4 User Manual Replace the Crosscutter Cartridge If your crosscutter blade becomes dull and you need to replace it, you can do that easily by removing and replacing the crosscutter cartridge. To remove the crosscutter cartridge, press down on the top of the two end levers simultaneously. While doing that, pull the crosscutter cartridge out. It will be the long piece that is shown below. Note: Make sure the crosscutter is in the locked position before you attempt to remove the cartridge.
Silhouette Cameo® 4 User Manual Cut a Design Once your design has been picked, the material has been loaded, and the machine has been prepared, you’re ready to make your first cut! Go back to Silhouette Studio® to add in all of the necessary information you may be missing. Here’s what you can expect out of each section when you’re cutting using the Simple action. In both the Tool 1 and Tool 2 sections, you’ll see drop-down options for the material, the action, and the tool. First select your material.
Silhouette Cameo® 4 User Manual Bluetooth® Connectivity Bluetooth® Status The Silhouette Cameo® 4 is Bluetooth® compatible and allows for wireless communication. This way you can send designs from a Bluetooth®-enabled device to your Cameo 4 to cut without your machine being plugged in to your computer. To connect your Bluetooth® enabled Cameo 4, ensure that Bluetooth® is activated by pressing the Bluetooth® button on your Cameo. The backlight will turn from white to blue, indicating that it is turned on.
