Hey, Let's Make Stuff

Digital Files + Simple Tutorials to Make Your Life More Fun!

Learn SVG Files + Clip Art The Cricut Explore

Troubleshooting Cricut’s Print then Cut Calibration

This post and the photos within it may contain affiliate links. If you purchase something through the link, I may receive a small commission at no extra charge to you.

Pin1.1K
Stumble51
Share6
Tweet
1.1K Shares

Last updated on February 14th, 2018 at 03:18 pm

Having problems with Cricut Print then Cut Calibration? Is your Cricut Explore not reading the Print then Cut sensor marks? Here’s the fix to one possible problem.

Is your Cricut Explore not reading the Print then Cut sensor marks during calibration? Here's the fix to one possible problem.

You all know that I seriously love my Cricut Explore. But as with all relationships, sometimes we hit a bump in the road. Today that bump was calibrating my Cricut to work with the Print then Cut feature. Print then Cut allows you to print a full-color image on your home printer, and then have the Cricut cut around the edges of that image.

The first time you use this feature, you’ll be asked to calibrate your Cricut Explore (the Cricut Air and Cricut One come pre-calibrated).

Here’s the general calibration process:

  1. In the Cricut Design Space, select a Print then Cut image, and click “GO.”
  2. If this is your first time using Print then Cut, it will prompt you to calibrate.
  3. Print the calibration sheet provided by the software.
  4. Place the printed sheet on your Cricut cutting mat and hit the GO button on your Cricut.
  5. The Cricut will read the sensor marks and make a test cut on the paper, and ask you some questions about it.
  6. Then it will make a few more cuts, and ask a few more questions.
  7. Calibrated!

For me, the process completely shut down at #5. No matter what I did, the Cricut would NOT read the sensor marks.

This is not a new problem. There are lots of posts and videos of people who had a similar issue, and the Cricut site itself addresses it. If my method doesn’t work, feel free to Google something else. It sounds like there are a few different fixes. Based on other peoples’ answers, I thought it might be that the light in my room was too bright, or my cutting mat was dirty, or I didn’t have the sheet aligned on my mat properly.

Nope.

What actually happened was that even though I didn’t touch the settings for my calibration printout sheet (as advised by the Cricut software), it didn’t print correctly. You can see in this photo that the sensor marks on the top sheet (the one I printed first) were cut off. The correct sheet is the one that’s on my mat — it has the full sensor marks.

Is your Cricut Explore not reading the Print then Cut sensor marks during calibration? Here's the fix to one possible problem.


I’m not sure why the software and my printer couldn’t get along and print the calibration sheet correctly. Instead, you can download the calibration sheet directly from the Cricut website here. I didn’t have to change any settings for it to print properly — just make sure that the entire sensor marks are showing.

Once I got the correct calibration sheet into my Cricut Explore, it calibrated perfectly! Tomorrow I have my first Print then Cut file for you (here it is!) — I am so happy with how it turned out and can’t wait to share!

Having problems with Cricut Print then Cut Calibration? Is your Cricut Explore not reading the Print then Cut sensor marks? Here’s the fix to one possible problem.

Other Helpful Cricut Tips and Tricks:

  • If you use the Cricut Knife Blade to create your awesome projects, you'll have to replace it eventually. Here are my tips and tricks to make the replacement process painless.
    Changing the Cricut Knife Blade
  • If you've played around with the Cricut Knife Blade at all, you'll notice a few quirks in Cricut Design Space! Here are a few new things things you might notice when working with the Cricut Knife Blade and Cricut Design Space.
    Cricut Knife Blade and Cricut Design Space
  • There's so much to create using the Cricut Knife Blade. Here are 10 of my best tips to get it just right every time.
    Cricut Knife Blade Tips For Success
  • Before using your Cricut Knife blade, you need to calibrate it. Here are the Cricut Knife Blade Calibration steps, including screenshots and photos!
    Cricut Knife Blade Calibration
  • Want to curve text in Cricut Design Space? You finally can! This long awaited feature is easy to use—just follow these simple instructions to be curving your text in no time.
    How to Curve Text in Cricut Design Space - New Feature!
  • If you have a Cricut Maker, what sort of accessories do you want to buy to go with it? Which are important, and which are more of a splurge. Here's my ultimate list of must-have Cricut Maker Accessories!
    Must Have Cricut Maker Accessories
  • Not sure how (or even why you might want to!) to use Slice in Cricut Design Space? Here's everything you need to know about the slice tool, as well as sample images to show the results of different ways of slicing objects and shapes.
    Using Slice in Cricut Design Space
  • Attach in Cricut Design Space 9
    Using Attach in Cricut Design Space
  • How do you weld in Cricut Design Space? Here's everything you need to know about the weld tool, as well as sample images to show what welding two shapes together actually looks like.
    Using Weld in Cricut Design Space
  • If you're thinking of buying a Cricut machine, this handy guide will help you choose the right machine for the things you want to do. Now updated to include the Cricut Maker!
    How the Cricut Machine Makes Crafting Easier
  • Lost your quick reference guide for the heat settings on the Cricut EasyPress? Get a printable version and learn more about this awesome heatpress.
    Heat Settings for the Cricut EasyPress
  • Frustrated with removing materials from your Cricut mat? No need to panic! I have a bunch of tips and tricks for helping to get your mats to release your materials perfectly. A must-read for any Cricut newbie.
    Tips for Removing Materials from Your Cricut Mat
Pin1.1K
Stumble51
Share6
Tweet
1.1K Shares

Comments

  1. Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! My page would not print correctly and I messed with settings for over an hour trying to get it to print right. You’re the ONLY one with the fix. You are so wonderful for sharing your knowledge!

    Reply

  2. I just want to say thank you from the bottom of my heart. It’s late, I need to get something done and I was about to cry. I’ve had my machine for a year now and always run into this problem and it takes hours to resolve. I will keep this in mind next time because IT WORKED!

    Reply

  4. Whew! Tried several times yesterday to calibrate and wasn’t successful. Mine was stopping at the 2nd mark and would quit each time saying it couldn’t read the scan mark. I found your site and thought I had found the fix. I printed the page you linked and it still didn’t work. My heart sank. Then, I read where you need to make sure there are no special settings for the printer. I had checked “fit to page”, so I unchecked that and tried again. Still no luck. Then I printed your linked page and Woohoo! The combination of unchecking the box and printing from your link did the trick I am happy!

    Reply

  5. Thank you, SO MUCH!!!! After spending 2 hours on the phone with Cricut yesterday, and viewing other sites for tips, to no avail, I was ready to GIVE UP!! I found your suggestions today, and ta-dah!! Using this PDF for the calibration was just the thing I needed! THANK YOU for taking the time to share!!

    Reply

  6. WOW. Pretty sure your article just saved my Cricut from going through the window! LOL I was feeling totally helpless, and then, poof! Your article saved the day. THANK YOU SO MUCH!

    Reply

  7. I’ve been having issues trying to calibrate my Cricut since I bought it last year. Unfortunately the calibration file on the Cricut website doesn’t exist anymore (404 error). Do you happen to have a copy of it saved that you don’t mind sharing?

    Reply

  8. Having the same issue, and getting the 404 error for the direct link to print the page. This has been most frustrating. :(

    Reply

    • FINALLY got it to work, by using Firefox as my web browser. When I used chrome, it would not recognize the sensor marks. I even tried writing over the marks with a sharpie, as suggested on other sites. It was so discouraging. I don’t know why it will work on Firefox and not Chrome, but it does. I’m working from a Mini Mac, with an Epson printer and Cricut Explore.

      Reply

  9. Thank you so so so much, i have been trying to figure this out all day. Thank you so much.

    Reply

  10. Does thins applies to Cricut one that what I have I print out the print from the link how do I get it to scan if I don’t have the image in my design space?

    Reply

  11. I have a question I hope you can answer. I have a cricut air. I’m trying to print and cut tinker bell. When tinker bell prints she will only print in a funny pink color. O checked my printer settings and they are ok. When I print from word tinker bell prints in color it seems to be just from my cricut. Can you help?

    Reply

  12. Thank you so much for writing this post! I’ve been troubleshooting for two days, I’ve bought new ink cartridges, cleaned the printer heads, moved to every possible lighting situation in my home, adjusted settings ad nauseam, and etc all to no avail! I’m up against one of those crafting deadlines (you know the situation where the time the project took in your head ended up being way less than the project in actuality! Lol no? No idea what I mean? Just me then? Lol), and I was about in tears. Your fox did the trick! Thanks again for sharing.

    Reply

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recent Reader Favorites

Hey Let's Make Stuff is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com.

See our Privacy Policy.