Silhouette Cameo Pixscan

It was challenging. I have been able to successfully and quickly learn a variety of electronic cutters and different graphic softwares over the years, but I had so many issues with PixScan that I finally gave up in frustration and bought the Scan N Cut. However, some of the problem was probably my lighting, because even my Scan N Cut had some issues till I changed the lights in my craft room to daylight bulbs.

It was a cumbersome process using the PixScan mat. Using the Scan N Cut is faster and easier, but even it has issues reading the stamped images sometimes. Even if the stamped images are all the same, some cut great, some of the same image on the same sheet don’t cut right.

If you already have the Silhouette, there is an alternative, rather than buying and learning a new machine. You will need software that lets you scan in images with a printer/scanner. I use Photoshop Elements software which I bought long ago, so I’m not tied to a subscription.

I use my printer/scanner to scan in my stamped images. I keep the printer connected to my Silhouette Cameo. The images come into the Silhouette software too big, so I also scan a one inch square of colored card stock next to my stamped images, which helps me to size them properly when I bring them into the Silhouette software. Once I have the stamped image imported, I can do a print and cut (in any size that I want), or I can cut it, and do the “Cut first, stamp second” method, which gives me really good results.

I did a blog post awhile back with photos that explains the Cut First, Stamp Second method:

Cut First, Stamp Second with Silhouette and a Stamp platform

If I had known I could do that with my Silhouette, I probably would not have felt justified in spending the money for the Scan N Cut. However, I like being able to just stamp and cut out images with my Scan N Cut, too, and it is often faster, especially if I am stamping images that haven’t yet been scanned into my Silhouette. For the images that have been scanned already, I am more likely to use my Silhouette and do the Cut First, Stamp Second Method. For those that I haven’t scanned in, especially images that I only want one or two of, using the Scan N Cut is faster.

I know others have succeeded with the PixScan mat, but I had to go outside on a bright, sunny morning, even to get a photo that the software would recognize. If it was cloudy or rainy, I was just out of luck. I love my Silhouette and the Silhouette software. The PixScan process, though, was a huge disappointment and frustration.

I’ve had some success too, but it was such a hassle in my opinion. I also plunged and bought the Scan-N-Cut. It’s much easier and after a few YT videos, I’ve had really good results.

I've used my Silhouette Portrait 2 with the PixScan mat and had very good results. The hardest part for me was getting the calibration (dot) sheet photographed the "right" way. Once that was done, the rest was pretty easy. Here's a card I made for my son last year. All the characters were stamped and cut out with my Silhouette and the PS mat.  I could have trimmed those little white edges, but I was in a bit of a hurry, so I left them.  In real life, they are so small that they're hardly noticeable.  (Sorry for the enormous picture!)

Cute card, riversong1963! It’s nice to know that someone has had success with the PixScan mat.

Thank you! It was fun to make!