The CrAFT Studio at UNC Asheville: Frequently Asked Questions

Silhouette Cameo 3 Frequently Asked Questions

What is the Silhouette Cameo?
The Silhouette Cameo is a programmable cutting machine similar to the Cricut or Brother cutting machines. It uses a blade to cut through materials such as:

• Paper;
• Cardstock;
• Adhesive Vinyl (e.g. Orcal 651);
• Heat Transfer Material;
• And much more!

What can I make with the Cameo 3?
You can create SO much with the Cameo 3! Items include:

• Single color vinyl stickers
  • ​These stickers are great for water bottles, laptops, cars, and much more! They are permanent stickers. 
• Custom apparel and textiles
  • Using heat transfer vinyl, you can create custom t-shirts, tote bags, and much more...all you have to do is supply the item and (if you want a specific shade of vinyl) the heat transfer vinyl!
• Bulletin board decorations
  • ​Attention resident assistants and future teachers! The Cameo 3 can help you create AMAZING bulletin board and/or wall and door signage using cardstock and vinyl! You can also use the sketch function on the Cameo to draw designs directly on the paper!

What type of materials do you keep in stock?

• Our cardstock offerings consist of;
  • matte textured cardstock ($.25 per square inch) in a variety of colors;
  • and metallic glitter cardstock ($.50 per square inch) in a variety of colors.
• Our vinyl offerings consist of;
  • standard Orcal 651 glossy permanent vinyl ($.25 per square inch) in a variety of colors;
  • glitter permanent vinyl ($.50 per square inch) in UNC Asheville oriented colors of royal blue, black, and silver;
  • and heat transfer vinyl ($.50 per square inch) in a variety of colors.
• We also carry a small stock of other types of paper and vinyl; please contact Amanda Glenn-Bradley, User Engagement Librarian for details!

I need ___ type of material; can the CrAFT Studio order it for me?
You are certainly welcome to contact us with material requests! If we feel like the material would be a good addition to our offerings, we can certainly explore purchasing it. This process takes time, however. 

Can I bring my own materials?
Yes, you can! All provided materials must be cleared by Amanda Glenn-Bradley before hand. The cost to use your own materials is a $2.50 machine usage and finishing fee. After your material is approved, you can make an appointment to drop off your materials and pay for your print after we run it through the quality check process.

How large can my designs be?
The Silhouette Cameo 3 can accept prints that do not exceed 12 inches in one direction. Our standard vinyl and cardstock sheets are 12 inches by 12 inches.

What if my design job falls outside of the dimensions outlined above, or I have a specialty material request?
We can accommodate specific types of specialty prints; please contact Amanda Glenn-Bradley, User Engagement Librarian and Coordinator of the CrAFT Studio for additional information.

Who can use the desktop cutter?
Our space, equipment, and services are intended for current UNC Asheville students, faculty, and staff use only. If you're a community member and interested in custom desktop cutting, check out Asheville Makers!

How much does it cost to use the desktop cutter?
The formula we use to calculate print cost for designs we furnish the materials for is:
Size of the finished design (rounded to the nearest .5 square inch) x Cost of the materials
For user-furnished materials we charge a flat $2.50 machine usage fee. Check out the main Desktop Cutting System page for more details!

How can I pay for my design?
You will receive a e-mail upon receipt of your file from the CrAFT Studio with an estimated price for you to approve. To pay with credit/debit card, the charge is applied to your library account after you approve of the cost. You will receive a second e-mail with confirmation that the charge is active on your library account. Payments are accepted at the Circulation Desk on the main level of the library.

How long does it take for the charge to be applied to my library account?
Charges are applied to accounts three times per day (morning, mid-day, and afternoon) during normal business days. Charges received after the last payment posting (approximately 5:00 pm), after hours, on weekends, or during university holidays will be applied the next business day.

When will my design be cut?
Payment for standard prints must be received before print jobs will be processed; any print jobs left unpaid for seven (7) days will be deleted from the queue and the charge deleted from your account.

Can departments pay for the service?
Yes, and this includes paying for student organization designs! Departments must provide a fund number in their submission OR have a fund number on  file for the print to be queued up.

How long does it take to for designs to be finished?
Please allow at minimum two (2) business days for your design job to process.

Why do designs take so long?
We endeavor to complete jobs faster, but the CrAFT Studio has a number of services we have to balance! When you submit a job, the staff of the CrAFT Studio take the time to run the file through a thorough quality check, including image quality, formatting, line quality, and feasibility. We want to ensure that your prints are the highest quality that they can be! In addition, after designs are successfully cut, our staff takes the time to carefully weed (remove the excess material), and transfer the design to transfer tape. We do all of this to make sure your print comes out successfully!

Do you all have a heat press for the heat transfer vinyl?
Yes, we do! The heat press requires 24 hours notice to set up and incurs a $2.50 machine usage fee; please make a reservation using the equipment request form!

What file type do I need to send in?
You can submit a static image file (e.g. JPEG, PNG, or TIFF) at native resolution for printing. We cannot print Adobe Photoshop, Illustrator, or InDesign file types (.psd, .il, or .id).

How large (in megabites) can my file be?
We can accommodate any size of file. On the Desktop Cutting Submission Form, select File Upload if the file size is under 100 MB, or Google Drive Link if the file's size exceeds 100 MB.

What designs can I use?

You are welcome to cut/create items that you create in the Media Design Lab. This includes:

• Designs for a club or organization on campus;
  • Make sure you’re using images that are labeled for reuse or designing your own images; images with obvious watermarks will be rejected based on copyright infringement.
• Personal designs;
  • Make sure you’re designing the image at the size you’re requesting!
• Original designs that you created;
  • Make sure the file is at or over 200 ppi at the requested resolution for the best print quality!
• Creative Commons and Public Domain licensed designs;
  • Sources for these include Wikimedia Commons, Creative Commons, Flickr’s advanced search, and Google Images (Tools > Usage Rights > anything except Not filtered by license).
• Images that fall under the definition of fair use;
  • What is “fair use”? Fair use is defined as “is a copyright principle based on the belief that the public is entitled to freely use portions of copyrighted materials for purposes of commentary and criticism.” Downloading random images from Google Images does NOT constitute Fair Use. For more information on the four tenets of Fair Use we utilize to verify prints, visit http://tiny.cc/fair_use.

What will the CrAFT Studio not create?
The CrAFT Studio will not produce items that are:

• prohibited by local, state or federal law;
• can be considered unsafe, harmful, dangerous or poses an immediate threat to the well-being of others, and as such use may violate the terms of agreement with the manufacturers of our equipment;
• or is in violation of another's intellectual property rights, copyright, patent, or trademark protection.

We reserve the right to reject any print job or scan request, and that includes items that contain copywritten material or uses an artist's renderings without their express permission.

How can I ensure the best design quality?

• Make sure your file's dimensions fall within the proper specifications (see above).
• Proof your file before you submit it! No refunds will be issued in the event of mistakes.

What program should I use to create my design?
You can use a wide variety of programs to create your design! Two of our favorite products to recommend are Canva and the Adobe Suite available in the Media Design Lab.

Where do I pick up finished items?
After your item has successfully finished, you will receive an e-mail, letting you know your item is finished!