SVG for Vinyl Cutting
SVG is the standard file format for vinyl cutting. Cricut, Silhouette, Roland, and Graphtec all accept SVG as a native input. This guide covers how to create, structure, and prepare SVG files that cut cleanly and weed easily.
About SVG for vinyl cutting
Vinyl cutters read SVG paths as physical cut trajectories. Each closed path in an SVG becomes one cut operation: the cutter head follows the path at a programmed speed and pressure, slicing through the vinyl to create the die-cut shape.
SVG requirements for vinyl cutting: — Closed paths: every shape must be a fully closed path. Open paths cause the cutter to lift and reposition, leaving uncut gaps. — Filled shapes (not strokes): most vinyl cutters read the outer boundary of filled shapes as the cut path. Stroke-only paths may not cut as expected in consumer software like Cricut DS. — No embedded rasters: SVGs with embedded PNG or JPEG images do not cut. Remove or replace with traced vector paths. — Clean union: overlapping paths from tracing can cause double-cuts or missed weeds. Use Path > Union in Inkscape before importing.
Creating a vinyl-ready SVG from a raster image: 1. Upload the image to the vectorizer and download the SVG. 2. Open in Inkscape, run Path > Break Apart, then Path > Union for single-color cuts. 3. Check for open paths using the Node Editor. 4. Import into Cricut Design Space or Silhouette Studio.
For multi-colour vinyl layering, keep each colour as a separate SVG file and cut each one from the matching vinyl colour. Apply layers from bottom to top, using a registration mark for alignment.