Cricut Explore - Text Tutorial

Hello again.  I have a new tutorial for you.  This is how to do text in Design Space.  This is going to be a long tutorial, since there is a lot to text.  But once you get it, it is very easy to do.

So lets get started.

 You can download fonts and use them in Design Space.  Will want to make sure they are TrueType fonts.  The other kinds will not work well in Design Space.  Choose the you would like, and download them.  This is from fontspace.com  In Chrome, the download will show up at the bottom of the screen.  Click to upload to the computer.

It will pull up this screen.  This does not mean it is download.  You must install. Choose the font file. Once it pulls up, there will be a install button. Once you do this, it is now installed to your computer and can be used.

In Design Space, click on the text button on the left of the screen.  This will open a text box.  You must type something in to choose the font and other edits. Fonts can only be accessed from here.  When you go from insert image, it will not show up under the cartridge.

At the top, you can choose font options.  All fonts will pull up every font from Cricut and the computer. System fonts are all the fonts that are downloaded to you computer. Cricut fonts are all the fonts that Cricut offers.  This will include ones you do not own.  Single layer will exclude any font with a shadow.  Has a writing style is what you would like to write without an outline.  Not all fonts have this option. 

 If you do not own a font, there will be a price next to it. They are from $4.99 to $6.99.  Once you buy a font, it is yours. Some of the fonts are included in the subscription.

You can easily find a font by typing it in the search bar right under the fonts name. You do not have to type in the whole thing, it will start pulling up names that fit, like shown above.

When you switch to write, the font will write the same way its cuts. This means it will write with an outline. Now once you choose has a writing style, it will write with a single stroke. Not all fonts have a writing style. You can see the difference between the two,
I forgot the do an arrow, but right below the name, you can choose regular, bold, bold italic, and if it is a writing style, writing and writing italic.
When you change to writing style, it will automatically change to write.

You can change the size by point, just like if you were changing font size in word.  This comes in handy when trying to write in a card or on an envelope.
Or you can change the size by inches below letter spacing.
If you are doing words like above, you can change the justification to left, center or right.

Below the justification, is how the letters are grouped. You can do a word together or individual letters.

Once you chose to have the letters separate, you can move them, change theirs size, even mirror them.  You can use the layers button to change the colors or switch to cut, ect.

Letter spacing will allow you to move letters together or apart. You can do vertically and horizontally.

You can rotate the letters by degree.

You can mirror left to right and up and down.

You can move on a x y axis.  This will make it easy to line up words. Have the letter on the same y plane. This is 2.74. If you do not attach, this will not come up once you go to cut.

Some fonts have two layers, a shadow. You will need to ungroup to separate them.

Use flatten to print. Weld to change the text into one cut.

This is a welded word.  I switched to outline so you could see that they are attached. The letters must be overlapping to able to weld.

Difference between write, cut and print,You can change these under the layers box.  The only time it will change to write automatically when you choose writing style. Any other will have to be changed  manually. If you have writing style, it can not be changed to cut or print, but can be scored.

If you want to write inside an image, you must attach to keep the writing inside.  If you do not, they will show up on different mats. or next to each other.

This is what it should look like in the mat preview. If it does not, go back and attach.

It does not matter what setting you have it on, it will always write with the same pressure.
You can have it write with different colors on the same mat. It will prompt you to switch the color of the pens.

Place the pen in the pen holder, on the left of the housing. Go until it clicks. The pen should not be touching the mat at this time. If you are using a pen that is not Cricut brand, you can place a Popsicle stick and use that as a guide of placement for the pen. It must touch the Popsicle stick. 

Here are two different type of pens, The first is the Cricut pen that came with the Explore. The bottom is the V5 pen, which is a super fine pen. There are more pens and markers that fit in the machine. 

American Craft chalk markers (not bold)

American Crafts Galaxy markers (medium)

American Crafts Slick writer (fine or medium)

American Crafts Precisions pens (fine)

American Crafts Metallic marker (fine or medium)

Amy Tangerine Slick writer (fine)

Bic Round Stic ballpoint 

Crayola Fine Line (not washable)

Marvy LePlume II 

Pilot Precise V5 pens (.5mm) (clicker kind will not work)

Project Life pens

Recollections (fine and medium)

Recollections Photo markers (fine and medium)

  There are more, I just haven't found a list for them.

The biggest question is if markers like Bic and Sharpie works with the Explore. It does not.  But there is an adapter that can be used to use different pens and markers that cannot fit. I have no used them but have seen videos on them.  You can find it {http://www.amychomas.com}.

Now you can write on everything, bags and envelopes and make your own tags and cards. 

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