While the question asks about placing Smart Vinyl on a mat, Smart Vinyl is specifically designed for cutting without a mat. The standard process for using Smart Vinyl involves loading it directly into your compatible cutting machine. The method described below is for loading Smart Vinyl matless, which is its intended use based on the provided reference.
Loading Smart Vinyl (Matless)
Smart Vinyl materials are engineered to feed directly into your machine without the need for a cutting mat, allowing you to make longer cuts.
Here is the process for loading Smart Vinyl directly into your machine:
- Preparation: Ensure your material has a straight edge for the best results. Trim the leading edge if necessary.
- Alignment: Align the left edge of your Smart Vinyl against the left material guide on your cutting machine.
- Insertion: Slide the vinyl under the machine's mat guides.
- Positioning: Continue sliding the material upward until it is positioned against the machine rollers.
- Loading: The machine's rollers will grip and load the material. Follow the prompts on your machine or software to complete the loading process and begin your cut.
Reference Information:
- "Align material against left material guide on the machine, then slide it under the mat guides and up against the machine rollers."
- "For best results, make sure your material has a straight edge."
This process allows the machine to feed the Smart Vinyl directly, enabling efficient and long cuts without the handling required for a mat.
Note: If you are working with smaller scraps of Smart Vinyl or other standard vinyl types, you would typically place them onto an adhesive cutting mat first, and then load the mat into the machine. However, the process described in the reference is for the matless loading of Smart Materials.
