It can sometimes be hard to determine what pressure settings to use. Often times our mats have the tell tale signs of trial and error while we work on getting the perfect combination of blade length and pressure. I will admit that I hang on to my mats for a very long time. Here at Pazzles we, just like you, try to make our mats last as long as possible. The result is some very well loved mats!
I can see a lot of scratch marks on my mat. Is it normal to see the images that I cut on my mat?
Julia, Canada
It is normal to see everything that you have cut on your mat at one time or another. In fact, it is usually impossible to avoid marks on your mat from the blade. Your mat has multiple purposes when it comes to cutting. One is to hold your paper firmly enough in place that it doesn’t slip and slide around as the Inspiration is trying to cut your project. Another purpose is allowing the blade to have a soft surface to come in contact with so that your blade and your machine aren’t damaged.
When you are first learning your machine, you might worry that the marks the blade leaves mean something is wrong and your mat is ruined. Don’t get too caught up in the fact you can see your designs on your mat—that is normal. The only time that you should worry about a mat being ruined is if your blade has completely (or almost completely) cut through your mat. Even if you do cut too deeply in to your mat you can keep using the mat. Just make sure to lower your blade and pressure settings for future cuts. I hope that the examples above will give you a better idea what a well used, well loved, normal mat looks like.
Another good thing to remember is if you are cutting a lot of images for an event or party you might continue to load your paper and cut the images in the same location on your mat. In the picture above you can see that I have cut several damask designs and a scallop edge at the top of the mat in the same location over and over and it has left a hefty impression on my mat. Usually it is best to vary the spot you cut something on you mat, this will help your mat last longer. However if you do end up cutting the same thing over and over in the same spot don’t be alarmed by the marks left in your mat, they are normal!
I guess I just don’t know how to get my mats to work properly. I have used so many different techniques I’ve seen, but I still get a too sticky mat or a mat that is not sticky enough. I was just wondering if, from production, the mats adhesive could be a little less sticky (for lack of a better word, watered down a bit)?