This August, Silhouette America released a new feature for their Silhouette Studio Designer Edition^R software. This new feature, named PixScan^R, works with both the CAMEO^R and the Portrait^R and gives more versatility to your cutting. All you need is a special cutting mat. There is one for both the CAMEO and Portrait.

If you have used the print and cut feature, then you are already familiar with how registration marks work in the Silhouette. The basic steps for the print and cut are to first print the image that you wish to cut. When the image is printed by your printer, the Silhouette automatically adds registration points. Then the Silhouette will read these registration marks to cut the image precisely from the material.

The PixScan works much the same way in that it also relies on registration marks to accurately cut the image. However, the registration marks are already on the PixScan cutting mat. So, of course, you would need to adhere the image within the mat’s border lines and then import both the image and the mat into the software. But how?

You have several options for importing the mat and image. After adhering the image to the mat, you can take a picture of the entire mat, using your camera, smartphone or tablet. Then you will load the photo on to your computer as usual. From there, you will click on the PixScan icon to use the new PixScan pane. Just click the Import from File button to open the file browser to import the photo into the Silhouette software.

If taking a photo is not an option for you, don’t worry. You can also scan the mat and image. You will go to the PixScan pane, click the Import from Scanner button and import the scan from your scanner. Once you have the image into the software, you can create the cutting lines as usual with the Trace feature.

This new feature is great for cutting hand drawn art, from your child’s latest masterpiece to an elaborate drawing by a professional artist. Other images that you might wish to digitize into your Silhouette Library are fabric designs, stamped images, photos and more. PixScan can even "auto-stitch" multiple scans together for making larger projects.

Silhouette, Silhouette Studio, Silhouette Connect, PixScan, Silhouette CAMEOR and Silhouette Portrait are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Silhouette America, Inc. Product screen shot(s) reprinted with permission from Silhouette America, Inc.