Design Space 3 Cricut

Learn how to use Cricut Design Space for Desktop/Laptop and cut a beginner project on the Cricut Maker! This free series of online classes walks you through the process of unboxing, setting up, connecting, with your Cricut, as well as knowing your tools and supplies, and an overview of Cricut Design Space. Cricut Design Space. Downloading Cricut Design Space. In order for your Cricut machine to work, you need to have access to a PC or Mac computer or an Android or iOS mobile device. This is because the machine works using a specific software to create and cut. The name of the design software is Cricut Design Space. It is a free program.

May 22, 2021

It’s a banner day at Cricut headquarters. We’re thrilled to announce the latest generation of two of our industry-leading smart cutting machines.

Introducing Cricut Maker 3™, the most powerful smart cutting machine we’ve ever made.

Also meet Cricut Explore 3™, a perfect (and perfectly affordable) entry point into the world of pro-level crafting.

Thanks to some incredible innovation and a lot of hard work from our development teams, not only can these machines do everything they can today, but now they have more performance and features packed into the same compact, home-friendly footprint you already know and love.

Make in record time.

We’ve heard from you that the only thing that holds you back from making is time. While we can’t change the fact that there are 24 hours in a day, we can change how fast your cutting machine can work for you. The all-new Cricut Maker 3 and Cricut Explore 3 have more powerful motors, which means you now have the ability to cut up to 2X faster than before, when using Smart Materials™ — all without sacrificing power or precision.

Introducing Smart Materials.

Both Cricut Maker 3 and Cricut Explore 3 work with our all-new Smart Materials™. We designed these machines and Smart Materials to work together. The machines have special material guides, and the materials are engineered with a proprietary construction — all to keep your materials perfectly aligned and on track from start to finish. All of this adds up to a big new creative opportunity: For the first time ever, you can make cuts up to 12 ft (3.6 m) long in one go. Sensors inside the machines measure your material before cutting to ensure you have enough for your project. If more material is needed, Design Space® will prompt you to load more.

Since there’s nothing to prep, you can keep your focus on the best part — making.

Here’s an overview of Cricut Smart Materials available at launch:

Smart Vinyl™

The all-new Cricut Smart Vinyl is available in both permanent and removable varieties. It also comes in a wide array of colors, effects, and material lengths from 3 ft (0.9 m) to 75 ft (22.9 m).

Smart Iron-On™

Cut a single image up to 4 ft (1.2 m) or repeated shapes up to 12 ft (3.6 m). Make a custom T-shirt for yourself or the entire team. Available in a variety of colors and effects.

Smart Paper™ Sticker Cardstock

That’s right — with Smart Paper, you’ll be able to just load a sheet into the machine without a mat. With the perfect kiss cut, all you need to do is peel and stick. Create fun cards, bold banners, and layered paper projects without the messy glue.

New machines, new accessories.

Both machines are compatible with Roll Holder (sold separately) to support rolls of Smart Materials up to 75 ft (22.9m). It keeps your material tidy for a hands-free feed into the machine and even has a convenient built-in trimmer for super-clean finish.

You might also love our new 13 in (30.5 cm) Portable Trimmer (sold separately) to keep all of your materials neat, clean, and ready for the next cut.

Beautiful from all angles.

There’s one more obvious change to Cricut Explore 3 – no dial! Now, all material settings are in Design Space. Cricut Explore 3 also features a tray to hold your mobile device or tablet while working.

We designed the new Cricut Maker 3 and Cricut Explore 3 machines to complement your workspace without dominating the room. Each sophisticated and sleek machine will look great in your space.

Cricut Explore 3 and Cricut Maker 3 will be available in the United States and Canada online June 10th and in stores by the end June. If you live outside of those regions, Cricut Maker 3 and Cricut Explore 3 will be available online and in stores as soon as June 10th.

More questions?

Check out machine-specific FAQs for Cricut Explore 3 and Cricut Maker 3.

Here are some Q & As we think might interest you today:

Q: What’s the main differences between the machines?

Design Space 3 Cricut

A: Check out the chart below.

Q: Can I cut Smart Materials on previous models of Cricut Explore and Cricut Maker?
A: Cricut Explore 3 and Cricut Maker 3 have been designed, optimized, and rigorously tested for use with Smart Materials. Smart Materials are not intended for use with previous-generation Cricut Explore or Cricut Maker machines unless placed on a machine mat. Using Smart Materials with older machines without a mat may cause material jams, compromise cutting precision, and damage machine parts, so this use is at your own risk.

Q: What happened to Maker 2?
A: In short, we made substantial improvements to both Cricut Maker and Cricut Explore Air 2 to make them smarter and faster than ever. Because Cricut Explore 3 was launched in concert with Cricut Maker 3, it was easier to give them both the same 3rd generation reference, because really, they both deserve it!

Q: How fast does Cricut Maker 3 and Cricut Explore 3 cut?
A: On Smart Materials, Cricut Maker 3 and Cricut Explore 3 can cut two times faster than Cricut Maker and Cricut Explore Air 2’s Fast Mode. Cricut Maker 3 can cut up to 8 inches (20.32cm) per second on the x axis, 8 inches (20.32cm) per second on the y axis, and has 100 inches (254cm) per second squared acceleration.

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Quick Summary – If you just want to convert a file for free, use one of the buttons above. Read on to understand when to choose between PNG or SVG. Basically, with a PNG flat file, you can control what is solid or transparent for cutting. With SVG, you can work with individual elements, layers, and colors. When enlarging, SVG stays crisp and clear while the PNG will get blurry or pixelated.

5Why IS SVG Better Than PNG?
6Upload your Design to Cricut Design Space

Design with your Favorite Applications and Use PDF as the Bridge

Do you want to use PDF in Cricut Design Space? Even if you don’t know it yet, you will want to! PDF files can be created in any application and they scale to any size without losing quality.

It’s simple. Use your favorite vector illustration or presentation program to create your design and save it as a PDF file. Then, use the free service ConvertPDF.Today to generate any of the formats that Design Space uses. Your design will be converted flawlessly to either a vector (SVG or DXF) or image format (JPG, PNG, GIF, or PNG) ready for cutting. You’ll get a perfect match: no font mismatches, no broken lines, no hassles.

Save time and ensure the best quality by designing in the program that’s most comfortable for you. Then run it through ConvertPDF.Today to get it ready for your Cricut machine.

Three Tips for using PDF in Design Space

  1. Use a vector format (SVG is best) when possible to give you the most flexibility to modufy and resize the design in Design Space without having to return to the original program that you designed it in.
  2. Convert text to curves if you need an exact match when importing. Fonts are a big can of worms and can cause all sorts of issues when moving from PDF to SVG. If you want to continue working with the text in Design Space, don’t convert it to curves but know that a font substitution may be made if the same font that you chose is not available in Design Space.
  3. Ungroup designs in SVG to work with each element if needed and group before resizing to ensure fidelty.

Can I upload a PDF to Cricut Design Space?

Yes, by converting it into one of the five formats that Design Space supports. Listed below, the best vector format to use is SVG and the best bitmap image format to use is PNG.

VECTOR Formats

  • SVG – Scalable Vector Graphic Format – Best vector choice for cutting)
  • DXF – CAD Interchange Format (Cumbersome format, font issues)

BITMAP IMAGE Formats

  • JPG – Lossy Format; Best for designs with photos
  • PNG – Portable Format; Best image format for cutting
  • GIF – Limited Color Palatte; OK for Line Art

Which Is Better for Cricut – SVG or PNG? Vector or Bitmap?

PDF is a vector format. This means that all the objects and text can be individually manipulated in Cricut Design Space. If you search for advice on using PDF in Cricut Design Space, you’ll be advised that all you can do is create a JPEG or PNG image format. This simply isn’t true!

Raster formats are very limited since they are flat bitmap images. Ideally, since PDF starts as a vector format, you want to convert it to a vector format. This ensures that no objects or text are lost or flattened into raster images. Choose a vector format – SVG is ideal for cutting applications. With access to all of the objects, attributes, and text, you’ll have full control over every element in your project

Why IS SVG Better Than PNG?

The simple answer is that the PNG design is locked down and SVG isn’t. You can’t ungroup PNG and change the design. You can just turn on and off areas to cut. With SVG, a vector format, you can ungroup and modify all the elements of your design, including shapes, text, and fonts, using the editing tools in Design Space.

Below are examples of vector (SVG) and bitmap graphics (PNG) in Cricut Design Space. As you can see, the vector formats allow you the freedom to fine-tune and modify your design right in Design Space. Functionality is very limited with bitmap images like PNG and JPEG. With these, you can just specify what’s inside and outside the cutting lines.

Read more about how to use vector and raster images on the Cricut Help Forum. You’ll also find plenty of information here on the Visual Integrity website. If you decide to purchase one of our conversion programs like pdf2picture or subscribe to ConvertPDF.Online, our cloud PDF converter, know that Cricut Access members always get free support!

Example of SVG in Design Space – Enlarge, move and change the color of the moon

When you choose a vector format like SVG or DXF, you have total control over your design – objects, attributes like color and rotation, groups, layers, and what’s on or off for cutting. In this example, we’ve imported the PDF above but changed the size and position of the moon. If this were a bitmap image, you would need to go back to your original design program, regenerate the image and import it again.

Example of PNG in Design Space – Change cutting boundaries; no way to change or move individual elements.

Cricut Design Space 3 Download Mac

Use Any Vector Drawing Program to Save Your Design as PDF

You can use any drawing or presentation application to create your design. This includes simple yet powerful tools like Microsoft PowerPoint, Adobe Spark, and Adobe Illustrator Draw for iPad. You can even use the drawing and clipart tools in Microsoft Word! As long as it is a vector drawing program and can save or share a PDF file, you are all set. You’ll be able to use your PDF in Cricut Design Space.

How To Cricut Design Space

Convert the PDF to SVG or PNG

Once you have created your PDF file, convert it for free using ConvertPDF.Today. Choose SVG as the output format if you want to make and modifications or change the size of the design. SVG is better and faster for most designs. If you want to use a bitmap format, PNG is best.

Upload your Design to Cricut Design Space

Use the Upload feature in Design Space to add your converted SVG or PNG file to the library. Choose Insert Image to open it on your design board. Now you have your PDF in Cricut Design Space!

Design Space 3 Cricut

Fine-Tune Your Design

Now that you’ve learned how to use PDF in Cricut Design Space, you are ready to get to work! Once the drawing appears on-screen, you’ll be able to edit all objects, attributes, and text. On the right, you’ll see all of the elements listed. Use all the familiar features to hide objects, change attributes, and fine-tune positioning. If you used a program that supports groups or layers, these will appear as well.

Why is PDF is a Great Design Choice for Cricut Devices?

Artistic Freedom. By choosing PDF as your output format, you can use virtually any drawing software out there, on any device. Even free apps on iPad like Adobe Illustrator Draw will give you the power you need to make great designs. All your tool of choice needs to be able to do is save or share as PDF.

Cricut Design Space 3 Download

Design Space 3 Cricut

PDF in Cricut means Flexibility. Because PDF is a vector format, all the imported elements in Cricut Design Space will be scalable. This means that you can resize them from tiny to huge without skipping a beat.

Change Those Attributes. With Bitmap images like PNG and JPEG, what you see is what you get. You can’t change colors and you can’t change objects. All you can do is turn the whole flat image on or off for cutting. In vector formats like SVG, every element can be moved, modified, deleted or resized. Using vector graphics, you have a much finer level of control over your masterpiece.

Cricut Design Space 3 Login

Limitations of scanned PDF files. Once any drawing is scanned, it has already been reduced to a bitmap image in a PDF wrapper. Unfortunately, all vector information is removed when scanned. You can still convert these PDF files to SVG but the resulting file will be a PNG image (wrapped as SVG). Not to worry! Although not as functional as SVG and vector formats, Cricut still handles PNG files exceptionally well.