Glossary · Step

Makerspace

Weeding

After plotting, remove the excess film material around the design so that only the design remains on the carrier.

Explained in more detail

With vinyl, a cutting plotter cuts only the colour layer and the carrier stays intact. The material between and around letters or shapes still holds together like a grid afterwards. When weeding, you peel it away and remove small inner pieces, for example in the letters a, e or o, with a weeding hook or tweezers. The finer and more detailed the design, the more work this is.

Where does the term come from?

After cutting, the leftover material looks like a grid around the design, and you remove it. In English the step is called weeding, as in pulling weeds.

In practice

• Work under good lighting so that you can see the cut lines.
• Set a frame around the design in the software, then you can peel the material off around the outside in one piece.
• If the grid is hard to remove or the carrier tears with it, the cut setting is usually wrong. Make a test cut with an adjusted material preset.

Not to be confused

Weeding is not transferring: for stickers, transfer film is applied to the design after weeding to lift it off the backing. With flex film, its own carrier sheet takes on this task.

Frequently asked questions

What tool do I need for weeding?

A weeding hook is enough for most designs, and for tiny parts fine tweezers help.