Usually, when the paper is ripping or tearing, there is too much pressure~your Cricut is pressing harder than needed and you may even see cuts into the mat (your mat will show some cutting outlines and wear and tear after lots of use).
The pressure setting is for the amount of force the Cricut puts on the cutting arm (which holds the blade). More pressure or a higher number, means more force is used to push the blade through the media you are cutting. Think of it the same as if you were writing. . .if you press really hard with the pencil, you will not only write but leave indention marks in your paper. Press even harder and the pencil point may break. But if you press lightly, you won't have those problems.
The speed controls how fast the blade is moving. Slower speeds are used when the design you are cutting is more intricate and has lots of sharp turns or tiny cuts. You can use the faster speeds for simpler shapes like circle and squares and such.
The blade numbers are the blade depth. If you look at the blade housing unit, you will see very little of the blade extending. By increasing the blade depth (turning the dial to the higher numbers), you increase the amount of the blade that will extend when cutting making it easier for the Cricut to cleanly cut through your paper or cardstock. For thinner media, use a lower number and for thicker media, use a higher number.
As far as basic shapes, there is a free set of images for anyone that uses Cricut Craft Room called Craft Room Basics. There is also a cart named George and Basic Shapes that has the basics. Other than that, you will find some shapes on most all the carts. Just recently I discovered a whole bunch of shapes on the Once Upon a Princess cart in the Gems layer!
You can search for images in Cricut Craft Room or on mycutsearch.com.
Edited by user Thursday, March 29, 2012 12:20:22 PM(UTC)
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