I have had this marvelous image-cutting machine for three days now. I figured out that these are the steps I need to take to produce my popup pictures:

If the image already is outlined in black, such as many clip art and Disney-type images are, try this:

Save the image to the desktop.
Drag it into the Silhouette program.
Select Trace Area.
Trace Outer Edge.

If that doesn’t produce a clear red outline [necessary for a clear cut], and/or if there is a non-white background, try this:

In Adobe Photoshop Essentials, use the Quick Selection Tool.
Copy the image, and paste it into a new white box.
Crop it, and save to the desktop.
Drag it into the Silhouette program.
Select Trace Area.
Trace Outer Edge.

If that doesn’t produce a clear red line, try this:

With the image in the Silhouette program,
Select Trace Area.
Uncheck High Pass Filter.
Increase Threshold close to 100 percent.
Trace Outer Edge.

If that doesn’t produce a clear, smooth, red line, try this:

With the image in the Silhouette program,
Select Trace Area.
Uncheck High Pass Filter.
Check Low Pass Filter.
Increase Threshold close to 100 percent.
Trace Outer Edge.

Mr. Ebsen may be contacted at robertebsen@hotmail.com