THE ORIGINAL? Michelob Ultra “Mc Enroe vs Mc Enroe”– June 2022 “2022 John McEnroe is playing a match
against a younger version of him” Cannes GOLD Lion (Digital Craft)
Watch the Case Study Video
Agency : FCB New York (USA)
LESS ORIGINAL Nike “Never Done Evolving” – Sept 2022 “2017 Serena Williams is playing a match
against a younger version of her” Source : Ad Age
Watch the Case Study Video
Agency : AKQA (USA / Australia / Brazil)
Those of you who have been reading CSS-Tricks for a while may remember that we used to publish a little thing we called CSS-Tricks Chronicles. Our friend Chris Coyier would write up a reflection from the past couple of months or so, and it was a great way to get a pulse on what’s happening around CSS-Tricks, the site, and what the team is doing.
We like that and want to keep it going. It’s a new era, though! So what we’re going to do is welcome you back to what we’re now calling Behind the CSScenes. You’re going to meet some new and familiar faces in these updates, starting with Haley Mills, who is kicking off the very first issue.
How’s the transition going?
[Haley Mills:] Before we dive in, let me start by introducing myself! My name is Haley, and I’m the manager of Content Integration here at DigitalOcean. I’ve been at DigitalOcean for 5 years and previously worked on our editorial team, helping authors publish all sorts of topics through our Write For DOnations program.
Many folks here at DigitalOcean (including myself) are avid readers of CSS-Tricks, and we still have to pinch ourselves for how lucky we are to be entrusted with this community. We recognize that CSS-Tricks is a critical free resource for devs across the world, and my goal is to keep it that way.
Since the acquisition, we have published 95 pieces of new content and look forward to growing that number.
In the month of August, we performed maintenance on 6 existing pieces of content.
That said, change is to be expected when passing a torch.
I think we all know that no one can replace Chris’ voice — it’s a big reason why CSS-Tricks is, well, CSS-Tricks. His ability to have you laughing while learning something new is a skill that few can compete with. I know many of you miss his writing because you told us so in a survey (which we’ll get to in a bit), but it also opens up a huge opportunity for us all to take the torch and continue doing what CSS-Tricks does best:
Find creative solutions to problems and share them with the world. Chris brought people together this way on CSS-Tricks — and you can give back, too.
Your blossoming idea could turn out to be what the Flexbox Guide is for me and so many other people, so I humbly encourage you to reach out in our Guest Writing Form and talk to us about your topic ideas. We have two awesome editors, Geoff and Brad, to help you shape and bring your ideas to life to share with the CSS-Tricks community. In addition to paying you for your contribution, we will now also make a matching donation to a tech-focused charity of your choice.
Next up, we have Product Manager Karen Degi with some survey result highlights.
The results are in…
[Karen Degi:] In June, we shared a survey to collect feedback to help shape the future of CSS-Tricks. We received almost 900 responses, including some great written responses that helped us understand what CSS-Tricks means to the larger community.
Many of you also volunteered to talk to us directly, which has us thinking about the best way to gather those thoughts. If you’re one of those folks, know that we haven’t forgotten about you and still want to hear from you. We just want to make sure we approach this in the most effective way!
The survey confirmed some things we already suspected and brought new things to our attention. The top few things that grabbed our attention are:
Engaging, high-quality content is at the heart of CSS-Tricks. We’re working to make sure that we continue investing in in-depth guides on front-end topics, as well as providing short articles about quick tricks and tutorials with embedded demos.
You love RSS! As we continue investing in CSS-Tricks and bringing new functionality, we’ll make sure we keep an eye on how our changes affect the RSS feed.
You come to CSS-Tricks to learn, to be entertained, and to do your jobs better. You do not come to CSS-Tricks because you’re excited about being sold…well, anything, really. Although we think DigitalOcean is pretty great, and we’ll probably continue to talk about ourselves where it makes sense, we understand that we need to do so in a way that is honest, trustworthy, and connected to your needs as a front-end enthusiast.
Next up is Logan Liffick, Senior Digital Experience Designer, with redesign updates.
A redesign is in the works!
[Logan Liffick:] If you’ve worked on the front end — or really anywhere on the web, you’re bound to know CSS-Tricks. It’s where I, and many others, started the journey. So, when I was asked to spearhead a redesign for the site, it was nothing short of an honor. Without a doubt, undertaking a brand update for something so familiar to so many is a challenge of incredible magnitude
If I were to do justice to this project, I’d need to pay tribute to the original. That mentality became the underlying theme of my work, and any effort to rejuvenate took inspiration from existing patterns and styles from the site.
Upon first glance, you’ll notice the fresh coat of paint. Past that, you’ll recognize the site reads more “editorial” than before. This was a purposeful decision to accentuate existing type stylings and, more importantly, to pay homage to the essence of CSS-Tricks as an informational resource.
Preserving the element of “fun” was also top of mind. Sprinkled throughout the site are various snippets from the actual CSS “tricks” shared on this site — for example, there’s going to be a little Easter egg tucked inside a sticky footer using Preethi’s slide-out effect that’s my personal favorite, a fantastic suggestion from Geoff himself. Gradients are now a core color-way in the system, and border-radii have been rounded out.
We wanted to give ourselves permission and space to explore an open-ended and malleable system far into the future, which lines up nicely with the overall mission and goal of CSS-Tricks: to explore what’s possible with CSS. This is just the beginning, there’s so much more to see, do, and learn with CSS-Tricks living in our (digital) ocean.
Next is Geoff with author highlights!
New authors!
[Geoff:] We’ve added a few new faces to our growing list of guest authors who have contributed to CSS-Tricks:
You may have also seen our editor Bradley Kouchi’s name pop up a couple of times, and you can expect to continue seeing him on a semi-regular basis.
That’s 16 new authors! You can be one, too, by filling out our guest writing form.
On a related note, I’m pleased as punch that we still get regular contributions from a large band of familiar faces from before the DigitalOcean acquisition. Just look at all the fine folks who’ve continued to share their great ideas with us:
Big shake-ups like the one we’re going through today can be scary. Seeing these familiar names in article bylines has helped me a ton as far as continuity and consistency go. CSS-Tricks still seems very CSS-Tricks-y to me, and that’s a big deal.
Until next time…
We hope you’ve enjoyed this little peek behind the CSScenes! We’ll do it again… and again and again. As you can tell, there’s a lot of activity happening around here, which means we’ll have lots to share in the next edition.
Oh, and if you’re one of the many who’ve told us just how much you miss the newsletter, it’s still here! We’re sending it just once a month while we get back in the swing of things, and you may very well need to re-subscribe to get it (we had to do a lot of scrubbing after the keys to the site were handed over).
A screen reader is an important accessibility tool for people with no or limited vision. People who are blind or those with low vision can use a screen reader to navigate the computer. Screen readers will read contents on the screen and explain to the user what is on the page. Screen readers allow people to use the computer for daily tasks.
There are many screen reader software available for people through their operating system or through open source projects.
A 2021 research by WebAim found that from 1568 responders, more than 53.7 percent of people surveyed used JAWS on Windows, more than 30.7 percent of people used NVDA on Windows and little over 6.5 percent of people used VoiceOver on macOS.
JAWS and NVDA for Windows and VoiceOver for macOS are the most popular screen readers people use.
First, I should clarify that this article will be written from my point of view. To give background, I have been a front-end developer at a non-profit for people with learning differences for over three years. I, along with my colleagues, seek to make our projects more accessible every day. I am not visually impaired and do not use these tools on a regular basis. For work, I have a Mac machine and test accessibility using VoiceOver.
Here is my planned testing methodology:
Navigate the page by heading, until “Accessibility APIs” section.
Reason for this step: A 2016 survey by Heydon Pickering found that most people who use screen readers navigate new pages by headings
In the “Accessibility APIs” section, read the content and the unordered list inside.
TAB to hear focusable items in the unordered list.
Jump to the Search field.
TAB to hear a few items in the navigation section
To find similarities and differences between them, I decided to test a set of steps with each screen reader on a Wikipedia page about screen readers. I will browse the web with Chrome for my tests. Testing all screen readers on the same page and browser will reduce the amount of variables and keep the tests consistent.
JAWS
JAWS is an acronym for Job Access With Speech and is the most widely used screen reader in the world. It is only available on Windows. Depending on the plan and features, JAWS can be purchased anywhere from $90 yearly license all the way to $1605 for perpetual license.
JAWS has predefined keyboard commands to navigate the web. Full list of keyboard commands can be found on their website.
Demonstration
JAWS Demo
In the beginning of the demo, I am clicking on H key on my keyboard to go to the next heading. JAWS is moving down the page, reading me the headings along with their level.
Later in the video, I am clicking on number 2 and number 3 on my keyboard to have JAWS read Heading Levels 2s then later Heading Levels 3s. This is a great feature because we can move down the page and sections by heading level and get a better sense of the page layout.
When I reach the “Accessible APIs” section, I press the DOWN ARROW key until the third item in the unordered list.
Later in the demo, I am clicking on the TAB key for JAWS to read to me the next focusable item on the page, which is inside this list. I click TAB until I reach a focusable element in another section.
Then I press F key to focus on the search field, which JAWS reads to me.
Then I click on TAB and JAWS focuses on the navigation elements that are on the side of the page.
Pros & Cons
Pros:
JAWS is more customizable than other screen readers.
There are more options to navigate through the page.
JAWS is industry standard.
Widely used, which means there are lots of user to user support.
Cons:
JAWS is more complicated to use than NVDA or VoiceOver.
Some commands are not intuitive.
There are a lot more commands for the user to learn.
More learning curve for users.
JAWS is also not available on the Mac, which limits its users.
Costs anywhere between $90 – $1605 for the user.
JAWS has different key commands for desktop and laptop which may make it harder for users to transfer knowledge and may cause confusion.
NVDA
NVDA, or NonVisual Digital Access, is available on Windows only. Users need to download the software from NVDA’s website, NVAccess. This software is free to download but does not come already installed on Windows machines. NVDA is the second most popular screen reader in the world according to WebAim’s 2021 survey.
Like other screen readers, NVDA has defined keyboard commands to navigate the web. NVDA’s full keyboard commands can be found on their website.
Demonstration
NVDA Demo
In the demo I am clicking on H key on the keyboard to go to the next heading. First, NVDA reads me Heading Level 1, which is “Screen reader”. Then NVDA goes to read Heading Level 2s and 3s.
When I reach “References” I begin to click on TAB on my keyboard for NVDA to focus on next focusable items.
After focusing on a few items on the list, I click ENTER and go to the New York Times page.
Pros & Cons
Pros:
Overall, I found NVDA was able to provide me with information on the screen.
The out-of-the-box keyboard commands were easy to use and easy to learn.
NVDA is open source, which means the community can update and fix.
NVDA is free, which makes it an affordable option to Windows users.
Cons:
NVDA is not available on the Mac, which limits its users.
VoiceOver
VoiceOver is the screen reader used in Mac. VoiceOver is only available on Mac not available in Windows. VoiceOver is free and is already installed on the computer, which removes barriers because this is part of the computer setup and the user does not have to download or purchase any additional software.
VoiceOver has defined keyboard commands to navigate the web. VoiceOver’s full keyboard commands can be found on their website.
Demonstration
VoiceOver Demo
In the demo, I am on a Wikipedia page and I am clicking on the VoiceOver Command (which is Control+Option) along with Command+H to navigate through the headings. VoiceOver reads the headings in order, starting from Heading Level 1, “Screen Reader”, to Heading Level 2, “Contents”, to Heading Level 3, and so on.
When I reach the “Accessibility APIs” section, I click on VoiceOver Command plus the RIGHT ARROW, to tell VoiceOver that I want it to read this section. Later I am clicking on the VoiceOver Command plus the RIGHT ARROW on my keyboard, to navigate the section.
When I get on to the third item on the unordered list, I press TAB on my keyboard to focus on the next focusable element.
I press TAB a few times, then I press VoiceOver Command plus U, to open the Form Control Menu. In the menu, I press DOWN ARROW until I hear the “Search Wikipedia” option. When I hear it, I click ENTER and the screen reader focuses on the form field. In the form field, I press TAB to navigate to the navigation section.
Pros & Cons
Pros:
VoiceOver is easy to use and learn.
VoiceOver’s commands are intuitive.
Free tool that comes installed in every macOS device.
Cons:
VoiceOver is also not available on Windows, which limits its users.
VoiceOver is not an app and can only be updated when Apple releases macOS update.
Key Takeaways
A screen reader is an important accessibility tool for people with no or limited vision. Screen readers allow people to use the computer for daily tasks.
There are many screen reader softwares available. In this article I compared JAWS, NVDA, and VoiceOver.
Here is a comparison chart overview of the three screen readers:
JAWS
NVDA
VoiceOver
Operating System
Windows
Windows
macOS
Price
$90 – $1695
Free
Free
# of users
30%
50%
6%
Ease of Use
Hard
Easy
Easy
I found that for basic screen reader testing, most screen readers follow a similar keystroke pattern and knowledge from one screen reader can be used for others.
All screen readers have their pros and cons. Ultimately, it’s up to user preference and also the operating system they use to determine which screen reader software is best for them.
Ahmad Shadeed got an early jump on container queries and has a growing collection of examples based on everyday patterns.
And, if you missed it, his latest post on container queries does a wonderful job covering how they work since landing in Chrome 105 this month (we’ll see them in Safari 16 soon). Some choice highlights and takeaways:
Containers are defined with the container-type property. Previous demos and proposals had been using contain instead.
Container queries are very much like the media queries we’ve been writing all along to target the viewport size. So, rather than something like @media (min-width: 600px) {}, we have @container (min-width: 600px) {}. That should make converting many of those media queries to container queries fairly straightfoward, minus the work of figuring out the new breakpoint values.
We can name containers to help distinguish them in our code (e.g. container-name: blockquote).
That’s because the variable is recognized as a string and what we need is a number that can be interpolated between two numeric values. That’s where we can call on @property to not only register the variable as a custom property, but define its syntax as a number:
You’re going to want to check browser support since @property has only landed in Chrome (starting in version 85) as of this writing. And if you’re hoping to sniff it out with @supports, we’re currently out of luck because it doesn’t accept at-rules as values… yet. That will change once at-rule()becomes a real thing.
Line patterns bring movement and texture to design that can direct the eye and heighten visual interest.
If you are looking for awesome line patterns for your next project, check out these terrific designs from Envato Elements.
Unlimited Cool Line Patterns & Stripe Backgrounds
Envato Elements offers thousands of top-quality patterns, backgrounds, mockups, logos, photos, fonts, and much more.
And for one low monthly fee, you can download as many of these digital assets as you like, as often as you like. Let’s take a look at some of the terrific line patterns and stripe background textures available from Envato Elements.
When you need a cool background with stripes for your next project, look no further than this stunning collection. It contains 24 different backgrounds which are easy to customise by adjusting the hue and saturation controls.
Floral Background With Stripes offers exactly what it says in the title: a collection of six backgrounds that combine horizontal stripes and flowers. You can modify the files to suit your needs and resize them without loss of quality.
Line Pattern Texture contains 40 hand-drawn lines created with pens, brushes, and ink that offer an authentic craft feel. The files are offered inseamless vector patterns.
When you need a stylish and eye-catching background for a special project, choose Waves Texture Background Lines. The pack contains ten vector files that are fully editable in Photoshop and Illustrator.
Looking for texture lines with a touch of grunge? How about Stripe Vector Background? It includes six different backgrounds that are perfect for posters, banners, websites, presentations, etc.
Line Pattern Design is quite a bit more subtle than the other textures we’ve shared so far. This one offers a monochromatic look that relies on light and shadow to create that sense of texture in 3D.
Black and Grey Striped Background functions in a similar way to the pattern above. The biggest difference is that it uses different tones of grey to create a sense of texture and contrast.
Watercolour is simply irresistible, and when you want to create a dreamy background for your projects, Watercolour Horizontal Stripe Pattern is an excellent choice. The files are all vectors and are very easy to customise.
Every great project needs a great background, and that’s exactly what Abstract Stripes Texture offers. Use the 12 files included to create backgrounds for your print and web projects.
Retro Geometric Stripe Pattern deviates a bit from the theme but is still relevant to it. This collection features colourful and seamless patterns that you can customise using your favourite software.
This collection of 40 seamless hand-drawn patterns includes 20 digital papers with gold textured patterns. Use this collection as backdrops to your special projects or apply them in whatever way supports your design.
Feast your eyes on this terrific abstract geometric pattern that presents a kaleidoscope of colours. The collection contains ten different styles that will bring a bit of pizazz to your projects.
When you need the nuance of stripes rather than an obviously striped effect, choose Abstract Line Texture Backgrounds. The backgrounds are offered in 12 colour combinations that will increase the visual interest in your projects.
This digital art pack of six bold and captivating patterns is just what you need to take your designs to the next level. Use it for fabric, gift paper, flyers, posters, etc.
Black and grey—or white—is a winning combination, and this pack offers 15 different ways to please you with its exciting range of black and grey designs.
How about Colour Stripe Vector Background for those times when you want to create terrific gift wrap, wallpaper, covers for notebooks, crafting projects, etc. There are 24 design variations in the collection, so you’ll have plenty of variety to keep you happy.
Black and white never looked so good as in this collection of 12 Seamless Stripe Patterns. The files are offered in AI, EPS, JPG, PNG, and PSD, so choose your favourite software and get to work customising your designs.
Turquoise and Light Slate Blue are a dreamy colour combination, and that’s just one of the ten different backgrounds presented in Abstract Stripe Texture Backgrounds. Download the pack, choose the one you love the most, and get to work incorporating it into your design.
With a whopping 39 backgrounds made up of three unique backgrounds and 13 colour variations each, Line Patterns is a great choice for mobile and desktop wallpaper, websites, packaging, and more.
Who says stripes need to be straight? No one! And that’s why we’ve included this bold collection. Have fun creating your own projects with this unique background.
This collection offers two variations of the three tileable line patterns of chevrons, waves, and straight lines shown in the photo. The files are offered in both PNG and EPS formats.
Need background patterns for scrapbooking? Check out this collection of 12 watercolour patterns. The package includes six seamless striped patterns and six seamless patterns of flowers, leaves, feathers, and hearts.
Go metallic when you use this collection of cool metallic pattern stripe backgrounds. The set contains six high-res files that can be used for print and web.
Blue, Red and Grey Line Pattern Texture is a bit of a departure from the other stripe vectors shared here so far, and that’s why we’ve included it. A great tech corporate background for relevant projects.
Texture Background Lines is just what you need when you want to harness the vibe of the future. There are ten vector and hi-res JPGs included in the collection.
It doesn’t get more modern and cool than the Geometric Stripe Pattern Collection. It offers six patterns in both black and white in AI, EPS, and JPG format.
Black & Grey Line Pattern Texture may not be as trendy as some of the other backgrounds shown here, but that’s what makes it so successful. It balances visual interest with subtlety to create a great foil for the main attractions of your work.
Glitch Line Pattern Design captures the dynamic motion of light rays combined with gradients. The collection offers this one concept in ten different colour schemes.
Create a colourful spark in your own design when you use Colorful Spark Backgrounds for your background. This stunning multicoloured starburst of lines is a great choice for your project.
The Colorful Background Stripes PSD looks like a crazy and colourful slide, and that dynamic will transfer to your work when you incorporate it into your projects.
With three unique backgrounds and 13 colour variations, this collection of line textures is a great addition to your projects. The templates can be used in a wide variety of ways, so don’t hesitate to download them and get to work.
Choose Your Favourite Striped Background Pattern
Now that you know where to find the best striped background patterns when you need them, head to Envato Elements and download your favourite pattern today.
If you’re interested in learning how to create your own background patterns from scratch, or you want to find more patterned templates, check out these articles from Envato Tuts+:
Being able to cut super small things with your Cricut machine is one of the most fun things to do, and it’s probably a large reason why many people buy these machines. But it can also be so frustrating when you don’t get it right, so I am here to help you to get the best cut and to show you some of the best fonts to use on Cricut for small letters.
There are many different factors to successfully cutting small letters with your Cricut out of vinyl, and so there are also many different things that can go wrong. Some of the factors can include the type of vinyl, the mat you are using, as well as the cut settings you are using.
The same vinyl, different approaches – this shows the difference these techniques can make!
Some of these things will make a very small difference in your cutting project, but those small differences could mean the difference between a good result, and a great result. Other factors and changes will make or break your project when cutting small vinyl letters with your Cricut.
What We’ll Cover In This Guide on How to Cut Small Letters on Cricut
Do you have a dirty blade?
Have you checked to see if you have a blunt blade?
Is your mat dirty?
The brayer: a game changer!
Test your cut settings!
What vinyl are you using?
Do you know about weeding boxes?
10+ best fonts for small vinyl cutting on your Cricut
Do You Have a Dirty Blade?
This is the first thing that many people check when it comes to cutting small letters with your Cricut. It is also the easiest thing to check and the quickest one to fix.
When cutting things with your Cricut, whether it’s paper or vinyl, little fibres or adhesive from the vinyl end up sticking to the blade, which can affect how you cut small letters on your Cricut. So one of the first things you want to do is to clean your blade.
Check how far the blade can extend. This blade also has a lot of debris on it
The best way to clean your blade is to use some rubbing alcohol swabs, so you will need to remove your blade from your machine. Press the top part of the blade housing in, and the blade gets pushed out at the bottom.
Once the blade has been pushed out at the bottom, you can easily clean it with your alcohol swab, or replace it if your blade is old and blunt.
Have You Checked to See if You Have a Blunt Blade?
If your blade is blunt, you will see that the blade kind of „skips” over the vinyl and drags it, and no amount of other changes will improve this. This probably means that it is time to get a new blade. Luckily, you don’t have to buy an entirely new blade housing, but rather just buy a replacement blade.
Many people will tell you to pierce a ball of foil to sharpen your blade, but this unfortunately doesn’t work in the way most people think it does. What it does do is clean some of the debris off your blade, but it is not nearly as effective as the method that we mentioned before, which is to clean it with rubbing alcohol.
Is Your Mat Dirty?
Many people don’t realise that having a mat that isn’t very clean can also affect your cuts, and it can turn the best font for small vinyl cutting into the worst! With regular mat usage, little bits of debris, sand, hair, and dust can build up on the mat over time. With little grains landing on your mat, it does create a bit of a tent over that grain, and that means the blade will move a bit when it hits these grains.
You can see in the circles some places where there is dirt under the vinyl
Luckily, you can quite easily see when you have something on your mat that will affect your cuts, as that little tent catches the light quite nicely. So you will just need to lift up the vinyl, remove the little culprit, and you are then good to go!
In addition to debris on your mat, a mat that is quite old and isn’t as sticky anymore will definitely affect your cut. If you have lost quite a bit of stick on your mat, your vinyl will move around while you are trying to cut, which will definitely compromise how the vinyl cuts. Any movement of the vinyl will mean the blade doesn’t cut in the exact place it should, and you will get a wonky cut, which isn’t good for intricate cuts!
This mat is verging on too dirty to use for very intricate cuts
The Brayer: A Game Changer!
This is a tool I didn’t know I needed until I had one. It is not only a real game changer for paper crafts, but also has an incredible effect on how to cut small letters on your Cricut.
The Cricut brayer is a real game changer when it comes to crafting with a mat!
What this little tool allows you to do is to ensure that the vinyl you are going to cut is completely stuck down to your mat. It has a soft roller on it, which means that it won’t scratch the vinyl in any way, but by applying even pressure, you are able to more effectively stick your vinyl down onto your cutting mat.
Test Your Cut Settings!
This is the most important part of cutting small vinyl letters with Cricut, and it will mean the difference between impossible weeding and having your vinyl ripping up while cutting. Test cuts are mandatory when it comes to working with the best fonts for small vinyl cutting on your Cricut.
When you are selecting something to cut, you need to choose a material type, and this material type is linked to a pressure setting in Cricut Design Space. A thinner material like crepe paper will need a lower pressure in order to cut through, and a much thicker material like metallic vinyl will need a much higher pressure setting to cut through.
All three of these words have been cut with different cut settings, the lowest at the bottom. The difference between the cuts is small, but they get darker as the cuts go higher up.
When your vinyl isn’t cutting through, it means that your pressure setting isn’t high enough, and you will need to increase the pressure to cut through properly. If you find that your vinyl moves around too much while it is being cut, then your pressure is too high.
While your machine is connected, you can view the material settings. If you click on the three lines in the top left-hand corner, you can click on Manage Custom Materials and see the different pressure settings for the different materials.
Click on the three lines in the top left, and you will find your custom settings
A long list of materials will pop up, and each will have a number to the right of the name—this is the pressure setting. If you use a particular setting and you find that your vinyl is not cutting through, you can either adjust this setting or pick another material type that has a higher pressure setting.
Here are a few examples of vinyl settings and the pressure they use
What Vinyl Are You Using?
Not all vinyls are created equal, so the type of vinyl you use can make a big impact on your project. Each brand and type of vinyl will be slightly different—some are a bit more stretchy than others, some vinyls have a paper backing, and some have a more waxy backing than others. Some of these differences are going to be barely visible to the naked eye, so we may not even think that they are a possible cause of our project not succeeding, but they are.
Because of all of these different factors, you will have different results with the very same cut settings. The Cricut vinyl has been specifically formulated for use with the Cricut machines and tends to produce the best results the most easily.
All three of these vinyls are different, and each requires a different approach
Oracal and Grafitack are two examples of widely used brands that tend to be a lot more cost-effective when it comes to working with large volumes of decals, and they can make it a bit more difficult to cut some of the very small letters with your Cricut.
I have found that I have to use different cut settings with the different brands of vinyl I use, and I spend a bit of time when I get a new brand of vinyl to make sure that I have the right cut setting for the best font for cutting small letters on my Cricut.
Do You Know About Weeding Boxes?
When cutting on your Cricut, I find that when it comes time to weeding (removing the excess vinyl), I often struggle when I have quite a few things to cut. Using weeding boxes when cutting small vinyl letters with Cricut really helps!
What this means is putting a box around parts of the text to allow you to weed the text in parts, and not have to remove the entire sheet of excess vinyl around in one go.
10+ Best Fonts for Small Vinyl Cutting on Your Cricut
When looking for the best fonts for cutting small text on your Cricut, there are many different kinds of fonts you can use and approaches you can take. Very often, the very thin and swishy fonts are difficult to cut, but hopefully after following all of these tips and tricks, you will find it as easy to cut very thin fonts.
Many script fonts are very tricky to cut, but with these tips you will be cutting the finest of fonts available!
But if you’re wondering where to find the best fonts for small text in Cricut, Envato Elements is a great option. This subscription-based marketplace offers you unlimited downloads for a flat monthly fee! Here are some of the best fonts for small text in Cricut:
This font is a great introduction to cutting some fonts with swashes, as those are always the parts that challenge cutting some of the best Cricut fonts for small text.
If you want to learn how to cut small letters on Cricut, this is a great font to learn on. The flourishes will challenge you a little bit, but it still works nicely at a small scale.
This is one of the best fonts to use on Cricut for small letters as these letters aren’t very thick. So if you aren’t looking for a challenge, this is a fantastic font to use!
This is a particularly challenging yet extremely beautiful font that you can use when you’re looking for the best font for small vinyl cutting on your Cricut. The lines are all very thin, with long, wispy flourishes, and it is a very good font to test your skills!
When cutting small vinyl letters with Cricut, this will also be another good font for a beginner to try as it is a little bit challenging, but with not too many flourishes, it won’t be too challenging.
This is another one of the best fonts for small vinyl cutting if you aren’t looking for a challenge. It’s great if you need to have a font work easily, and you aren’t able to tick or correct all of the boxes we covered in this article.
Give this elegant calligraphy font a try for your next Cricut project. Those extravagant flourishes could be a challenge to cut, but you can also simplify things by not using too many of the ligatures and alternates provided.
Another great option when looking for the best fonts for cutting small text with your Cricut, this font has simple clean lines and is very thin. So while it doesn’t have too many flourishes, it still provides a nice challenge.
This font is particularly challenging as not only does it have many flourishes, but it also is a slightly textured outline, so it will be challenging to cut in a few different ways. This could be the best font to use on Cricut for small letters!
Looking for the best Cricut font for small text? This type of font is always a fan favourite for cutting small vinyl letters due to the flourishes and thin, clean, classic lines, and it comes with a few extras too!
With many glyphs and gorgeous flourishes, you could make this font more challenging, but the base of this font is a perfect way of testing out how your machine and cut settings are set up. Definitely, this is one of the best fonts for cutting small letters on Cricut!
This could also qualify as the best font for cutting small letters on Cricut as it has nice thick letters, which makes it an easier font to use when cutting small letters out of vinyl.
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