Learn how to use the xTool M2 to print and cut.

In this tutorial, I'll walk you through the process step-by-step of how to print and cut.

I started off with stickers and then made some fun Christmas tags and ornaments with wood.

Thanksgiving stickers made with xtool m2

HOW TO USE THE PRINT AND CUT FEATURE ON THE XTOOL M2

One of the coolest features of the M2 is the ability to print and then cut out a project.

Since the printing doesn't have to be done on a typical printer, the possibilities of what you can print are only limited by the size of the machine. But the type of material you can print on is endless.

I've only tried stickers and wood so far, but you can print on fabric or leather, make temporary tattoos, and so much more.

Take note that the ink is water soluble, so don't print on anything that you will wash, because the ink will wash away.

See my review of the M2 here.

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SUPPLIES NEEDED

XTool M2 Laser Machine

Items I printed on:

Wood (Grab large wood cutouts from the dollar store. Print on them as is, or cut out your own shapes from them.)
Sticker paper
Waterproof sticker paper

Files I used:

PRIMING THE PROJECT

Let's start with the prep work. (If you're printing on paper, this step may or may not apply. I did not prime my sticker paper projects.)

Hot tip: For vibrant color, a primer is vital.

I heard about and ordered an InkAid primer. There are rave reviews. But unfortunately, my order did not arrive in time to use it before I made the projects for this post.

What did I use instead? Simple paint and glue. I'm not sure how well this would work on fabric or other canvases. But for wood it worked great.

Prepping the wood:

Paint it with a white acrylic paint. Then brush a coat of Elmer's school glue on top. Let dry overnight before printing.

You can see a picture here of the difference between the primed wood and the plain wood. If you look at the pumpkins, you can really tell a big difference in vibrance and clarity.

halloween ghost printed on wood and cut out

Part of the difference is the contrast of the white paint.

But the unprimed wood absorbs the ink. The lines are not as crisp and the color is more muted.

I am interested in testing the difference between the InkAid and the paint/glue primers.

I would also like to test out just using the glue on the wood as a primer. My hypothesis is that this would allow a wood background, but still more vibrant color.

PRINT AND CUT ON THE XTOOL M2

Let's get into the nitty gritty of how to use the M2 to print and cut.

First, tape the sticker paper to the baseplate of the machine.

Open xTool studio and import the file you'd like to use.

Select the image, click cut out.

Select the magic wand. Click on the white background.

It should remove the white background.

If there are areas that are not removed that you would like to be, then zoom in, select the eraser and erase those spots. I found it did a pretty good job of removing the white.

Once it's how you'd like, click confirm.

Note: Don't worry about removing white areas that will be in the middle of the sticker. Like the white spots on the handle of the flower vase and cup.

Click convert to print & cut.

Now you can choose the border style and the distance to cut from the picture.

Make sure that your stickers won't merge together as shown below.

Minimize the distance until they are no longer merged.

Connect the xTool and choose the mode (print then cut).

Choose the material. In the search bar, I typed the word sticker. Choose white sticker and click apply.

This give the machine the recommended settings to cut the stickers. I used the recommended settings and it worked out great.

Select process. It will instruct you to insert the printer head if it is not already installed.

This is easy. Unplug the mini USB and remove the laser. Insert the laser head and plug in the mini USB.

The laser and printer heads are magnetic, so they are super easy to switch.

changing the laser head to the printer head

Measure the thickness of your material.

Then close the lid of the machine. It will take a picture of your work surface and add it to the studio.

Move your print/cut file to fit on top of the sticker paper.

Click start.

Click the button on the machine to start printing.

Allow the printer to do it's work.

Here's my printed sticker sheet.

Click next.

Change to the laser head and click start.

Press the button on the machine and the machine will cut around the stickers.

Here's my printed and cut out sticker sheet.

Tip: Tape down the corners of the sticker paper.

I had trouble with some of the corner stickers not cutting. The only thing I can think is that the corners were curling up, so it did not cut correctly. Taping down the corners will help this.

I made these cute ghost stickers too.

Using waterproof sticker paper gives a much more vibrant color.

You can use this same exact process to print and cut on wood. The only difference is that you choose the wood setting, and make sure you measure the thickness.

Here are a few projects I did with wood.

I made these Christmas tags for gifts. They'll be so cute to attach with a ribbon to a bag of goodies or a gift.

Tips for gift tags:

1 - When you remove the background, you may have to adjust the fuzziness to get a clean cut border around the tags.

2 - I set the distance to zero so there would be no space the image and the cut.

3 - You will need to add small circles to each tag and set it to cut. Otherwise, you won't have a place to insert a ribbon to attach the tag to a gift.

Probably my favorite project is this little Santa/Reindeer ornament.

This was a free file on xTool's Attom.

I just think it's so stinkin' cute.

MORE LASER PROJECTS

Don't forget to pin it!!