Last updated: October 2026

To trace an image in Silhouette Studio, insert the image with File > Insert, open the Trace panel, click Select Trace Area and drag a box around the image, adjust Threshold (and the High Pass filter or Scale if needed) until the part you want is filled yellow, then click Trace, Trace Outer Edge or Trace and Detach. The yellow area is what becomes a cut line. Everything below explains which setting to change when the preview looks wrong.

This guide follows the Silhouette Studio 5.0 user manual (manual SS-UM-101) and the current 5.0.539 release listed on Silhouette America’s software page. Older 4.x versions put the same tools in slightly different places, so if your screen does not match, update first.

What tracing actually does

Your machine cannot cut a JPG or PNG. Those files are pixels, and the blade needs a vector path to follow. Silhouette’s manual describes the Trace function as a way to “make a cut line around an image (extraction of contour).”

The trace tool reads light and dark areas in the picture and draws a line around the dark parts. That is why it works best on high-contrast images: black artwork on a white background, simple logos, silhouettes and line art. A busy photo with soft shadows will produce a messy, broken outline.

According to the manual, Silhouette Studio can import JPG, BMP, PNG, TIFF and GIF files for tracing. SVG and PDF are listed as paid options. Silhouette’s software page states that opening an SVG requires Designer Edition or higher, which is covered in our guide to opening SVG files in Basic Edition. If you already have an SVG, you usually do not need to trace it at all, because it already contains cut paths.

How to trace an image in Silhouette Studio 5

  1. Insert the image. Go to File > Insert, choose your image and click OK. The manual notes you can resize and position it at this point.
  2. Size it first. Set the image to roughly the final size you want to cut before tracing. Tracing a tiny image and scaling the result up later enlarges any jagged edges along with it.
  3. Open the Trace panel. The manual’s instruction is to choose the Trace panel from the panel display.
  4. Click Select Trace Area. Then click and drag a box around the image. Silhouette Studio paints the area it will trace in yellow. Per the manual, “the part painted yellow is traced, and cut lines are created around it.”
  5. Choose the Trace Preview mode. The manual says this setting lets you “select whether to trace a filled area or a contour.” Filled area traces solid shapes. Contour traces outlines, which suits line drawings.
  6. Adjust Threshold until every part you want to cut is solid yellow and the background is not. See the settings section below.
  7. Try the High Pass filter or Scale only if Threshold alone is not enough.
  8. Pick a Trace Style: Trace, Trace Outer Edge, or Trace and Detach. The software draws the cut line over the image.
  9. Move the original image aside to check the red line on its own, then decide whether to keep or delete the picture (see cleanup below).
  10. Send a test cut before cutting the full design. The Send panel’s Test Cut option is explained in our not cutting through guide.

The trace settings explained

Threshold

Silhouette’s manual describes Threshold as the value “for creating a cut line based on the original image,” and adds that “the higher the value, the more in detail the extraction is conducted.” Raising it pulls more of the lighter and mid-tone pixels into the yellow area. Lowering it keeps only the darkest areas.

A practical way to use it:

  • If parts of your design are missing from the yellow preview, raise Threshold.
  • If the background or paper texture is turning yellow, lower it.
  • Watch thin lines and small text closely. They are usually the first things to break apart or blob together.

High Pass filter

The manual explains that the High Pass filter “is used to detect image edges in detail and extract the traced part inwardly from the outer side,” and that this can clear up the contour of an image. In plain terms, it looks for edges rather than dark areas, which is why it helps with line art and drawings where you want the outline but not a solid filled blob.

Turn it on when a Threshold-only trace fills in shapes you wanted hollow. Then adjust its slider and watch the preview until the outline looks clean.

Scale

Scale is the smoothing control. The manual says the Scale slider “controls the smoothness of the pixels of an image,” and that you only need to adjust it when an image is low quality and highly pixelated, giving a pencil sketch as the example. If your image is a clean, sharp file, leave Scale alone.

Trace vs Trace Outer Edge vs Trace and Detach

The three buttons at the bottom of the panel do different things. The manual defines them this way:

Trace styleWhat the manual says it doesTypical use
Trace“Creates a cut line as per the preview screen.”Cutting a design with its inner details, such as a word with holes in the letters or a detailed vinyl decal
Trace Outer Edge“Creates the outermost cut line only.”Stickers and Print & Cut, where you want one outline around the printed image
Trace and Detach“Conducts tracing, creates a cut line, and cuts out the image from the background.”Pulling a design out of its background so you are left with just the shape

For a vinyl decal you will usually want Trace. For a printed sticker you will usually want Trace Outer Edge, often followed by an offset so there is a small border. The registration-mark side of that workflow is in our Print & Cut registration marks guide.

Cleaning up the traced cut line

A trace is rarely perfect on the first pass. These tools are all described in the Silhouette Studio 5 manual in the chapters on drawing and editing images.

  1. Separate the line from the picture. Drag the original image away. If you are cutting plain vinyl, you can delete the picture. If you are doing Print & Cut, keep the picture and the line together because the image is what gets printed.
  2. Delete stray bits. Tiny specks from dust or texture become tiny cut shapes. Click them and delete them, or use the Eraser tool, which the manual says can “remove inner parts or edges of the line image.”
  3. Simplify heavy paths. Imported images can trace into a very large number of points. The Simplify tool, found in Point Editing Mode, “will automatically re-adjust the image’s points and simplify the image to its simplest possible point form while maintaining the image’s original overall line form.” Fewer points usually means a smoother cut.
  4. Fix individual points. Double-click a selected shape, or use the Edit Points tool, to enter Point Editing Mode. The manual notes that only single, ungrouped line selections can be edited, so ungroup first if needed.
  5. Add an offset for stickers. Use the Offset panel to put a border around the traced outline. For PixScan images, Silhouette’s manual suggests adding a small Internal Offset, for example 0.2 mm, after tracing to avoid white borders.
  6. Check the cut line view. Turn off the fill on the original or move it aside and look at the cut lines alone before you send the job.

Common tracing failures and fixes

Nothing turns yellow. You probably clicked the panel but did not drag a trace area. Click Select Trace Area again and drag a box fully around the image.

The whole box turns yellow. Threshold is too high, or the image has a gray or colored background. Lower Threshold. If the background is a photo, edit it to a plain white background in another program first.

Letters close up or fill in. Small enclosed shapes are merging. Make the image bigger before tracing, lower Threshold slightly, or try the High Pass filter so edges are detected instead of fill.

Jagged, stair-step edges. The source image is low resolution. Use a larger, sharper original if you can. If not, adjust Scale, as the manual recommends for pixelated images, and run Simplify on the result.

Double lines on a line drawing. Filled-area tracing of a thick line gives you an inside and an outside edge. Switch the Trace Preview to contour, use the High Pass filter, or decide which edge you want and delete the other after tracing.

Cut line does not line up with the print. That is a Print & Cut calibration issue, not a trace issue. Silhouette’s manual says calibration should only be performed if cut lines do not align with printed images when using registration marks.

The trace looks right but the cut is ragged. Check the blade and settings before blaming the trace. Our cut settings reference lists published starting points by material.

FAQ

Is tracing available in the free Basic Edition? Yes. Silhouette’s software page lists the built-in trace tool as part of Silhouette Studio, and the manual covers Tracing Options in the general image chapter rather than the paid edition chapters. Paid editions add other tools, compared in our Designer Edition vs Basic guide.

What kind of image traces best? High-contrast images with clear edges: dark artwork on a plain light background, at a decent resolution. Photos and soft gradients trace poorly.

Should I use Trace or Trace Outer Edge for stickers? Trace Outer Edge, per the manual’s definition that it “creates the outermost cut line only.” Add an offset if you want a border.

Why are there two cut lines around my image? Either the trace picked up both edges of a thick line, or you traced twice. Delete duplicates and re-check the preview mode.

Do I need to trace an SVG? Usually not. An SVG already holds vector paths. Opening one requires Designer Edition or higher according to Silhouette’s software page.

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