It’s HERE! Oracal has FINALLY made a permanent outdoor vinyl that is matte instead of glossy!
Why is this a big deal?
Well – to be honest, Oracal vinyl is fabulous but sometimes I don’t want the gloss.
My personal style is more understated, and so I have often chose the more-work routine of stenciling/painting/etc rather than use glossy vinyl on a project.
So needless to say, I was SUPER excited when I saw that they finally had colors available in matte. I bought some immediately, and made some things.
MY PROJECT
I’d bought these really cute canisters on Amazon – they were really affordable and were perfect for the farmhouse design I had in mind.
Except I really did NOT want glossy lettering.
I was debating on stenciling and sharpie-ing my design but then HURRAY this 641 vinyl came to the rescue.
I used the dark gray (because I ❤ LOVE dark gray on white), and using a couple of my my Farmhouse Canister Label designs.
They turned out perfectly (once I got the vinyl decently cut, of course!).
(Want to duplicate my project? I can’t blame you, it came out gorgeous and was SO easy )
- White Ceramic Kitchen Canisters on Amazon
- My SVG file for the Farmhouse Canister Labels (a set of 24 labels!)
- Oracal 641 Matte Permanent Vinyl on Swing Design
CUTTING THE VINYL
When I first went to cut this stuff, I’d brought a bunch of supplies and vinyl over to my mom’s house.
She has more space than I do so sometimes I sneak over there and take over her craft room.
Except then I could not NOT get this vinyl to cut.
First, her Silhouette was chewing up the vinyl, and then it wouldn’t cut all the way through. And then I got to where it was doing BOTH and literally some places would be chewed up and some places not cut through.
Madface!!
So finally I gave up and went home. And I decided to cut it on my Cameo instead and wouldn’t you know it… it cut like an absolute DREAM.
It was right then that my scatterbrained brain remembered that I always have problems cutting vinyl on her machine. Everything else goes great, but I just can’t do vinyl with my computer and her machine.
Lesson learned!
So here’s the thing – this vinyl is awesome. Cuts beautifully (as long as you use the right settings!) and releases perfectly.
(for the record, my vinyl settings are ratchet blade 2, speed 5, and thickness 10 on Silhouette but I know every machine and blade is different!)
So really, it’s just like Oracal 651, acts exactly like it.
The one thing I DID notice is they don’t have an exact color comparison. Many of the colors are similar but some are not. Carnation Pink, for example, is a gorgeous pale pink that doesn’t have a match in the 651 range.
And the other thing is even the colors that are similar, the matte vs/ glossy finish does make the matte colors seem a bit darker. So keep that in mind in case it’s important for color matching.
One thing I’m VERY excited about is to use this on wooden signs. Usually I stencil & paint instead of just putting on vinyl is because I feel like the matte finish is classier on a sign than glossy vinyl… but now that’s not gonna be an issue… so happy Bethany!
Now, the only problem is that they don’t have as many colors as 651.
Oracal, HOP TO IT – we have projects to make!!
Where can you buy the Oracal 641 vinyl? I got mine at Swing Design here.
PHOTO COMPARISON
OK I tried. Really, I did. But it’s really difficult to get good photos of the glossy vs matte. But here’s what I got! The teal on the left is the glossy 651, and teal on the right is the matte 641.
DRAWBACKS
I think there aren’t many drawbacks to this vinyl! The color difference of the 641 vs. 651 MIGHT be a drawback depending on your needs, but I can’t even really honestly say that’s a bad thing.
The only thing I did notice is that it seems to have a shorter lifespan and isn’t recommended for cars. I suppose perhaps it’s because glossy tends to repel moisture more than matte. So depending on what you’re using it for, keep that in mind.
TL;DR
This vinyl is the shizznit and buy it right now! Cuts just like 651 with a classier matte look. Don’t put it on a car, and some of the colors may not match the 651 color palette.
LINKS
- Oracal 641 Matte vinyl
- White ceramic kitchen canisters on Amazon
- My Farmhouse Canister Label SVG set
Like What You See?
Sign up for updates today and receive freebie SVG Files, updates on the blog, and a FREE ebook full of unique product ideas!
Hey just FYI some of the links I use here on my blog may be affiliate links but I promise I would never link to anything that I don't legit recommend or love ❤️
Bethany, check out The Open Canvas on Amazon for Oracle vinyl for Silhouette, Cricut, etc. They sell in 5′ lengths (great for larger projects) with an assortment of colors and have both the glossy and matte, as well as metallic. I’ve ordered 3 times from them. They have always been very responsive and ship quickly. It’s another source in addition to the one you mention, just in case your current source doesn’t have what you need.
I’ll check them out, thank you!!
I also like the mat look as do my clients. You mentioned the settings being right several times to get the 641 to cut right. Can you share your cut settings with me please?
Thank you so much!
Hi Jerri!
Well – I personally cut mine with my Silhouette set at speed 5 and thickness 10, blade at 2. But I know it varies for everyone! Whatever works normally for regular vinyl for you, should work for this stuff.
I like the classiness of the matte vinyl.
Looking forward to lots of projects using it.