# Using a Silhouette Curio 2 as a pen plotter — what works well and what doesn’t?

**URL:** <https://forum.plotterfolk.com/t/using-a-silhouette-curio-2-as-a-pen-plotter-what-works-well-and-what-doesn-t/29>\
**Category:** Machines & Hardware\
**Tags:** pen-holder, silhouette, multi-pen, curio-2\
**Created:** [October 4, 2026, 8:44pm UTC](https://forum.plotterfolk.com/t/using-a-silhouette-curio-2-as-a-pen-plotter-what-works-well-and-what-doesn-t/29 "2026-10-04T20:44:10Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 1\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![rubencio](https://forum.plotterfolk.com/user_avatar/forum.plotterfolk.com/rubencio/32/11_2.png) [@rubencio](https://forum.plotterfolk.com/u/rubencio)\
**Post date:** [October 4, 2026, 8:44pm UTC](https://forum.plotterfolk.com/t/using-a-silhouette-curio-2-as-a-pen-plotter-what-works-well-and-what-doesn-t/29/1 "2026-10-04T20:44:10Z")

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I’ve been using a Silhouette Curio 2 primarily as a pen plotter rather than as a cutting machine, and after a number of architectural drawings and longer plotting tests I’m beginning to get a clearer idea of what works particularly well — and where the limitations start to show.

My normal workflow is over USB, with drawings prepared as SVG linework and plotted using technical pens in different line weights.

 ![curio-2_staedtler](https://forum.plotterfolk.com/uploads/default/original/1X/1056423e894d09d90d89a565b9d930366b62e8c1.jpeg)

One of the main reasons I like the Curio 2 for this kind of work is its usable drawing area. The 305 × 305 mm bed gives enough room for A4 work and for square architectural drawings without needing a roll-fed setup.

Mechanically, I’ve also been pleasantly surprised by the quality of the linework it can produce.

With a rigid technical pen and a clean SVG, fine architectural geometry can come out extremely well.

But the more I use several pens in the same drawing, the more I realise that the machine itself is only part of the equation.

A few things have become particularly important for me:

- pen centring: even a very small amount of play in the holder can produce a visible offset when changing pens;
- repeatable insertion depth: each pen needs to return to essentially the same mechanical position;
- multi-pen alignment: fine, medium and heavier lines need to meet correctly after every pen change;
- reliable USB communication: long plots can run for close to two hours, so interruptions become much more significant than on a short job;
- predictable carriage position: after a plot finishes, I want to know exactly where the carriage is and be able to return it to a consistent starting position.

The pen holder has probably been the biggest area where I’ve had to experiment.

Ordinary fineliners can fit and work perfectly well, but small differences in barrel diameter or the amount of play near the lower part of the holder become much more noticeable when several pens are used in the same drawing.

Rigid technical pens such as the rOtring Isograph have been particularly interesting because their bodies and nib geometry make them feel much closer to a precision drawing tool than a disposable marker.

Another thing I’m becoming increasingly interested in is what makes a machine genuinely good as a drawing machine, rather than simply capable of holding a pen.

For my own work, an ideal pen plotter would probably need:

- very repeatable XY positioning;
- a rigid and concentric pen holder;
- reliable multi-pen changes;
- predictable homing and return-to-start behaviour;
- robust communication during long jobs;
- enough working area for architectural drawings;
- software that exposes useful information such as path count, estimated drawing distance and plotting time.

The Curio 2 is already allowing me to do much more than I initially expected, but using it this way has also made me much more aware of the difference between “a machine that can draw” and “a machine designed around drawing.”

I’d be interested to hear from people using other machines — AxiDraw, other Silhouette models, DIY plotters, converted cutters or purpose-built drawing machines.

What does your machine do particularly well for pen plotting, and what limitation do you notice most often?

And if you could change one piece of hardware on your current setup specifically for drawing, what would it be?