The instructions that come with the mat say to sandwich it between the two B plates but I tried that and it didn't cut anything and unless you use two B plates the thickness is not enough to do anything to your die. I so far haven't heard back from the company in response to my email as they probably think I am a complainer as I have had to email them so many times as the order kept getting messed up even to the extent I ended up with two chuttlebug machines and had to send one back. To give them their due they did give a refund that gave me a couple of pounds spare from the postage, but I am so dischuffed with the experience they have lost my custom for future purchases and are not a company I would ever recommend however good their prices might be.