Engrave a photo

Engraving photographs is the most-asked-about laser task. The mechanics are the same as any image engraving; the trick is dialing in tone, dithering, and material.

What you need

A photo (JPG / PNG / similar).
A material your laser handles well for tonal engraving, anodized aluminum, slate, leather, light wood are good starts. Avoid darks where contrast is hard to see.
A test piece of the same material.
The Material Library entry for the material, ideally, but you can dial in as you go.

Steps

1. Import the photo

File → Import (Ctrl+I).
Pick the photo.
It lands on the canvas at its natural size. Resize as needed.

2. Convert to image-engraving layer

Select the image.
In the Cuts/Layers panel, set the layer mode to Image.

3. Pick a raster mode

Open the layer's full settings (double-click the row). Pick a raster mode:

For most photos: Floyd-Steinberg (safe default) or Stucki (smoother tones).
For high-contrast / artistic look: Atkinson.
For materials with very different power response: Grayscale.
Avoid Threshold unless you want pure black/white.

See Dithering algorithms explainer for the full menu.

4. Adjust tone with Adjust Image

With the image selected, Image → Adjust Image (Alt+I).
Click Auto for a conservative Brightness, Contrast, Gamma, and Sharpen starting point, then judge the processed preview and refine the controls as needed.
Use brightness, contrast, gamma to make the preview look like what you want engraved.
Tip: most photos benefit from a slight contrast boost and a gamma adjustment.

5. Pick interval, power, speed

Power and speed depend on the exact laser, material, finish, focus, and air-assist setup. Do not treat settings for a broad laser category as universal or safe starting values.

Start with a manufacturer-approved setting or a Material Library preset you have already validated on the same machine and material.
Confirm that power and speed stay within the machine and material manufacturer's limits. Speed follows the current Display Unit and Speed Time Unit, so compare the units shown before applying a value.
If you do not have a validated setting, run a Material Test on a small piece of the same material. Follow the manufacturer's guidance, begin with the lowest effective power, and adjust in small controlled steps.
An interval of 0.1-0.15 mm is a common metric reference range for photo engraving. The Interval field follows the current Display Unit, so convert that range to the unit shown before entering it; Beam Bench stores the interval internally in millimeters.

6. Test burn

Preserve the full image first by duplicating it or saving a recoverable project copy.
Draw a closed vector around a small swatch, select exactly the raster image and that closed vector, then choose Tools → Crop Image. Cropping replaces the selected raster and removes the vector mask, so perform it only on the duplicate or disposable copy.
Run the test burn on scrap material.
Inspect, is it too dark? Too light? Banded? Missing detail?

Iterate:

Too dark: increase speed or decrease power.
Too light: decrease speed or increase power.
Banded: interval is too coarse; decrease it.
Missing fine detail: interval is too coarse, or focus is off.
Blurry: focus is off.

7. Run the real burn

When the test looks right, return to the untouched full image, frame, preview, and start the real burn.

8. Save as preset

When you find settings that work for this material, save them to the Material Library for next time.

Verify it worked

The result shows clear tonal variation (not just black or white).
Highlights and shadows look correct relative to the photo.
No visible banding in the fill.

Engrave a photo

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