Engrave a photo
Turn a photograph into a clean laser engraving. From import to first burn.
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). - 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 entirely on material. Start from a Material Library preset if you have one, or:
- For diode lasers on a typical photo material: Speed 2000-4000 mm/min, Power 20-40%, Interval 0.1-0.15 mm.
- For CO2 lasers: Speed 200-400 mm/s, Power 10-25%, Interval 0.1-0.15 mm.
Run a Material Test on a small swatch first if you have not before.
6. Test burn
- Crop the photo to a small swatch (use the Trace Image dialog or just delete most of it for the test).
- 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, restore the 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.