Can someone help guide me on on how to engrave words or an uploaded photo onto a peice of wood?

[chelseawmn]

This probably seems like a simple task on a GF but I’m new and trying to figure out something simple to get started. I want to put a quote on a piece of wood and either frame it afterwards or do something else neat with it for a Christmas gift. I’ve been looking through lots of neat posts on this FORUM but am having trouble figure out where to find directions on how to complete this task.

I’m also wanting to figure out how to upload a picture that I have (example: of a family member) so that I could engrave their picture onto something such as wood. Does anyone have any recommendations on how to get started? I have been trying to search on the “Support” page mentioned above and see a rough idea on where to go in the software but would appreciate any advice/suggestions. Thank you!

[AhnoldZ]

This post might give you a place to start looking; it gets you to the matrix which contains lots of tutorials:

Is there an idiot's guide?

Chuckle! Deep breath! It’s not difficult at all, but it does take a little bit of time to get comfortable with. (Give yourself a week or so.) Can’t help with the oily film, shipping issues, or Wifi…we’re all working around those at the moment and they tend to come and go, depending on factors that I don’t really understand. The Proofgrade not found error can happen if the machine takes a measurement off of the material - it’s verifying the thickness and giving you a warning so you can…

[Jules]

@chelseawmn

how to upload a picture that I have (example: of a family member) so that I could engrave their picture onto something such as wood.

This one isn’t linked separately in the above tutorials, but we do have a short demo for doing it in Inkscape:

I thought it was supposed to be easy to print photo's using glowforge?

It’s about as easy as it gets, but it’s also got the ability to do some advanced things, and those are the ones we tend to discuss and hash out on the forum. Which I imagine can be pretty confusing at first glance. If all you want to do is engrave some photos (and cut them out, I assume) the process runs like this: Load your photo into a new Inkscape document. (If you want to clean it up first you would need to do that in another program, but lets assume it’s a great…

[Techniack]

I would love to help! Do you have a basic understanding of any design software? (I use affinity designer ). You need a design to be able to make something. Once you have your design, you are ready for the laser. Do a quick google search like “Edit text (your design software)” to figure out how to use the text tool.

Once you have your file, export it as a pdf and upload it to the GF control panel. go to app.glowforge.com and sign in with the email and password you used to place your order. Click upload in the top left corner and select your file. Once it is done processing you will see a live view of your bed with your file.

If you are using a proofgrade material, load it into the glowforge now. You will see your live preview update with the material. In the top left corner, you see the material name. Below that, you will see your design. By clicking on the design, you can see your settings. Select proofgrade cut to cut your design out. Click print in the top right corner and press the teal button on the machine itself

Let me know if you need any more help!