How I Prepare Photos for Engraving Using Photoshop

[thisismakers]

Thank you so much for this, it is incredibly helpful! I was struggling for a starting point and now it actually makes a lot more sense, I can’t wait to try this out

@jbmanning5

I feel like the PG settings are a bit hot (for my tastes) in that regard.

I used to use different lasers at uni like epilog and hpc so I actually started to feel quite perplexed towards the Glowforge and any PG settings

@jbmanning5

wood species definitely makes a difference. They all burn a bit different

I have quite a bit of different species lying around which have all reacted totally different when cutting so I can imagine engrave is just the same? I have some oaks, walnuts, maples, pines but I also have things like panga panga and yew (I have a fume extraction unit so I’m safe from the toxins phew!). Is this a wood hardness thing or are there other factors involved?

@jbmanning5

Another trick you can do on unfinished materials (no poly finish, etc.) is to sand over it with some 220 grit and it will develop more contrast.

Does the sanding not remove any details of the engrave? That’s definitely an interesting one! Thank you

@jbmanning5

Here’s a recent testing one of Rio (while trying to develop some Lightroom presets). This was done on a Universal laser, but still high speed and low power.

Rio looks awesome! What material is this on? I am excited to get back on the laser now, I really didn’t wanna look it at after my confusions. Thank you