Hi all,
Thanks in advance for any help. I’ve had this issue since I’ve started using my GF. All light-engraved prints have stippling on them, or little random dots scattered in the engrave, which is very unflattering. Is there a way to reduce or remove them?
File preparation:
I create vector images on Adobe Illustrator using #000000 for engrave fill and hairline thick lines for cut-outs. They are saved as vector-enabled PDF, then upload to the GFUI.
Sort of difficult to photograph, but noticeable in person (especially on colored transparent acrylic and some other non-PG stuff)
In the GFUI they look perfectly fine. After printing they look either like there are little dots everywhere (esp. noticeable for ~0.5" tall prints I’ve done) or textured badly (they should be able to turn out smooth like on other lasercutters)
While troubleshooting I tried to raster then upload, and then you can see the stippling.
left: rastered at 680 dpi (varying this doesn’t change it much)
right: vector PDF
The settings I used are:
1000 speed
15 power
340 lpi
.18" focus (defocusing improved some details on the engraves for specific prints)
On PG medium cast acrylic.
I know there is a “vary power” and “convert to dots” setting for engraving grayscale images. I wonder if that is related to this issue.
On previous laser-cutting machines, I’d get a mostly smooth engrave. Sometimes you can see the horizontal lines, a grid (vertical and horizontal), or complete smoothness.