Trouble With Shifting Graphics and inconsistant cuts even on proofgrade

  1. Proofgrade and using design software the circles cut through no problem. Squares and rectangles cut half through. All were on same settings
  2. After a cut the graphics shift about and 1/8 in to the right which means if the engrave is not dark enough or the cut did not make it through I can’t just start the machine back up for another round.
  3. after hours and yes I mean hours of carefully placing everything in the app when I press ready the designs have ahabit of shifting.
    Im loosing my sanity. I have designs set for what I want to sell but these designing issues (even doing full design in vector programs and importing them is still a problem with the shifting when pressing ready) have meant that I have wasted hundreds of dollars in proof grade materials and two months trying to figure out what is going wrong.


Whatever the image looks like the Precision placement location(in pink rectangle) will set the location and size. If that is correct the cut will be correct. If you use set focus and have run the setup program to properly align the camera then the image will align as well. I sometimes run set focus several times till it quits moving before I believe it, but I still set and remember the pink rectangle information that is the absolute location.

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Thank you!
It is frustrating since it can take up to 5 minutes for the software to even think about any changes. The software has been one of my biggest headaches

The image shifts because the camera correction based on material height is lost when you open the lid. However, if you run the same job again without shifting your material or the artwork, it will run in exactly the same position as the last time.

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This, so much this. Using set focus before placing any artwork saves so much headache and wasted time.

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Hello, I’m so glad to hear that other community members have advised you to use set focus before placing the artwork- this is just what I was going to recommend to you. Could you please let us know how it goes after trying this? I’m also sorry to hear that you have wasted some materials troubleshooting this issue.

I’ve gone ahead and sent you a small gift card to help you get more Proofgrade materials.

Regarding the issue of not cutting through all the way, I’d love to run a test print on one of our standard designs

There are several things that need to be checked if the laser doesn’t cleanly cut through the material. We’ve discovered that photos don’t always come through well in emails, so I’ve included several links that will take you to reference instructions and photos. Please turn off your Glowforge and check the following:

Once all these things have been checked, please perform the following test print.

  • Print the Gift of Good Measure on Proofgrade material, using Proofgrade settings.

  • When the print finishes, leave the lid closed and wait until the fans stop and the picture updates.

Check the completed print:

  • If the Gift of Good Measure fails to cut through, take a photo of the front and back of the print and attach these photos to your reply.
  • If the Gift of Good Measure cuts successfully, please try another print of the design you experienced the issue with, and let us know the results.
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It doesnt though. I dont lift the lid and it still shifts

Thank you and please keep this open for a while. I dislocated my leg (darn ehlers danlos!!!) and cant really get to the machine right now. As soon as I can I will try this!

My point was that even if the camera image shifts between jobs, if you don’t change anything it will still print in exactly the same spot if you run the print again.

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Put another way, the machine will always print exactly where the design is placed in relation to the rulers on the sides of the interface, even if the machine is turned off and/or the material is replaced/moved.

The image of the material you see is adjusted by the “focus” operation to try and match that view as well as possible so you can place designs. That doesn’t in any way alter the actual location that the print will occur.

So if you need to re-run a print, it will print in that exact same location, typically to within 0.001" - in most cases, even if the machine has been powered off.

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I’m so sorry to hear about the injury. We’ll leave this open for longer until we receive your reply.

In the meantime, we have additional information about print alignment available here: Alignment Troubleshooting

Please let us know if you have any other questions.

It’s been a little while since I’ve seen any replies on this thread so I’m going to close it. If you still need help with this please either start a new thread or email support@glowforge.com.