One of the best things about the laser is the versatility. A lot of different materials can be engraved and even cut, which gives us the opportunity to make a variety of products.
The downside to having so many material options, is that each material has it's own optimal or perfect laser settings to achieve the best results. Now, keep in mind that "perfect" is subjective and up to personal preference. Where one person may like a lighter engraving color contrast, someone else may like a darker color contrast.
Using this grid method is a great way to find out what different settings will look like. This can take a while to machine, but will be a great resource for as long as you own a laser.
DOWNLOAD MATERIAL TEST FILES
When using this file, you may need to run one row at a time using the color mapping option. This will allow you to specify the power and speed for each RGB color code. This will save time on producing this file versus machining one square at a time.
This file is meant to be a guide and may need to be altered depending on the make and model of your laser. If you have any questions, feel free to contact me.
14 comments
I have a epilog zing and I want to use this file for testing how would I go about setting the file up.
Sorry for the delay in both of these comments. The files should have all of the squares already in the design. They may be on different layers that need to be shown or hidden. If you’re having trouble, feel free to email me.
As for setting it up to your laser, it depends on the software you use. In my Epilog print driver, I am able to create color mapping settings. I don’t remember much about Retina software, but there may be a way to have different raster and vector settings for different colors. If you have trouble with this, please let me know and I will do my best to figure it out with you.
Thank you so much for sharing your knowledge. I understand the concept, but not sure what is involved in setting the file up on my laser to run it. Is there anything else I need to do other than import it into my program? (Retina Engrave 3)
Sooo, do I need to add squares with the individual settings? Your file just gives the headers from the top and side.