5. Designing Softwares
Before jump into laser engraving – laser cutting techniques, we need to understand some facts about laser engraving softwares and their application
5.1 Raster Vs Vector
Raster image is a widely used image format can be a created using a pixel based softwares or captured with camera , normal raster formats are JPG,PNG,GIF etc
A raster image have specific number of pixels when you are trying to enlarge picture become blurry
Vector Images are created by vector based softwares and CAD programs such as Corel Draw,Autocad etc. Vector images use mathematical relations instead of pixels so it can be scale it into any size without affecting quality.
Common Vector file formats are DXF,SVG
5.2 2D Vector Designing Softwares
Following softwares help you to create your own design files for laser cutting .
| Rank | Software | Cost | Main Features |
| #1 | Coreldraw | 16.5$/Month |
|
| #2 | Inkscape | Free |
|
| #3 | Adobe Illustrator | 33.99$/Month |
|
- Google Sketchup
- SolidWorks
- Autocad
- Rhino
- Onshape
- Tinkercad
- Any other softwares which supports DXF exporting
5.3 Laser Engraving Softwares
laser engraving softwares is easily converts your image into engraving format , these softwares are compatible with most of the laser cutters
- Lightburn
It is the best software for photo engraving , for more information visit their website https://lightburnsoftware.com/
Price : 80$ , Trial Version Available
It is a best laser engraving software for high qulaity laser engraved photos
- Photograv
Price :395$
It is also good laser engraving software but it is little bit expensive ,for more info please visit http://www.photograv.com/
