Laser cutting & engraving guides
Plain-English guides to turning photos into laser-ready files, choosing formats and materials, dialing in settings, and avoiding the mistakes that ruin a cut. Written for Glowforge, xTool, LightBurn, OMTech, and every desktop laser.
How to Convert a Photo to SVG for Laser Cutting
Turn any photo into a clean, cuttable SVG — the right way.
DXF vs SVG for Laser Cutting: Which Should You Use?
The real differences, and which to pick for your laser.
Best Laser Settings for Engraving Wood (A Practical Guide)
How power, speed, and DPI work — and where to start.
How to Prepare a Photo for Laser Engraving
Get a photo to burn cleanly on wood, slate, or metal.
What Is Bridging in Laser Cutting? (Floating Islands Explained)
Why parts fall out of stencils — and how bridges fix it.
How to Use SVG Files in LightBurn
Import, size, and assign layers the right way.
How to Cut a Stencil on a Glowforge
From SVG to a clean cut stencil on the Glowforge.
Best Materials for Laser Engraving (and How They Look)
Wood, slate, leather, metal — how each one engraves.