Illustrated user guide

Laser Engraving Studio prepares photographs and artwork as bitmap images or traced SVG paths. It does not connect to a laser, send machine instructions, or automatically choose a tested power and speed. Your laser software handles placement and the actual job.

The main workflow is source image, composition and grayscale adjustment, engraving conversion, cleanup, and export. Images are processed in the browser. Save project writes an editable archive to a folder you choose on your own computer. Project data is not uploaded to the server.

1. Upload a PNG, JPEG, WebP, or BMP using Upload or replace image, or try the demo. The source limit is 30 MB and 40 megapixels.
2. Use Subject & composition to crop, remove the background, or paint local adjustments. Switch to Image preview to inspect the adjusted grayscale.
3. In Laser setup & presets, set the physical width and height, DPI, and Bitmap Graphics or Vector Graphics. Choose a bitmap algorithm such as Jarvis for a bitmap example.
4. Adjust brightness, contrast, gamma, and detail on the left. On desktop the left controls and active tab scroll independently.
5. Click Grayscale looks good - show engraving. Inspect the converted output at Actual pixels (1:1), then use Erase dots and Restore dots if needed.
6. Save project to preserve further editing. Download PNG or BMP for bitmap engraving, or Download SVG in Vector Graphics. Import the exported file into your laser software and confirm its physical size.

The four tabs keep the tools in one workspace instead of one long stack of sections. Image preview is selected by default. Changing tabs preserves your image, masks, conversion, and engraving cleanup.

The left panel contains upload, orientation, center crop, material selection, the bitmap algorithm, grayscale adjustments, and levels/detail/curve controls. Project save/open controls and the material library sit above the tabbed workspace.

Upload or replace image accepts one source at a time. Rotate 90 degrees turns it by a quarter turn; Mirror reverses it horizontally. Center crop (% retained) keeps a centered fraction of the image. The interactive crop editor provides a more precise selection.

A crop changes the area used for conversion and export without deleting the original source pixels. Apply crop displays the cropped result in the source editor. Edit crop returns to the full source and selection handles. Reset crop restores the full image.

1. Open Subject & composition and select Crop. Choose Rectangle or Ellipse / circle.
2. Drag outside an existing selection to draw a new crop. Drag inside to move it; use the lower-right handle to resize. The X, Y, width and height fields use percentages of the original source.
3. For a circle, choose the ellipse shape and click Square / circle crop. The square selection makes its ellipse circular in source coordinates. Keep aspect locking enabled to avoid stretching the output.
4. Click Apply crop to view the result. Grayscale, engraving and exports automatically use the selected area. Use Edit crop for another adjustment.

Remove background (AI) estimates a subject mask using the bundled local model. The original image is retained. Difficult hair, feathers, fine gaps, or low-contrast edges may need manual refinement.

Erase hides source pixels. Restore reveals the original source pixels, including details missed by AI. These are subject-mask brushes, separate from the converted-output dot brushes.

1. Click Remove background (AI). Wait for its progress message; Cancel AI stops the job.
2. Choose Erase or Restore. Move over the source to see a circular brush outline. Change Brush radius with its slider or the mouse wheel over the image. Paint carefully near the edges.
3. Use Feather to soften the mask edge. Excessive feathering can blur fine subject detail; inspect the grayscale and converted views after each change.
4. Choose Removed background fill: White or Black. This fill is used for grayscale and engraving. Invert black and white flips the selected fill as well as the image.
5. Use Show original image to compare. Restore full background clears the mask. Download transparent cutout exports the masked source with transparency instead of the engraving fill.

Use the grayscale view before judging dithering. It shows tone and detail without a dot pattern. Changes on the left update the grayscale and converted output automatically after processing. The histogram runs from dark tones on the left to highlights on the right.

Work in small steps: establish the useful tonal range, adjust midtones, then add only as much sharpening as the image needs. More contrast or sharpness can remove subtle detail as easily as reveal it.

Bitmap Graphics produces a pixel image for engraving. Most algorithms represent grayscale with black and white pixels. Grayscale preserves continuous tones. Choose a method in Bitmap algorithm on the left or in Laser setup & presets.

No single method suits every photograph and surface. Use the comparison tool to generate controlled alternatives at matching dimensions. The examples below illustrate pattern differences; they are not tested laser power/speed recipes.

Physical dimensions and pixel dimensions are different. Width and height are the intended size in millimeters. DPI specifies the number of pixels per inch. More DPI gives more pixels at the same physical size, but does not recreate detail absent from the source.

DPI, line interval and line density are linked. Change any one and the others update: pixels = mm / 25.4 x DPI; line interval (mm) = 25.4 / DPI; line density (lines/cm) = DPI / 2.54.

Image preview separates the source/crop view, adjusted grayscale, and approved engraving output. Use Grayscale looks good - show engraving to enable engraving exports. Back to grayscale adjustment returns to tone review without discarding the source.

Fit image fits the preview into its viewport. Actual pixels (1:1) starts at one image pixel per displayed pixel; additional zoom helps inspect individual dots. The zoom buttons, Reset view, arrow keys and Home affect the view only, not exported dimensions.

1. Choose Move image to pan by dragging. Grayscale and engraving views have their own pan/zoom state.
2. For converted-image cleanup choose Erase dots or Restore dots. A contrasting circular outline follows the pointer and represents the brush at the current zoom.
3. Use the Brush radius slider or mouse wheel over the engraving preview or brush controls. Output cleanup uses a radius in pixels, from 1 to 100.
4. Erase dots paints the selected Erase color. Background automatically follows the current fill and inversion; White and Black can override it. Restore dots copies the original converted pixels back into the painted area.
5. Use Undo cleanup, Redo cleanup or Reset cleanup for this editing history. The main PNG/BMP downloads include cleanup; ordinary comparison/batch exports do not.

Select Laser type and Installed laser module to record the intended machine setup. The current laser entry is xTool M2, with module choices for 10W blue diode, 20W blue diode and 3W infrared. Select the module actually installed in your machine.

The tool stores machine values alongside the image recipe. It does not apply power, speed, passes or air/exhaust settings to a laser and does not embed machine instructions in PNG/BMP. Enter and verify those values in the machine software.

1. Choose settings folder in a supported browser (Chrome/Edge on localhost or HTTPS). Custom materials and presets share laser-engraving-presets.json in that chosen folder.
2. Adjust parameters, enter a new material or preset name, and use Save as new material or Save as new preset. Names cannot replace existing entries.
3. Choose the same settings folder after reopening the app to reload your custom library. On a plain HTTP network address the browser folder picker may be unavailable.

Graphics type selects Bitmap Graphics or Vector Graphics. Vector mode traces dark regions of the adjusted grayscale into closed SVG paths. It creates actual paths rather than embedding the bitmap in an SVG wrapper.

This is raster-to-vector tracing, not an SVG import or node-editing application. Photographs become flat traced shapes; fine tonal transitions are not retained as photographic grayscale.

1. In Laser setup & presets select Vector Graphics. Review and approve grayscale in Image preview.
2. Adjust Trace threshold (1-254) to decide which gray regions become dark vector shapes. If no contours appear, increase the threshold or revise the grayscale.
3. Choose Trace detail: 128, 256, 512 or 1024 samples on the longest edge. Higher values follow smaller detail but make more complex paths.
4. Choose Filled engraving shapes or Outline paths. Download SVG preserves the physical width and height in millimeters.
5. Inspect the file in your laser software and choose its operation there. Outline paths can be interpreted as cutting lines, so select the operation you intend.

Engraved text adds a name, date or dedication as part of the raster image. Text size is a percentage of the image short edge; horizontal and vertical positions are percentages. Frame width adds an engraving border. Text and frame are raster elements, not editable vector text in the exported PNG/BMP.

DPI & algorithm comparisons creates several alternatives from the current source. It keeps the current dimensions and shared image settings so you can compare one variable at a time. Current source masks and local adjustment strokes are used; converted-output cleanup is excluded.

1. Prepare the source, review grayscale and approve it. For a detail study, crop to a useful area first.
2. In Text, framing & production tools open DPI & algorithm comparisons.
3. Choose Different DPI values and enter a comma-separated list such as 200, 300, 400. The algorithm stays the same. Or choose Different conversion algorithms and tick Jarvis, Atkinson and Stucki at the current DPI.
4. Click Download comparison ZIP. You may choose 1-8 variants; DPI values must be between 72 and 1200 and each output must fit the size limits.
5. The ZIP includes individual full-resolution PNGs, settings.json, and comparison-sheet-reference-only.png. The app also displays the sheet. Use individual PNGs for engraving; the sheet is only a visual reference.

Batch processing converts multiple selected images using one current recipe. Images are processed sequentially in the browser, and the results are packaged into one engraving-batch.zip. It is useful for a series with similar visual requirements, after checking the recipe on an example.

The shared settings include algorithm, tone, dimensions/DPI, crop, rotation, mirroring, text and frame. Source-specific masks, local adjustment strokes and converted-output cleanup are excluded. AI background removal is not automatically run on every batch image.

1. Set up the recipe you want to reuse. Confirm width, DPI, algorithm, crop, text and frame before selecting a group.
2. Open Batch processing under Text, framing & production tools. Select several PNG, JPEG, WebP or BMP files.
3. Click Process selected images into ZIP. Progress identifies the current image. Cancel processing stops the batch.
4. Open the downloaded ZIP. Each successful input has a numbered PNG. settings.json records the recipe; errors.txt is included if some inputs fail.
5. Inspect several outputs, especially differently shaped images. The same crop fractions and text positions can affect each subject differently.

Save project preserves editing, unlike a finished PNG/BMP. Select both a local project folder and a settings folder, grant access, enter a Project name, then save. If either folder is missing, a message identifies it and saving is blocked. Each save creates a new uniquely named .laser-project archive in that folder on your own computer. Earlier saves remain separate. Images and settings are not uploaded to the hosting server.

Open Project, immediately to the left of Save project, lists copies in the selected local folder. Open restores the source, recipe, mask, saved grayscale/engraving and cleanup. The trash icon beside Open requests confirmation before deleting only that local archive. Deleting the saved copy of the current project leaves its image in memory and marks it unsaved.

1. Choose local project folder in Chrome or Edge, served over HTTPS or localhost. Select a folder on your computer and allow access. Choose it again after reopening the app. Also choose the settings folder in Materials & preset library. Both folders must be selected before Save project, Download project copy, or Save and continue is available.
2. Enter a Project name and click Save project. Wait for confirmation that the archive was written to your local folder.
3. Click Open Project to list local archives. Open restores editing; the trash icon deletes the selected copy after confirmation.
4. Download project copy and Import project file can transfer a portable .laser-project archive between computers.
5. When replacing an edited image or opening another project, choose Save and continue, Discard and continue, or Cancel. A cancelled folder selection or failed save keeps your edits.

These examples describe image preparation, not machine-specific engraving settings. The numerical adjustments are examples to try and compare; the correct result depends on the source and the surface.

Run the studio from its own folder. Open PowerShell, change to Q:\Laser Engraving Studio, and run pnpm dev. Keep the terminal open. Ctrl+C stops the server; run pnpm dev again to restart. The local address is http://localhost:3001/.

On another PC on the same network, use the server computer's IPv4 address and port 3001, for example http://10.0.0.126:3001/. Confirm the current address with ipconfig because it can change. The server PC must stay on, and Windows Firewall must allow the connection on your intended network.

cd 'Q:\Laser Engraving Studio'
pnpm dev

Click Contact in the support banner to send feedback, comments or suggestions to the studio owner. The form asks for your name, email address and comment. Your email address lets the owner reply directly to you.

Only the contact details and comment are sent by email. Your source images, projects, presets and engraving files are not attached.

1. Enter your name and a valid email address, then describe your feedback in Comment.
2. Choose Submit and wait for the confirmation. This means the email service accepted the message for delivery.
3. If sending fails, your entered fields remain available. Wait and retry later. Use Cancel to close without submitting.