Affinity Designer (Affinity by Canva) for Laser Cutting: Complete Guide

Affinity Designer used to be a one-time-purchase app sold on its own — but Canva acquired Affinity and relaunched it as a single, free, unified application ("Affinity by Canva") that merges what used to be three separate apps (Designer, Photo, Publisher) into one program with three switchable "Studios": Vector, Pixel, and Layout. Everything in this guide is the Vector Studio — same tools, same workflow, just inside the unified app rather than a standalone Designer install. It's free (a Canva account is required to sign in, but no subscription is needed for the design tools themselves — only optional AI features like generative fill sit behind Canva Pro), and it's a genuinely strong choice for laser and CNC work specifically — reliable boolean operations, a solid node editor, and clean SVG/DXF export that most laser and CNC software actually reads correctly. This covers the full workflow: vector prep for laser cutting/engraving, and the export settings that actually matter.

Vector vs Pixel Studio — The Core Concept

In the current unified Affinity app, you switch between "Studios" (older standalone versions called these "Personas" — same concept, new name) for different kinds of work, and understanding this is the single most important thing for laser/CNC prep:

Vector Studio (default) — where you do essentially all laser and CNC prep work. Everything here is scalable, node-based, and exports cleanly as paths that a laser or CNC controller can actually follow.
Pixel Studio — a full raster editor living inside the same document, useful for photo engraving prep (see the companion Affinity Photo guide for the deeper version of this workflow), but NOT where you build cut/engrave line work.

The most common beginner mistake is building artwork in Pixel Studio and expecting it to export as clean vector paths — it won't, since it's raster data under the hood regardless of which studio is currently active.

Setting Up a Document for Laser/CNC Work

File → New, set the document to your actual material size in real-world units (mm or inches, matching what your laser/CNC software expects) — don't work at an arbitrary canvas size and scale later, since that's where rounding errors creep in
Set DPI appropriately — 300 DPI is a safe default that keeps file sizes reasonable while giving plenty of resolution for any raster elements
Enable the grid and snapping (View → Show Grid, View → Snapping) if working with fixtures, tabs, or repeatable layouts — makes aligning parts to a spoilboard or jig much easier

Building Cut-Ready Vector Lines

Use the Pen tool for precision work — the Pencil tool is faster for freehand sketching but produces messier node placement that's harder to clean up later
Keep line/cut layers separate from engrave/fill layers — name your layers explicitly ("CUT", "ENGRAVE", "SCORE") since most laser software (LightBurn, LaserBurn) imports SVG layers directly and uses them to assign different operations
Set stroke width to a hairline (0.001mm or similar) for cut lines before export — most laser software interprets ANY visible stroke width as "this is a filled shape to engrave," not a path to cut, so an oversized stroke can silently change how a shape gets processed on import
Use color coding for multi-operation files — many laser workflows (including LightBurn) assign operations based on stroke/fill COLOR, not just layer — red strokes for cuts, blue for scores, black fill for engraving is a common, exportable convention

Boolean Operations for Complex Shapes

Affinity Designer's boolean tools (found in the Layers panel or via right-click) are genuinely reliable, which matters a lot for laser-cut interlocking parts, stencils, or anything with cutouts:

OperationResultCommon Use AddMerges shapes into one outlineCombining multiple parts into a single cut path SubtractRemoves the top shape from the bottom oneCutting holes, slots, or windows into a larger part IntersectKeeps only the overlapping areaFinding exact overlap between two components — useful for tab/slot joinery design DivideSplits shapes at their intersections into separate objectsBreaking a complex design into individually-cuttable pieces

Unlike some vector editors, these operations in Affinity Designer produce genuinely clean, laser-safe output — no stray duplicate nodes or self-intersecting paths, which is a real, common headache in cheaper tools.

Working with Text for Engraving

Convert text to curves before exporting (right-click → Convert to Curves) — this is non-negotiable if you're sending the file to any other software or computer, since font availability isn't guaranteed and a missing font silently breaks the layout
Check node count on converted text — some decorative fonts convert to an enormous number of nodes per letter, which can slow down or choke a laser controller on complex jobs; simplify (Layer → Geometry → Simplify) if this happens
Mind kerning and letter-spacing before converting — once text becomes curves, it's just shapes, and adjusting spacing afterward means manually repositioning individual letter paths

Exporting for Laser/CNC Software

FormatBest ForNotes SVGLightBurn, LaserBurn, most modern laser softwarePreserves layers and colors correctly if named/coded properly; the most broadly compatible choice DXFCNC CAM software, older laser softwareMore universally supported in CNC-specific tools, but loses color/fill information — geometry only PDFArchival, or software expecting vector PDF importPreserves vector data well but less commonly the "native" import format for laser-specific software

Use File → Export (not File → Save As, which keeps Affinity's own .afdesign format) and double-check the export preview before committing — Affinity's export dialog shows exactly what will be included, catching missing layers or unexpected rasterization before it becomes a wasted material problem.

Common Export Problems and Fixes

"My cut lines are being treated as fills" — check stroke width (should be hairline) and confirm you're not accidentally exporting a closed shape's fill instead of just its outline
"Colors look different after import" — set your document color format to RGB (not CMYK) before starting, since most laser software expects RGB and CMYK-to-RGB conversion can shift colors unpredictably
"Some elements are missing after export" — check for hidden or locked layers; Affinity's export respects visibility/lock state, so anything toggled off in the Layers panel won't appear in the exported file even if it looks present in the document view

Once the workflow clicks, this Vector Studio setup holds up genuinely well against Illustrator for this kind of work — and now free, unified into the wider Affinity by Canva app. See the Affinity by Canva overview for the bigger picture, or real project scenarios combining this with Pixel and Layout Studio work.

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