Converting Artwork to Vector for Laser Cutting

Why Vector Matters A raster image (JPG, PNG) is a grid of pixels. The laser interprets it by scanning left-right across every row, firing at dark pixels. This works for photo engraving but it's the wrong approach for cutting shapes and lines. A vector path is a mathematical description of a curve or line. The laser follows it directly at your set speed and power. Result: clean, consistent cuts with no wasted travel time. Use raster for: photo engraving, greyscale artwork. Use vector for: cutting shapes, clean line engraving, text, logos. What Images Work for Vectorizing Works well: Black-and-white logos with clean edges Silhouettes Simple line drawings Solid text Geometric shapes Works poorly: Full photographs (too much gradation) Watercolor or painterly art Low-contrast or soft-focus images LightBurn: Trace Image Select your imported image → Tools → Trace Image (or press T). Key controls: Threshold — the black/white cutoff. Drag left for more detail, right for simpler/bolder output. Watch the preview. Smooth — reduces jaggy edges from pixel staircasing. Start at 1-2. Optimize — reduces node count while preserving shape. Higher = fewer nodes. Ignore Less Than (mm²) — removes tiny noise paths below this area. Set 0.5-1.0 to clean up spec noise. Click Trace. The vector paths appear over the original. Delete the raster image, keep the paths. Check that closed shapes are actually closed — open paths create line burns instead of filled cuts. Limitation: LightBurn's tracer is good for quick jobs but for complex artwork, Inkscape or Illustrator produce cleaner output. Inkscape: Trace Bitmap (Free) The most capable free tracing tool available. Path → Trace Bitmap (Shift+Alt+B). Single Scan modes (best for cut paths): Brightness Cutoff — simple threshold trace. Best for clean logos and solid artwork. Set Threshold to 0.45-0.55 and adjust. Edge Detection — traces edges only. Good for line drawings you want as single strokes. Color Quantization — breaks multi-color artwork into separate trace layers. Useful for multi-layer laser work. After tracing: 1. Delete the original image 2. Ungroup the result (Object → Ungroup or Ctrl+Shift+G) 3. Path → Simplify (Ctrl+L) — press 2-4 times to reduce node count 4. Check for unwanted background shapes and delete them 5. Switch to the Node editor (N key) to manually clean problem areas Export: File → Save As → SVG or Plain SVG for LightBurn. File → Export → DXF if your laser uses proprietary software. Adobe Illustrator: Image Trace Window → Image Trace to open the panel. Place your image (File → Place), select it, then expand the Image Trace panel. Useful presets: Manual control: Threshold — same as all other tools. Adjust for desired detail level. Paths — how closely paths follow edges. Higher = more nodes, more accurate. Corners — sharp vs rounded corner handling. Noise — minimum spot size to ignore (like LightBurn's "Ignore Less Than"). Ignore White — prevents the white background from being traced as a shape. Enable this. Click Expand to convert from live trace to actual editable paths. Then: Object → Path → Simplify to reduce node count. Target 50-100 nodes per simple shape. Export: File → Export → Export As → SVG (for LightBurn) or DXF (for other laser software). Illustrator tip: For simple logos and text, it's often faster and cleaner to manually trace with the Pen tool than to auto-trace. You get perfect paths with 5-20 nodes per shape instead of hundreds. Affinity Designer: Vectorize and Clean Up Affinity's auto-trace is less powerful but it's excellent for cleaning up paths traced elsewhere. For tracing: Layer → Trace Bitmap (varies by version). Set tolerance and smoothing. Where Affinity shines: Node editor is very comfortable for smoothing and adjusting traced curves Boolean operations (Add, Subtract, Intersect, Divide) work cleanly for combining shapes Artboard setup is easy for multi-piece laser files Workflow: trace in Inkscape → import SVG into Affinity → clean paths and organize layers → export. Export: File → Export → SVG or PDF (LightBurn imports both). CorelDraw: PowerTRACE Select your bitmap → Bitmaps → PowerTRACE (Ctrl+F12). Two trace types: Outline Trace — traces closed filled shapes. Options: Line Art — clean high-contrast artwork Logo — for logos with detail Detailed Logo — complex logos Centerline Trace — traces lines as single strokes, not filled shapes. Unique to CorelDraw. Good for: Technical drawings you want as engraving lines Pen plotter-style designs Single-stroke engraving paths Adjust Detail, Smoothing, and Corner Smoothness sliders while watching the preview. Remove background with the color picker. Export: File → Export → DXF (most compatible format for proprietary laser software). CorelDraw's DXF export is more reliable than most. Universal Tips for Any App Delete white/background shapes after tracing — keep only cut outlines All cutting paths must be closed — start and end node at the same point Put engrave paths and cut paths on different layers with different colors — you'll need different settings Check final file at 1:1 scale — is it actually the size you need? Aim for 50-200 nodes per shape — more = sluggish laser movement SVG or DXF are the most universally compatible export formats

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