Implementing Grayscale Engraving on CO2 Lasers

The Advantage of CO2 for Grayscale

While diode lasers often rely on dithering, high-end CO2 laser controllers (like Ruida) can vary their power dynamically based on the input grayscale value, creating true depth in materials like wood, slate, and acrylic.

Workflow

1. Open your grayscale image (0-255 values). 2. In your laser software, select 'Grayscale' or 'Power Scaling' mode. 3. Map the minimum (black) and maximum (white) power: e.g., 10% Min, 80% Max. 4. When engraving, the laser controller will rapidly modulate the tube current to match the pixel luminosity, producing 256 levels of shade/depth.