Preparing your file properly

A laser follows paths. It knows no images, no pixels and no effects — it knows lines it travels along and areas it rasters. Anything in your file that is not a vector path does not exist for it.

That sounds self-evident but is the cause of almost every case in which a result looks different from what was expected. A design that looks perfect on screen can contain elements that are simply missing when cut.

Converting text to paths

A font is not a drawing but a reference to a font file installed on your computer. On ours it is not — and a reference pointing nowhere is ignored. The text therefore simply disappears.

All common programs have a command for this, usually under names such as “Create outlines”, “Path → Object to Path” or “Convert to curves”. Only convert the text once it is final — afterwards it can no longer be edited as text. It is worth saving the file once with live text beforehand.

RGB instead of CMYK

Which operation the laser performs is controlled by colour: one colour for cuts, one for engraving. This assignment only works via exact RGB values. If the file is in CMYK mode, the values shift minimally during conversion — and an exact blue becomes a blue that no longer matches the assignment.

So set the colour model of the whole document to RGB before assigning the colours. Switching afterwards is often not enough, because the values already assigned are converted in the process.

The authoritative colour values and line weights are on our file preparation page.

Where programs set their own traps

Frequently overlooked: effects that look like geometry but are not. A stroke with width is not a path but a display property; only “Outline stroke” turns it into real geometry. The same applies to drop shadows, gradients and transparencies — they have no place in a cutting plan.

Equally popular: duplicate paths on top of one another. They arise from copying or from applying a tool repeatedly, are invisible on screen and mean the same line is cut twice. That costs time and money and leaves a poorer edge.

And finally scale: draw in millimetres and at 1:1. A file that looks fine in the program but is set up in inches or scaled will be the wrong size on import.

Checking beforehand, without ordering

You do not have to guess whether a file is correct. Upload it and look at the preview — it shows exactly what the laser will carry out, including the price. What is missing from the preview will be missing from the result.

It is the fastest check there is and commits you to nothing: what you do not put in the basket is not produced. For a first draft it is the most reliable feedback available.

Short checklist before uploading

1. Document is set to RGB, not CMYK.
2. All text has been converted to paths.
3. No pixel images, no gradients, no effects included.
4. Contours to be cut are real paths in the right colour and hairline weight.
5. No duplicate paths on top of one another.
6. Scale 1:1 in millimetres, everything fits one of the sheet formats.
7. Checked in the preview.