5 Secrets to Laser Engraving Photograph

Accordion artist book with laser engraved Chameleon on lapis blue cover.

Spring is here and I'm feeling the exhaustion of winter melt away. I'm ready for exploration and new challenges! How about you?

One of the challenges I'm embracing is laser engraving photographs.

I'm currently teaching a workshop, Laser Engraving Photographs on Book Cloth that has peaked my enthusiasm about a topic I used to hold at arm’s length.

It's exhilarating, if not a little daunting, to help artists learn how to problem solve their way through this no-so-straightforward process.

Why is working with photographs so challenging? There are five variables to balance.

In this post I share with you the five variables you need to consider when laser engraving photographs.

Two laser engraved photographs. The one at 300 ppi is sharper and more detailed than the one at 72 ppi.

Laser Engraving Photograph - The Five Variables

1) Image Quality

Most of us know that high resolution images produce better results, but it's so easy to get attached to an image and ignore the resolution. This contemplating chameleon is 300 ppi (left) and 72 ppi (right). What a difference!

Image (left) has not been adjusted and is high contract. Image (right) has been adjusted in Adobe Photoshop and contains a full balanced value range.

2) Adjustments in Photoshop

This is a big one! Photographs that look good on screen are likely to laser engrave high contrast and with the darks bleeding together (left). Adjusting the color, value, and clarity of the image in Photoshop makes all the difference (right).

The laser engraved photograph at 90 lines per inch is high contrast and poor quality. The laser engraved photograph at 45 lines per inch contains more values and higher quality.

3) Laser Cutter Resolution

Now this is different than the resolution of the image. The laser cutter resolution refers to the lines per inch (lpi). This is the number of times the laser goes back and forth within an inch. You probably think that more is better (left), but I've found that lowering the LPI often improves the image quality (right).

Three laser engraved photographs each engraved at a different setting.

4) Laser Cutter Setting

Getting the right power setting can be tricky. You want one that is strong enough to bring out the light values but not too strong that it causes the image to fill in. Power of 26 (left), 22 (middle), 18 (right).

Laser engraved Baltic birch produces poor results. Laser engraved fabric produces good results.

5) Material

The type of material can have a huge effect on how well a photograph engraves. In this example the same file is engraved onto a piece of birch plywood (left) and fabric (right). Big difference!

Whew! Is your mind spinning with so many variables to balance?

Sarah Pikelasercutting, lasercut, laserengraving, laserengrave, artistbook, artistbooks, laserengravedphotographs, photography, bookcloth, freefalllaser, imagequality, adobephotoshop, photoshop, imageresolution, lasercutter