HomePhoto to laser engraving
Photo to laser engraving prep
Turn a photograph into a 1-bit engraving at a real size. Set the width in millimeters and the DPI, then tune brightness, contrast, gamma, and the dither. Material presets are starting points for the image, not power settings for your machine.
Exports PNG. See also Laser DPI and LPI converter, Image to SVG trace, Material test grid.
Dark pixels burn. A little extra contrast keeps the grain from turning into noise.
1 leaves midtones alone. Lower lifts shadows.
Drop a photo here, or choose a file.
It stays in this browser. Nothing is uploaded.
Choose a photo to preview the engraving.
Red paths cut. Blue paths score. Black paths engrave. Import at 100% scale.
How to use it
- Use a sharp photo with a clear subject. Busy backgrounds dither into mud.
- Pick a material preset, then adjust contrast until the face or the product still reads at thumbnail size.
- Set the output width in millimeters. Height follows the photo unless you unlock the aspect.
- Match DPI to the line interval you will engrave. 254 DPI is a 0.1 mm interval. The DPI converter does the rest of the math.
- Download the PNG and place it at 100%. The file’s DPI is stored so LightBurn and xTool Creative Space can size it.
Related tools
Questions
Which dither should I use?
Floyd–Steinberg is the everyday default. Jarvis and Stucki are smoother and slower to look at. Atkinson keeps more highlight. Bayer and halftone stay crisp on coated metal, acrylic, and paper.
Do you upload the photo?
No. The file is read and processed in your browser. It is not sent to EngraveKit.
Why does the preview look coarser than the download?
The preview is capped so the page stays responsive. The PNG is rendered at the full pixel size for your millimeter width and DPI, up to 8000 pixels on the long side.
Should black pixels burn?
On wood and coated stock, black usually means burn. On slate and some tiles the light areas should burn — turn on Invert, or use the slate preset.