Applying Image Mask deletes the part I want to keep

LightBurn Software Questions
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1

I have imported a photo image (.jpg) into a greeting card template I have created; see step 1 below. The photo is too wide to fit into the greeting card front panel. (I’ve also imported a second image, same format, for the inside of the card; it too is to wide for the allotted space. For simplicity, I’m just focusing on the front panel in this post, but the same problem occurs with both images.)

The problem: When I enclose the overflow portion of the image in a rectangle and select Apply Mask to Image (step 6), the part of the image I want to keep disappears, leaving the waste portion visible.

What am I doing wrong?

Here’s what I’ve done (using Lightburn v 1.7.08 in Windows 10, connected to AtomStack A10 Pro V2):

  1. Import the image file into the template.

image
image1718×895 159 KB

The large blue rectangle is the cut line for trimming the card to the required size. The green lines are perforation lines for folding the card to size. Text outside of the blue rectangle is on a tool layer.

  1. Create a mask boundary around the waste part of the image.

image
image1718×895 176 KB

Mask is defined by the pink rectangle (on layer 7) surrounding the right most quadrant of the image.

  1. Select mask and image.

image
image1718×895 180 KB

Select mask first, image second; or image first, mask second, doesn’t matter, same result.

  1. Select Apply Mask to Image on Tool menu.

image
image1720×891 195 KB

Also on right-mouse-click popup menu; same result.

  1. Result: Wrong part of the photo is gone.

image
image1718×895 125 KB

The part that remains is the part I’m trying to get rid of.

Any help, tips, pointers? Thanks in advance, Jerry

2

That’s because you are using the other way around. You need to create a shape of that portion that should stay. So just invert your process. The masking feature is designed such that you can select the shape you want to stay. See here:

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3

Well, okay. But that’s not what mask generally means. A mask is a cover, meant to hide what’s underneath.

The link you sent me to seems to agree…the first two sentences say “Use Apply Mask to Image to hide portions of images that you do not want to engrave. By default, image masking doesn’t delete the data of the removed part of the image, it just hides it from view and doesn’t output those parts to the machine.”

4

The mask hides everything outside of the boundary you create. In your case, start the mask on the edge of the card and move inward until everything you wish to keep is within the boundary.

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5

Except for the eyes and mouth. The “hole” is what you see through.

6

Yeah, I got it, it’s now working. Thanks. :slight_smile:

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