I’m getting Lightburn with my Ruida Laser Engraver.
I’m really savvy with Gimp and Photoshop, but for laser engraving, does CorelDraw provide some great features or easier \ quicker features??
–Thanks.
Lightburn does have some pretty comprehensive vector creation and editing capabilities but there will probably be times when you want something a bit more advanced. I use CorelDRAW but it’s not cheap, you might like to try (the free) Inkscape and see how you get on with it.
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I’ll add to what @Marcus_Wakefield has described.
It’s not clear from the original post if you’re familiar with the difference between Gimp and Photoshop vs CorelDraw so that deserves some mention.
Laser engraving can be done in either vector mode or raster mode. Raster mode is essentially taking pixel based artwork made up of a series of individual dots and converting that to a burn. Vector mode, instead of having a set of dots, is line art described using mathematical expressions that can be scaled up and down without quality loss. This is similar to how modern fonts can be made larger without looking chunky.
Gimp and Photoshop are both primarily raster focused products. CorelDraw, in contrast, is a vector focused product. Other vector programs include Inkscape and Adobe Illustrator. There are many cases where vector art is the preferred form for laser engraving.
LightBurn itself works with both formats. All new art created within LightBurn is vector based.
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Thanks, so much for your expertise, guys… This will be my first laser engraver. I will buy CorelDraw… I honestly am not savvy on raster vs vector… i’d rather just use the tools that pros are using… i learn quick… but can’t learn until i have the tools and burner. lol.
If you are already paying for Creative Cloud you may be able to use Adobe Illustrator at no additional cost depending on bundle. AI is the leading vector art tool. CorelDraw is popular in laser circles for various reasons but is in no way essential for a quality product. Inkscape is incredibly powerful and free and worth looking at as well. Inkscape is widely used for vector art.
You’ll see most technical drawings originate in CAD software. Not sure if that’s an area you’ll be exploring.
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i’m really savvy with Sketchup, too… and that’s about it… no industrial CAD experience. but i hope these products i mentioned that i’m good at helps me adapt quickly to burning.
I think in sketchup you can save as svg or dxf files, both usable in Lightburn…
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If you can find it and aren’t to tied to having the latest and greatest, the CorelDraw 2017 upgrade is actually a full blown product. I have it and use it all the time. Doug Green on YouTube is an excellent source if info and question answering on any version of it.
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Do you mean to say that you can get the Upgrade version and it will work without owning a previous version? If so, that’s quite the loophole.
Correct. the 2017 was put out as a gull version for some reason. IF you do decide to go with a newer product, I have the old 2012 version that came with my laser at the top of my Google Mod Page. That will let you use and upgrade version of something newer of you want… I think.
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i appreciate your help… i should know by WED or THUR if this will be necessary… i doubt it will be necessary, though. <3
lol
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