I use an Omtech 40w laser and a while ago (before Lightburn) I created an image using Inkscape of a hand of fanned playing cards and engraved it onto the back of a cheap mirror, just removing the refective surface. Recently I was asked to reproduce this image and I am struggling using Lightburn. So to save time I thought I would simply bring the image into Lightburn and use that, however the result was very low res and looked awful.
I think the problem is because I want to card to sit in front of each other and I cannot get the cards to be ‘solid’ and cover the cards below them. I am obviously being stupid and there is an easy way to do this - can any of you tell me how? I want to learn for future projects.
Here is the image I want - thank you. Mirror PLaying Cards.lbrn2 (393.9 KB)
I may not be understanding the problem based on your description of the results and your assessment of the cause. They don’t seem to correlate.
The low res nature of the engraving is likely due to the low resolution of the input image and because the image has been stretched horizontally beyond the native aspect ratio. You have 1042 pixels horizontally covering almost 12 inches which is less than 88 DPI. I assume the resolvable DPI of your laser on mirrors is well higher than that.
I’d suggest exporting a new version of the image using a DPI that matches the resolvable DPI for that material and preserving aspect ratio. If you want to stretch the image, I’d suggest doing that in Inkscape before export. If you are uncertain of the resolvable DPI it’s likely worth some testing to determine that before proceeding.
Is it only the resolution that you were struggling with or something else? If something more then please provide photos of the reference that you’re trying to achieve and what your current results are.
That will provide a comparison from which forum members can provide additional feedback.