Photo prep file type

[SteveOk54 (Steve Law)]

What is the correct or best type of image file to start with in Lightburn
. This is concerning self taken photos import to computer from camera, edited in Gimp and exported as which file type. Chief reason for Gimp is to close crop the picture.
Thank you

[Rick (Technical Evangelist)]

@SteveOk54

Chief reason for Gimp is to close crop the picture.

LightBurn provides Image Masking, which might reduce the need for additional tools in the workflow. This is a good overview of what you can do with it. There is a link in that document to our YouTube video illustration in use. Image Masking - LightBurn Software Documentation

There are many posts about prep work for images here on the forum. Search should surface a bunch of helpful information. I will share a few I find helpful.

Image engraving guidelines

Engraving photo-realistic images is one of the cooler things lasers can do, but it’s harder than most people realize. The key things people get wrong when engraving images are: Going too fast Setting the DPI too high There are three types of Lasers generally supported by LightBurn Glass tube CO2 lasers RF excited CO2 lasers Diode lasers The first, glass tube CO2, uses gas excited by high-voltage power, almost like a neon tube. When the controller tells the laser to fire, it sends a signal…

Understanding line interval/DPI for engraving

First, I’m no expert so anyone else here feel free to correct any misstatements or add your own information. I’m specifically addressing this question for engraving, whether it be photo engraving or filling an enclosed vector shape. The reason for this post is it seems like a lot of people either don’t understand it at all or they take a guess at it and see what looks good. This is specifically tailored for CO2 lasers as I don’t have any experience with diodes. If your laser head is stationa…

And to adjust the image for laser production, this is worth review no matter how you adjust it: Redirecting...