Laser Engraver Setup

There are three steps to setting up the software to work with a laser

engraver:

1. Installing a driver for the laser engraver.

2. Setting the cutting power and speed associated with pen colors.

3. Creating a custom swatch table for the laser engraver.

Installing a Driver for the Laser Engraver

The driver for the laser engraver functions like a local printer driver.

To install the driver:

1. From the Windows Start menu, select Settings then Printers.

2. In the Printers window, click Add Printer.

3. In the Add Printer Wizard, click Next.

4. Select Local Printer and click Next.

5. Select your parallel port (usually LPT1) as the printer port and click

Next.

6. Click Have Disk and select the appropriate driver from the Drivers

directory on your Installation CD.

7. Select your laser engraver in the Printers list and click Next.

8. Under Do you want your Windows-based programs to use this

printer as the default printer? select No and click Next.

9. Select Do not share this printer and click Next.

10. Under Do you want to print a test page? select No and click

Next.

11. Click Finish.

Setting the Cutting Power and Speed for Pen Colors

Most laser engravers support an engraving mode in which the amount

of power supplied to the laser and the speed at which the laser moves

are determined by the pen color assigned to the path or pixel.

The power and speed settings for each color can be adjusted in the

print options for the laser engraver. The colors in your design must

exactly match the colors recognized by the driver.

Each type of substrate will require a different combination of speed and

power in order to make the most efficient cut. A slower-moving laser will

make a deeper cut than a faster-moving laser, because it spends a

longer amount of time at each point along the path. Increasing the laser

power will also increase the cutting power.

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Working with Laser Engravers