Inkscape Stroke Width for ULS M300

[John J Wang]

I am able to engrave with the M300 using Inkscape but I can't do vector cutting. Searching through the forum and online, it seems that vector cutting is possible with Inkscape when stroke width is set to .010mm, but I still can't engraved. I tried different RBG color combination, ie Black, Red, Blue and different stroke width without success. I can engrave so I think the color setting is correct, but the vector files that is sent to M300 are all empty, ie 0 power, 0 speed.

The firmware on the M300 is
V25-23-39-09

The uls print driver version is
ULS-2-24-2003 WIN XP/2000 V1.05Q

Do I need a new firmware or print driver to work with Inkscape?

thanks,

John

[Mike Null]

John

I can't answer your basic question but I believe your model is set to vector on rgb red and raster on rgb black as well as other colors. There is a ULS rgb color palette which you can get from ULS or from your manual. Your line width is fine for vectoring.

I would definitely update the print driver--may solve your problem.

I suspect Inkscape is the culprit but give ULS tech support a call for the real answer.

[Robert Walters]

John,

I'm confused at what you CAN and CANT do, are you able to CUT or ENGRAVE?

Also, do you have a sample Inkscape file that you are trying to work with?

[Mike Mackenzie]

Up date your driver, I do not think this has anything to do with the vector cutting but 105Q was a buggy version. You can download the 1.07 from my website www dot cemlasers dot com. Click on services and then drivers then download the correct driver for your version of windows.

[John J Wang]

Thanks Mike,

I think we got our M300 from you and Trevor back in 2002/3. M300 is pretty amazing, kind of like the energizer bunny, it just keep going and going. The only thing that was replaced a few years ago was the belt and the rubber rollers.

I downloaded and installed the V1.07 driver but I still can't do vector cutting with Inkscape. I tried .001" to .001pt but still can't vector cut, though raster engraving works even at .001pt.

Raster works fine but if the laser setting is set to vector only, the output to the M300 is an empty file. CorelDraw works great, but I am working on a few open source products and if possible I like to use inkscape.

The inkscape version I am using is V.48 and I will try downloading a couple earlier versions to see if they work better.

thanks,

John

[Mike Mackenzie]

John,

I do not know if Ink scape will work or not in a Vector mode however you could get an answer from here http://www.inkscapecuttingdesign.com/

I know that the driver is looking for 0.001 for hairlines and they have to be RGB R=255 G=0 B=0. It will be the line width that will make the system vector or not the system will raster anything.

[Mike Mackenzie]

John,

Here is something I found on setting up generic software.


Power Control through Color Selection
The laser system allows the use of 8 different colors to access 8 different power settings when cutting
and engraving. The printer driver controls this feature. When using this power change feature with
driver, the colors that are used MUST exactly match the colors listed in the driver. The colors are black,
red, green, yellow, blue, magenta, cyan, and orange. Some programs will provide these basic colors predefined
and other programs may require the creation of each of the colors by defining them in RGB. If
you are using CorelDRAW we have made our own custom palette and placed the file on the printer driver
disk. Please refer to the software setup instructions for your specific version of CorelDRAW. If you are
using other graphics software and need to mix your own colors, use the chart below to create them.
COLOR RED GREEN BLUE
BLACK 0 0 0
RED 255 0 0
GREEN 0 255 0
YELLOW 255 255 0
BLUE 0 0 255
MAGENTA 255 0 255
CYAN 0 255 255
ORANGE 255 102 0
If using a color other than the exact colors listed above, the driver will attempt to match it to a color in the
driver that it most closely resembles. The driver will then use that color’s power setting and apply a
halftone pattern to represent the original color’s shade. For example, if using a color like pink to fill a
rectangle, the driver takes a reading of the percentage of different colors used to create that color and will
use the power setting assigned to one of the eight colors of the driver that it most closely resembles. It
might be expected that the driver will use the power setting assigned to the color red but instead the
driver may choose the magenta setting and halftone the rectangle as a representation of the pink color’s
lighter shade. To prevent the incorrect assignment of laser power, be sure to use the right colors. If
using graphics with colors other than the eight listed above or to simplify the assignment of power
settings, try using the Clipart Mode feature in the driver. This feature will cause the system to only use
the power setting assigned to the color black and halftone all of the other colors.
Outlines and Fills
The driver distinguishes between raster mode (engraving) and vector mode (cutting) by the type of
graphic artwork being used. Basically, all graphics other than outlines of very thin line widths will be
interpreted as engraved images and the raster mode will be used for output. If laser cutting is desired,
set the line thickness of the lines that are drawn in the graphics software to .001 inches (.025 mm) or the
smallest possible line thickness that is available. The printer driver will interpret these objects as vectors
and will cut them out providing that your software has the capability of vector output. Basically, all
software programs have the ability to provide raster output. However, not all programs have the ability to
provide vector output even if you set the line width to the smallest thickness possible. Check with
Software Anomalies section in the back of this manual for software that can vector output. The use of
color fills or bitmaps will cause the laser system to engrave. The combination of engraving and cutting is
available in most graphics software. We suggest that when combining engraving and cutting objects, use
different colors for the fills and outlines since engraving requires different power settings than cutting
objects. One thing to keep in mind when creating cutting objects is that if the outline thickness is set too
thick, the driver might interpret the outline as a filled object and will engrave the outline instead of cutting.
This might be desirable if engraving thick outlines is necessary. The outline thickness at which the driver
will interpret cut lines as filled objects is dependent on the software used. Usually, any line thickness .008
inches (.2 mm) or greater will engrave. The only way to determine the cross over point for line thickness
is to experiment with different line widths. Software programs that do not have outline capabilities
definitely will not have the ability to cut.

[Dan Hintz]

I don't think I've tried it with 0.48 having moved on to Corel, but I know in general InkScape works for vector cutting... it's what I started with.

[Mike Ireland]

Make sure you do not have 'Raster' only selected for that color. You can force raster a vector line by selecting on the 'Raster' setting. You want to make sure that you select 'Raster/Vector' or 'Vector' for the color you are trying to use to cut.