Laserworks Color Mapping Question

[Walt Langhans]

Hey Guys,

I'm trying to get my designs done before my laser shows up and I have a few questions about how laserworks and color mapping works.

For specifics I'll be taking work done in corel x5 and sending it to laserworks so it can be processed for my laser.

1/ I assume anything that I have 'filled' will have to be rastered, since it doesn't have any lines in it?

2/ I've noticed that it I draw a circle, then fill it I can delete the original circle and the fill stays. If I don't delete the circle I assume the laser will see this as two separate objects and the circle will get done twice? My concern here is having an efficient design and not having the laser go over things twice (unless I need it to for some reason).

3/ Do letters have to be rastered, or is there some font that can be colored mapped for vectoring? I've got some parts that I need labeled but once they go together you won't see the labels so I just need the fastest way to engrave a letter or two.

4/ I'm using red to denote cut lines, and then all of my detail lines are black, however my fill is also black. If I use color mapping to make the black be able to be vectored do I need to change the color of my fill? Basically does color mapping make a distinction between a black line and a black fill for power settings?

5/ If I engrave and area by having it filled, and then I would like to engrave some detail in the area that was just engraved what's the best way to accomplish that?

6/ Is there a general rule of thumb for when it would be better (and by better I'm primarily thinking faster) to raster something as opposed to color mapping it and having it vectored? I'm thinking something like an interlocking pattern of circles.

Thanks guys!

[Rich Harman]

1/ I assume anything that I have 'filled' will have to be rastered, since it doesn't have any lines in it?

Fill is completely ignored in LaserWorks. It is meaningless. In Corel, select everything, then left click on the "X" at the top of the color palette to remove all fill, then right click on a color to show all the outlines. Also while everything is still selected set the thickness to hairline.


2/ I've noticed that it I draw a circle, then fill it I can delete the original circle and the fill stays. If I don't delete the circle I assume the laser will see this as two separate objects and the circle will get done twice? My concern here is having an efficient design and not having the laser go over things twice (unless I need it to for some reason).

Again, fill is ignored. How are you creating the fill? If you fill the circle using the "Smart Fill" tool then it does create another object with its own outline. If you are creating fill by just left clicking on the palette then it does not create another outline.

The Smart Fill tool can be very useful for creating a single object out of many individual lines that make up an enclosed space. Just drag the new filled object away and delete all the old stuff. Left click the "X" on the palette to remove the fill and right click to assign a color to the outline.


3/ Do letters have to be rastered, or is there some font that can be colored mapped for vectoring? I've got some parts that I need labeled but once they go together you won't see the labels so I just need the fastest way to engrave a letter or two.

The only things that "have" to be rastered is bitmaps. That is because they contain no paths for the laser to vector along. Any font can be vector engraved. The laser will follow the outline of the font. There are some single line fonts that you can use for faster engraving.


4/ I'm using red to denote cut lines, and then all of my detail lines are black, however my fill is also black. If I use color mapping to make the black be able to be vectored do I need to change the color of my fill? Basically does color mapping make a distinction between a black line and a black fill for power settings?

Not to be repetitive but - fill is ignored by LaserWorks. Once you import into Laseworks the fill is gone, only the outlines remain. If the lines make an enclosed shape then you can choose to either vector along the lines or you can raster the area within the outline. This is something you specify in LaserWorks. You can both raster and vector the same color.


5/ If I engrave and area by having it filled, and then I would like to engrave some detail in the area that was just engraved what's the best way to accomplish that?

Not exactly sure what you are asking. You can always engrave again over any area.


6/ Is there a general rule of thumb for when it would be better (and by better I'm primarily thinking faster) to raster something as opposed to color mapping it and having it vectored? I'm thinking something like an interlocking pattern of circles.

Everything is color mapped. Even things to be rastered have a color assigned. Small text can be rastered faster than vectored. It really depends upon the design. Best to experiment and find what works the best for your application.

[Walt Langhans]

How are you creating the fill?
I had been using the smart fill tool. I get what you are saying.

So what do I need to if and line is both a cut line and needs to serve as a defining fill line? Meaning if I wanted to cut out a square but I wanted half of it to be engraved down a 1mm. Do I need to have 2 different color lines on top of each other? One for the cut and one to close the engrave area?


Not exactly sure what you are asking. You can always engrave again over any area.
Does it work better to engrave the area and then come back and add the detail or the other way around, or does it matter?

Do I have to use laserwork with my shenhui or are there work arounds to go straight from corel to the laser?

When I did my test building I was using an epilog that read the fill, so I've got over 100 different designs that I am going to need to change if there isn't a way around it.

Thanks for the reply!

[Rich Harman]

You must use LaserWorks. When you install the plugin you will have the choice on how to install the plugin. The default method results in a small window popping up when you click the plugin's icon in Corel. The better way is to select the other method - I can't remember how they call it - maybe something like "Plug LaserWorks". If you install it that way, when you click the icon in Corel it will automatically launch the full version of LaserWorks with your drawing already exported into it. If LaserWorks is already running then it reloads with the new export.

If you want to engrave half of a square then you need to have a line that encloses that half a square. Which means you could not then cut along that same line for the full square. So yes, two colors, one for the line and one for rastering.

If however you wanted to raster the full square, then cut it out there is a way to do both operations with the same color. Basically you select "cut after" in the raster settings for that color. This also works well for outlining text after you raster it to give the edges more definition.

I would imagine that you would want to add detail after rastering but that is not something that I have experimented with.

You will have to convert your existing drawings to remove all fill and set all line widths to hairline. It should go pretty fast once you work out the steps.

[Walt Langhans]

Oh... I've got a lot of work to do... But better to find this out now, than after the laser shows up.

Thanks

Walt

[Greg Facer]

Hi Rich,

Do you have to remove the fill? I think I just did a job with the fill still there. I have taken to Rodney's advice and ignored the laserworks / corel connection. I bring the drawing into laserworks with control-E to export as AI version 8 from Corel and control-I to import in laserworks, could hardly be any quicker....although I don't think I can do both a bitmap and vector that method.

Sure, the fill was gone in Laserworks, but otherwise it looked fine / worked fine. I can't remember if I've done anything with lines that were thicker, so I can't comment on that, other than Laserworks will not cut them wider. But, even then, I suspect for vector outlines they will still import fine.

The one question I'd love to know is if there is a way to snap to points / grid in laser works and/or move that green dot position around the drawing and not just pick which corner of the extents the program uses.

Greg (currently an 80w RECI owner)

[Walt Langhans]

Sure, the fill was gone in Laserworks, but otherwise it looked fine / worked fine.

Did you have a different color from your fill than the lines that you wanted engraved?

[Rich Harman]

You don't have to remove the fill. It will be removed for you once it gets to LaserWorks. I prefer to have the drawing look the same in Corel as it does when it gets to laserWorks so I use all hairlines and remove the fills.

I've never tried the export to AI then import to LaserWorks. Sounds like two steps versus my current one step - which has always worked for me.