Details
Laser: Eleksmaker 2.5w
Software: LightBurn
Wood: Birch slab
Project dimensions: 268×110 mm
Time: 50 minutes
| Speed | Power | DPI | Notes | |
| Dithered Images | 1800 mm/m | 72.5% | 254 | Pass-through |
| Lettering | 1500 mm/m | 75% | 169 (0.15 line interval) | |
| Shape (Circle) | 1500 mm/m | 75% | 169 | Flood Fill Scanning |
Result
Overall, satisfied with the results. Could be darker, but higher power/lower speed resulted in the dithered images to be too dark and loosing details.
Lessons Learned
Flood Filled Scanning. Flood Filled Scanning is an option in the properties of a cut (non-image layer only). It will minimize the time for the laser to travel over empty spaces. A circle for example will waste a lot of time otherwise, travelling from one side to the other for every line. This option brought the estimated time from 1 hour down to 10 minutes for the circle alone (600% faster). Recommend using it for shapes and large lettering.
Project Assembly. Putting the project together can be done either in the photo editor software (i.e GIMP), or can be done within LightBurn. Using GIMP for individual images, and using LightBurn for the assembly of all the pieces offered the most flexibility and efficiency. Having text and shapes as different cuts in LightBurn allowed to set specific settings, such as flood filled scanning, whereas importing a final product from GIMP would have been treated as a single image cut, and thus a single cut setting. Processing time went from 110 minutes to 50 minutes (220% faster). Recommend using GIMP for individual elements of the projects, and LightBurn for the assembly.