Photo Engraving on Wood
The project diode lasers are secretly best at. A diode's 450 nm beam produces carbon-black, ink-like marks on wood — darker than a CO2 manages — which makes a cheap machine a genuine photo-engraving tool.
KitWhat you'll need
- A flat, pale, fine-grained board: basswood, maple, or birch ply with a good face veneer
- A high-contrast photo with a clear subject and plain background
- Free photo prep: the imagR web app, or LightBurn's image tools
SettingsStarting points
| Parameter | Value (10 W diode) |
|---|---|
| Speed | 4,000–8,000 mm/min |
| Power | 40–60% |
| Line interval | 0.08 mm (~318 DPI) |
| Image mode | Jarvis or Stucki dither |
| Scan angle | 0° |
StepsHow to do it
- Prep the photo. Crop tight, boost contrast, sharpen slightly, convert to greyscale. If the eyes are muddy in greyscale, the engraving will disappoint.
- Set the dither. Jarvis dither at 0.08 mm interval. Resize to final dimensions before dithering decisions.
- Run a test strip. Engrave a 30 mm square of the most important detail (usually the face) on the same board. Adjust power ±5% until midtones look right.
- Skip masking. Masking interferes with dither work — engrave bare.
- Focus precisely. Photo work is the least forgiving of focus error of anything you'll do.
- Run the full image. Don't interrupt it — resumed jobs rarely line up.
- Seal it. Clear matt spray protects and deepens the blacks. Avoid oil — it muddies fine dither patterns.
MistakesWhat everyone gets wrong
- Choosing a low-contrast photo and expecting the laser to fix it.
- Engraving heavily grained wood — the grain fights the image. Basswood and maple are your friends.
- Skipping the test strip and burning an hour into a full-size disappointment.
⚠ SafetyLong jobs tempt people to wander off. Don't — set up a chair, a cuppa, and stay within sight.
⤴ Level up
Pet portraits are the most commercially popular laser product in the UK gift market. The Norton White Tile method gives near-photographic black-on-white with the same skills.