How to Use Manual Engrave Settings in the Glowforge App

Understanding how to fine-tune your engrave settings can greatly enhance the quality of your Glowforge projects. While we provide recommended cut settings on our website here, engrave settings are more subjective and depend on the look you're trying to achieve.

This guide walks you through the essentials of using Manual Mode in the Glowforge dashboard for Graphic Engraving—a great starting point for developing your own custom engrave preferences.

Preset Engrave Options in Glowforge

Glowforge offers several preset engraving options, including:

• Draft Graphic

• SD (Standard Definition) Graphic

• HD (High Definition) Graphic

• Draft Photo

• HD Photo

• 3D Photo

• Deep 3D Engrave

In this tutorial, we’ll focus on the Graphic settings.

Common Graphic Engrave Settings

Below are some baseline settings often used for different graphic quality levels. Note that these can vary based on the material’s thickness and density:

Draft Graphic

• Speed: 1000

• Power: 100

• LPI (Lines Per Inch): 195

SD Graphic

• Option 1: Speed 1000, Full Power, LPI 270

• Option 2: Speed 535, Power 70, LPI 270

HD Graphic

• Option 1: Speed 400, Power 51, LPI 450

• Option 2: Speed 300, Power 11, LPI 450

Testing Your Engrave Settings

To determine which setting best suits your project, we recommend engraving small test shapes on a spare part of your material. This helps you evaluate the visual outcome without committing to a full project.

Understanding Manual Mode Settings

Glowforge Support has an excellent article on Working With Manual Mode, which defines three key parameters: Speed, Power, and LPI. Here's a summary:

Speed

Controls how fast the laser head moves across the material.

• Higher Speed:

  • Reduces print time

  • Produces shallower engraves or cuts

  • May reduce detail or cause jagged lines

• Too Much Speed:

  • Can lead to dark corners from laser head acceleration/deceleration

Power

Determines how much laser energy is applied to the material.

• Higher Power:

  • Produces deeper engraves/cuts

  • Can reduce detail by burning surrounding areas

• Precision Power:
  Lower, consistent energy — best for detail and delicate materials

• Full Power:
  Maximum output — ideal for cutting, less consistent for engraving

What is LPI (Lines Per Inch)?

A helpful explanation from Jules on the Glowforge Community describes LPI like this:

"LPI is the number of lines the laser engraves per inch. Around 195–225 LPI gives solid coverage with minimal gaps or banding. Higher LPI means deeper, darker engraves but also increases print time and file size."

Read Jules’ full post here

Tips for Using LPI Effectively

• Stay at or below 225 LPI for large engraves to avoid system lag or file errors.

• Use Draft Graphic (195 LPI) or Draft Photo (175 LPI) for full-bed engraves to speed up processing.

• For non-porous materials like anodized aluminum or tile, a higher LPI (e.g., HD Graphic) may yield crisper results.

Final Thoughts

Engraving with the Glowforge is as much art as science. There’s no one-size-fits-all setting—the “best” engrave comes down to personal preference, material type, and project needs. Start by experimenting with small test engraves, and you’ll soon discover your favorite go-to settings.

Happy engraving!