File guide · Before you send your design
Send us lines,
not a picture.
Our laser doesn't look at your design — it follows it. To cut or engrave your piece, we need a vector file: clean line art the machine can trace, sent separately from any mock-up. This page explains the difference and what to send.
01
Image vs vector: zoom in and see
Both look the same on your screen. Up close, they are built completely differently.
A grid of coloured squares (pixels). Zoom in and the edges turn into steps. There are no lines for the laser to follow — only colour.
.jpg · .png · .gif · .webp · .heic · screenshots · photos
Image (raster)
Can't be cut
A path described by points and curves. It stays perfectly sharp at any size, and the laser can trace it exactly as drawn — that line becomes the cut.
.ai · .svg · .pdf (vector) · .eps · .dxf
Vector
Ready to cut
02
Why the laser needs vectors
The laser head moves along a path, like a pen tracing a drawing. Each line in your file tells it exactly where to go, at what size, and whether to cut through, score a light line, or engrave an area.
An image only holds coloured dots. The machine can't tell an outline from a shadow, a texture or the background — so it has nothing reliable to follow, and the result would be blurry, jagged or simply wrong.
⚠️ Saving or renaming a JPG as .svg or .pdf does not turn it into a vector. The picture is just wrapped inside a new file — it's still pixels.
03
Keep the artwork separate from the mock-up
A mock-up shows how the finished piece should look. The artwork file is what we actually cut. We need both — but as two different files.
File 1 · Mock-up
Photos, renders, product placements, colours, shadows, textures. Perfect for showing us the idea — send it as a reference.
❌ Not usable as a cut file
File 2 · Artwork
Only the lines and shapes to cut or engrave — no background, no photo, no effects — at the real size.
✅This is what we cut from
04
Checklist for your artwork file
Vector format
AI, SVG, PDF, EPS or DXF — exported from vector software such as Illustrator, Inkscape, Affinity Designer or CorelDRAW.
Actual size, 1:1
Set up the artboard in millimetres at the final size of the piece.
Text converted to outlines
Turn all text into paths ("Create Outlines" / "Object to Path") so fonts don't change on our side.
Closed, single lines
Cut shapes are closed paths. No duplicate or overlapping lines — the laser would cut them twice.
Nothing else on the page
No backgrounds, embedded photos, mock-ups, notes or effects (shadows, gradients, glows) in the artwork file.
05
Only have a picture or a sketch?
No problem — send it anyway. We can redraw it as clean vector line art for you before cutting.
Simple logo or line drawing - [YOUR PRICE]
Detailed illustration - [YOUR PRICE]
We'll always send you the vector for approval before anything is cut.
Ready? Send us two files.
1 · ARTWORK
The vector file, line art only, at actual size.
2 · MOCK-UP (OPTIONAL)
The vector file, line art only, at actual size.