Design Resources

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Introduction And File Formats

When starting out with your laser, many struggle to find suitable designs to use for their projects. This
document will help you understand the best type of art to use for your projects, and what to avoid.

There are two distinct types of artwork; vector and raster (also referred to as a bitmap). Raster refers to
images or pictures and the most common formats are BMP, JPG, PNG and TIF. These consist of
individual dots in a matrix of rows and columns.

Vector art is comprised of geometric shapes, curves and lines instead of individual dots. A vector is a
description of the size, location and shape of an element. As such, vectors can be easily scaled to any
size with no loss of clarity. Common file formats include DXF, SVG, PDF, AI and EPS. Not all software
supports all of these formats, so you’ll need to know what formats your software can import. Of these,
SVG is widely supported and likely an import option for any vector design software.

Unlike vector art that can be scaled, the quality of a raster image is dependent on the resolution, or the
number of dots per inch (DPI). When you scale a raster, the density, the DPI is reduced and each dot is
increased in size. If you scale a raster image significantly, the individual dots are readily visible and the
image becomes jagged.

For projects that will be cut, you need vector art. This is because a laser can cut a shape made of lines,
but can’t cut dots within a picture. Depending on the content of a raster image, you may be able to use
your design software to trace a raster to make a vector out of the image content.

When engraving, you can use either raster or vector. There are some notable differences in raster
formats. If you have a choice, JPG should be avoided. JPG files are compressed to reduce the file size,
but there is detail and clarity lost in compression, as well as artifacts that can be introduced in
compression. The JPG format was originally intended for display purposes on a monitor where 72 DPI is
sufficient. Before high-speed internet was available, the small JPG image sizes made web page loading
faster and the tradeoff, loss of clarity and resolution was negligible for display on your monitor.

If you are engraving pictures, you will likely want to target the best resolution and clarity. BMP and PNG
files are larger than a comparable JPG file, but don’t suffer from quality and the introduction of artifacts
resulting from JPG compression. Of these formats, PNG images can include a transparent background
that makes editing easier, and can greatly reduce processing time.

Bundled Artwork
At times you may encounter a large bundle or library of artwork all for one low price. From experience,
if they’re advertising to find buyers, it’s unlikely the content is worthwhile at any price. Most of these
bundles are hastily compiled from free resources. Some of the designs are terrible, there will be many
duplicates, no organization, no catalog, and in many cases some of the designs are stolen – meaning
that they’re being used without the designer’s consent. The net result is that you will waste a great deal

Design Resources Author: Charles Symmonds

of time wading through many directories and files of art (mostly garbage or free elsewhere) and find
very little of any value.

Also from experience, you are better off looking for what you need, when you need it. There is a high
probability you will find what you need, often at no cost at all.

Finding Artwork
With this understanding of available graphic file types, you can use search engines including Google,
Bing or Yahoo to search for designs, cut files, and clipart to incorporate in your projects. There are many
sites that provide artwork you can download free. It’s as simple as searching for the desired type of
content, e. g. “free vector laser” or “free vector logo Microsoft”. In all cases, especially if you are using
designs for commercial purposes, you must determine if designs or elements are restricted in use. Often
the license for “free” designs is restricted to personal use, and any commercial use will require a license
to remain in compliance of applicable law.

Finding An Existing Design

If you ever see a design or image you like and would like to find the source, there are a number of tools
available that may be of value. You could spend hours or days trying to search by keywords describing
the image. Fortunately, you can search using the appearance of the image itself.

There is an extension for the Chrome browser called “Tineye” that can search its massive index of
images and present the location / site where it was found, in addition to specifications including image
size. Once the extension is installed, just right click an image and select “Search Image On Tineye”.

Chrome also has its own option, right click on an image and select “Search Image With Google”.

Fonts
As with artwork for your laser, there are fonts available that you can download for use on your
computer, including many that are free. These can be made available for download by the font designer
and the quality varies by designer. Many are good, some are usable, some are poor quality, incomplete
or even flawed. Typographic refinement is seldom a concern for designs targeting laser use however, so
the quality may not be a concern.

When downloading fonts, review the associated license agreement if you are making products to sell.
Many fonts are free to use for personal use, but require a license for commercial use.

Both XCS and Lightburn present a list of fonts installed on the operating system. To make a new font
available to either XCS or Lightburn, you will need to download the font and install it for your operating
system. Once installed, your design software should include the newly installed font in the list of
available fonts. In some instances, you may need to restart the software for the newly installed font to
be included in the design software’s font list.

A handy utility for Windows users is available at no charge that allows you to view an entire directory of
fonts, even if not installed. Additionally, you can print a catalog of the fonts that includes font name and
appearance. The utility is PrintMyFonts available here. Unfortunately, the site is unavailable at times so
if the link works, download the utility now rather than waiting until later when you might need it.
This utility is a good alternative to installing any number of fonts merely to see the appearance. A
printed PDF catalog of fonts within a directory becomes a handy reference.

Design Resources Author: Charles Symmonds

If PrintMyFonts isn’t accessible, there are other font viewers, the best of which allow you to view even
fonts that aren’t installed on your operating system. Another such utility for Windows is AMP Font
Viewer available here.

In Windows, you can also double click a font .TTF or .OTF file to view the font without installing but this
can be time consuming viewing a single font at a time, and provides no opportunity visually compare
fonts side-by-side.

Links To Design Resources

Below is a table containing online resources for designs, fonts and generators to use in your laser
projects. Many are free, some offer both free and paid artwork, some are free but require registration.
There are often conditions or restrictions even for free items, so you’ll need to familiarize yourself with
licensing terms for any items you use. This is even more important if you are using a design for
commercial purposes.

In the table of sources below, the left column contains the webpage URL, and each is a hyperlink that
will open the web page in your browser.

The links have all been verified but this may change in time. The content is valid as of the date of
publication, November 11, 2023.

Site URL Content

https://www.pixelcut.ai/ Remove background
https://www.remove.bg/ Remove background
http://boxdesigner.frag-den-spatz.de/ Generators for boxes, mazes, grids
http://hessmer.org/gears/InvoluteSpurGearBuilder.html Gear Generator
http://jeromeleary.com/gears/ Gear Designer
http://jeromeleary.com/laser/ Box designer
https://cleversomeday.com/svgtools/ A large collection of tools and
generators, example below. Others
include snowflakes, boxes, clock
face, star and starburst, flag
generator, QR Codes and much
more.
http://robbbb.github.io/VectorRuler/ Ruler Generator
https://www.qrcode-monkey.com/ QR Code Generator, vector or
raster
https://qr-creator.com/ QR Code Generator, vector or
raster
https://qr-code-generator.org/ QR Code Generator, vector or
raster
http://silhouettesfree.com/ Silhouette vector graphics
https://3axis.co/ Vector artwork
https://adashrod.github.io/LaserCutMazes/welcome Maze Generator
https://all3dp.com/2/free-laser-cut-files-designs-templates/ Collection of links to other
resources for laser files, vectors,
fonts and more
https://bosslaser.com/downloads/ Laser Files

Design Resources Author: Charles Symmonds

 Site URL Content
https://getboxomatic.com/ iPhone app box generator
https://cncfile.net/ Vector Files
https://svgturtle.com/ Vector Files - Paid
https://community.glowforge.com/c/free-laser-designs/11 Laser Files
https://crafthousesvg.com/ Vector Files
https://creativemeadow.com/ Vector Files silhouettes - paid
https://cutecutter.com/ Convert Picture to SVG
https://cuttle.xyz/@cuttle Generators for puzzles, boxes,
snowflakes
https://designbundles.net/search?search=free Vector Files
https://dezin.info/ Vector Files
https://diymachining.com/ CNC
https://draradech.github.io/jigsaw/ Puzzle Generator
https://gists.rawgit.com Puzzle Generator
https://dxf-world.de/de/ DXF Vector File
https://evolventdesign.com/pages/spur-gear-generator Spur Gear Generator
https://filecnc.com/ Vector Files
https://www.sttmedia.com/printmyfonts Font catalog / view / print utility
(Windows)
https://free-dxf.com/ Vector Files
https://www.freepik.com/ Raster, Vector, Fonts
https://geargenerator.com Gear Generator
https://lahobbyguy.com/forum/ Free art files and Lightburn
libraries. Registration is required
for access to them but it’s free and
he doesn’t spam.
https://laser-templates.com/search?type=product&q=free Vector Files
https://www.laser-pics.com/ Raster Image Files Laser Prepared,
both free and paid
https://lovesvg.com/ Vector Files
https://makeabox.io/ Box Generator
https://makerdesignlab.com/.../online-file-generators.../ File Generators, boxes, gears,
puzzles, mazes
https://www.mwallpapers.com/apps/productivity/1291032873 Android Box Generator
https://www.pexels.com/ Raster Images
https://proceduraljigsaw.github.io/OrganicPuzzleJs/ Puzzle Generator custom Shape
https://puzzle.telegnom.org/ Puzzle Generator
https://snazzymaps.com/ Multi layer laser maps
https://talklaser.com/product-category/freelasercutfiles/ Laser Files
https://tinkershare.com/ Tinker, create, share
https://vector-files.com/ Vector Files
https://unsplash.com/ Raster Images
https://vectorsart.com/ Vector Files
https://websvg.github.io/voronoi/ Pattern Generator
https://www.ameede.com/ Vector artwork

Design Resources Author: Charles Symmonds

 Site URL Content
https://www.blocklayer.com/clock-face Clock Face Generator
https://www.creativefabrica.com/freebies/free-crafts/ Vector Files
https://vectorsfile.com/category/dxf/ DXF Vector Files
https://www.dxfdownloads.com/ DXF Vector Files
https://www.dxfforcnc.com/ Vector Files
https://www.epiloglaser.com/resources/sample-club.htm Vector Files
https://www.festi.info/boxes.py/ Online box maker, burn test (kerf)
and more
https://www.dafont.com/ Fonts
https://befonts.com/ Fonts
https://fontbundles.net/free-fonts Fonts
https://fontesk.com/ Fonts – Categorized
https://fontesk.com/font/handwritten/ Free Fonts
https://fontesk.com/fonts/ Fonts - All
https://fontzone.net/ Fonts
https://pixelsurplus.com/collections/free-fonts Fonts
https://www.1001freefonts.com/ Fonts
https://www.awwwards.com/awwwards/collections/free- Fonts
fonts/
https://www.behance.net/search/projects/?search=free+fonts Fonts
&locale=en_US
https://www.creativefabrica.com/freebies/free-fonts/ Fonts
https://www.fontfabric.com/free-fonts/ Fonts
https://www.fontpair.co/ Fonts
https://www.fontshare.com/ Fonts
https://www.urbanfonts.com/free-fonts.htm Fonts
https://www.fontspace.com/popular/fonts Fonts
https://www.fontsquirrel.com/ Fonts
https://www.myfonts.com/collections/tags/free-fonts Fonts
https://fontforge.org/en-US/ Windows Font Editor Free
https://birdfont.org/ Font Editor
https://sourceforge.net/projects/ttfedit/ Font Editor
https://www.glyphrstudio.com/ Browser Based Font Editor
https://fontark.net/ Browser Based Font Editor
https://fontstruct.com/ Font Editor
https://www.calligraphr.com/ Create Font From Handwriting -
commercial
https://listoffreeware.com/list-of-best-free-icon-maker- Links to Icon Editors
software/
https://www.freepik.com/fonts Fonts
https://www.myfonts.com/pages/whatthefont Font Identifier, upload an image of
text to help identify the font used.
https://svgnest.com/ SVG Nesting Utility, optimize
material utilization
https://www.freelaserfiles.com/files.html Laser Files

Design Resources Author: Charles Symmonds

 Site URL Content
https://www.freepatternsarea.com/ Free projects and patterns for
personal use
https://www.freepatternsarea.com/free-patterns-templates/ Vector Files
https://www.freepik.com/ Vector And Raster files
https://www.imag-r.com Image preparation for engraving
https://www.instructables.com/search/?q=laser%20&projects= Laser projects
all
https://www.layeredpaperart.com/free-files Vector / Material Files
https://www.makecnc.com/ CNC Files
https://www.makercase.com/ Box designer
https://www.mandalagaba.com Mandala Generator
https://www.mazegenerator.net/ Maze Generator
https://www.o2creative.co.nz/laser/ Lightburn test generator
https://www.ponoko.com/free-laser-cutting-files-templates Laser Files - Registration Required
https://www.red-point-garage.de/produkte/free-dxf Vector File
https://www.stanser.com/vectores/ Vector Files
https://www.stevedgood.com/catalog/ Laser Files
https://www.templatemaker.nl/en/ Selection of generators for paper
boxes and more
https://www.the-blueprints.com/ Vector Files
https://www.thingiverse.com/ 3D printer files
https://www.thingiverse.com/tag:lasercut Laser Files
https://www.troteclaser.com/en/learn-support/laser-projects Laser Projects
https://www.vecteezy.com/free-vector/laser-cut Vector Files
https://www.wordificator.com/ Word Shape Generator
https://www.zenziwerken.de/ CNC Files
https://fontmeme.com/ Fonts
https://www.etsy.com/search?q=laser%20files&ref=search_bar Paid laser project files offered by
various designers
https://www.brandsoftheworld.com/ Vector Logos
https://mutcd.fhwa.dot.gov/shsm_interim USDOT / MUTCD Road Signs
https://www.freepik.com/free-photos-vectors/logo Logos
https://robbbb.github.io/VectorRuler/ Vector Ruler Generator
https://www.lasergridmaster.com/ Material Test Generator for XCS
and Lightburn
https://nanovsky.github.io/XCStoSVG Conversion Utility – XCS to SVG
(Beta)

Design Resources Author: Charles Symmonds