LaserGRBL & Lightburn Software 

LaserGRBL is free software. For a first test you can simply install it on your computer. If you do your research, you will find that many use Lightburn. You can test the software for one month free of charge, then you have to pay.

LaserGRBL is one of the best Windows software for image Laser Engraving. It is able to load any image, pictures and logo and send to your laser engrave with few click. It is specifically developed for use with hobbist laser cutter and engraver and could be a good free and easy alternative to picengrave, benbox, T2laser, lightburn for who don’t need more then a simple and effective tool. LaserGRBL is compatible with any engraver based on Grbl v0.9 and Grbl v1.1 standards.

LightBurn is layout, editing, and control software for your laser cutter. With LightBurn you can:

- Import artwork in a variety of common vector graphic and image formats (including AI, PDF, SVG, DXF, PLT, PNG, JPG, GIF, BMP)

- Arrange, edit, and even create new vector shapes within the editor, with powerful features like offsetting, boolean operations, welding, and node editing

- Apply settings like power, speed, number of passes, cut order, brightness & contrast, dithering mode, and much more

- Send the result directly to your laser cutter

LightBurn is a native application written for Windows, Mac OS, and Linux.

However, the additional functions convinced us and so we decided on Lightburn. You can build simple graphics directly in Lightburn with the tools and then laser them.

The installation went without any problems. There is also good documentation on the Lightburn website where all the steps are well described. We only had brief problems with the driver on our old computer. We don't want to use our fancy computers in the workshop.

You can then import your files into Lightburn. We recommend that you use EPS or SVG files. These are vector graphics and can be scaled without problems. Image files can also be imported into the program. These should be of the appropriate quality.