User guide
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User Guide
57
User Manual
UniversalLaser Systems, Inc.
DEFINITION: Denition adjusts the dierence between low density and the high density part of the
graphic. The low density parts of the graphic are typically the ascenders and descenders of text, single
pixels that may be horizontally spaced far from other pixels or the start of the graphic in the direction of
the raster stroke. Refer to the following diagram:
Setting this parameter too low may cause the eective part of the graphic to appear thin, faint, fuzzy or
non-existent. Too high of a parameter will cause these objects to appear thicker, bolder or more powered
than the high density areas of the graphic.
DENSITY: Density adjusts the dierence between the entire unengraved and engraved areas. If the
parameter is too high, then the entire engraved image may appear thick, bold or over-powered. Too
low of a setting may cause the image to appear thin and pixels or parts of characters may disappear
altogether. The opposite eect would occur on inverted images such as white text on a black background.
TUNING: Tuning adjusts the image so that the pixels vertically line up with each other during the left
and right bidirectional raster strokes. A misadjusted TUNING value will cause the image to appear double-
imaged or inadvertently bolder than normal. A typical non-Image Enhanced TUNING value can be from -4
up to 0, whereas a typical Image Enhanced TUNING value generally averages around +4. TUNING will be
dierent if you have Image Enhancements enabled or disabled. Saving the printer driver settings will also
save the TUNING value.
Procedure
The following procedure assumes that you have some experience working with the laser system and have
a general idea of the Power, Speed, PPI and Image Density settings that you intend to use for the chosen
application material.
In the following example, we will be engraving painted brass choosing 100% speed for good throughput,
and Image Density 5 for good quality.
Step 1: Establish the nominal power setting.
In your graphics software, create a series of ve rectangles that are about ¼ inch high (6.35 mm) and 6 inches
wide (152.4 mm) as in the following diagram:
Starting with the top rectangle, set the power setting to a value that you know will be too low. For example,
set it to 5% power and the rest of the parameters to 100% speed, 1000 PPI and Image Density 5. At this
time, ensure that Image Enhancement is NOT enabled. Engrave the rst rectangle at 5% power,
increasing the power for each subsequent rectangle in increments of 5%, nishing the series o at 25%
power and note the results. Look for the LOWEST power setting that has the cleanest removal of material.
This would be the nominal power setting. While higher than nominal settings may also produce clean
engraving, it will overpower the material and may cause highly detailed engraving, unlike these rectangles,
to appear too thick, bold or washed-out. If 25% is not enough power, then engrave the rectangles again,
this time starting at 25% and increasing in 5% increments and so on. In our particular example, let’s say
that 20% power looks good, but 15% appears underpowered. Since we know that this material
happens to be sensitive to small power changes, we’ll need to narrow it down a bit further. Engrave the
rectangles once again, but this time start the top rectangle at 15% then add 1% for the next rectangle
and so on until you reach 20%. The results now indicate that the nominal power setting of 17% power
looks as if it is the LOWEST power setting that produces the cleanest results at 100% Speed, 1000 PPI
and Image Density 5.