File type for laser etching

[Steve Evans]

I tried a search on this, but the problem with searches is that if you don't know what you're searching for, what do you search on. I'm in the process of having a logo drawn up for a business. We will either stamp or laser etch, both brass and steel parts. We just want to make sure at this point that we have the logo drawn in the best format for either process. For laser etching what would you folks recommend for the file format.

Steve

[Larry Bratton]

Steve, most people in this forum that run lasers use Corel Draw as the software to design and send the output to the laser. Corel files are vector type files. If one that is designing your work could produce in Corel Draw that would be great. If not, you want to have your work produced in a vector format for a number of reasons. They don't necessarily have to be CDR (Corel Draw) files but need to be something that Corel Draw can import. (i.e. AI Adobe Illustrator, Cad files- DXF, DWG, Windows Metafile-WMF etc.) The laser can use bitmap files to engrave but if any cutting is involved that requires vector lines. Hope this answered your question.

[Steve Evans]

Larry

Thanks. So what I want in terms of output any program that produces a vector drawing will suffice? I suspect this will be basic for the graphics person, I just want to verify that what they plan on giving me will be appropriate.

Steve

[Larry Bratton]

Yes, sir, pretty much. A vector file is resizable without loss of quality. That's the standard for logos. Good luck with it.

[Dave Jones]

You might ask them to export the final drawing in a couple of different formats for you. For example, if they make the drawing in Adobe Illustrator you might have them give you an Illustrator file, as well as an EPS and a PDF export.

While many programs accept multiple file formats, they sometimes have troubles with certain versions of a given file format. For example if the artist is using Illustrator CS2 but the laser engraver is using Corel 12, it has problems importing the CS2 file but shoudl be fine with the PDF.

There's no cut and dry answer for the best file format, but making the image in vector format instead of raster is certainly an important step. Programs like Illustrator and Corel Draw do vector, while programs like Photoshop and PhotoPaint do raster. The vector image is scalable and not locked into a set resolution, so it's better for many uses, and can always be converted to raster format for things like web pages.

[Mike Null]

Others have alluded to the need for a vector original art file for your logo. This is not just desirable it is essential. Logos will be used for many purposes, cards, letterhead, invoices, advertising etc. in addition to marking. The ability to resize the logo is vital to being able to use it in all these applications.

One more point about logo design--if it doesn't reproduce in black and white effectively you need to re-think the colors you're using. Colors look great on many things but there are more times when the logo will be reproduced in "black and white" so it should be versatile.

[Larry Bratton]

Ditto to Dave and Mikes comments.

[Steve Evans]

Guys

Thanks for the responses. Definitely gives me a good feel for what I want from the design folks.

Steve