Laser Halftone
A laser halftone operation engraves an image by dithering it to pure black-and-white at the chosen resolution, then scanning each row. The laser fires at the configured power for black pixels and is off for white pixels. Consecutive black pixels in a row are merged into single line segments, so the laser runs continuously across darker areas instead of toggling per-pixel.
Dithering and resolution
The Dither Method chooses how the source image is converted to binary. Different algorithms produce different visual textures; Floyd-Steinberg is the typical default, with Atkinson and ordered dithering as alternatives. Dots Per Mm sets the grid resolution of the dither — higher values produce finer detail and longer engrave times.
Scanning
Bidirectional scanning runs alternate rows in opposite directions to halve the total return-travel time. Disable it if your machine shows a horizontal offset between forward and reverse strokes.
Settings
| Setting | Description |
|---|---|
| Dots Per Mm | Resolution of the dithered grid. |
| Dither Method | Algorithm used to convert the image to binary. |
| Power | Laser power for black pixels, 0-255. |
| Bidirectional | Scan alternate rows in opposite directions. |
Feed rate comes from the assigned laser tool preset.
Tool requirement
A laser tool. Halftone runs on any laser with on/off control — dynamic power isn't required because the output is binary.
When to use
- Image engraving on lasers without reliable dynamic power
- Photographic engraving when a halftone aesthetic is desired
- High-contrast image marking where greyscale fidelity isn't needed