How to Prepare an Inkscape SVG for Laser Cutting
Laser cutting software has specific requirements for SVG input that Inkscape does not meet by default. Preparing an Inkscape SVG for laser cutting involves configuring stroke colours, removing fills, and exporting in the correct format.
About How to prepare SVG from Inkscape for laser cutting
Laser cutting SVG requirements: - Paths must use stroke (outlined) for cut lines, not fill - Fill colour is used for engrave operations; stroke colour is used for cutting - No invisible paths or stray nodes — laser software may attempt to engrave empty paths - No Inkscape metadata — use Plain SVG export
Step-by-step preparation for laser cutting:
1. Separate cut lines from engrave areas: - Select paths for cutting → set fill to None, stroke to a distinct colour (red is the convention for cut lines) - Select paths for engraving → set fill to a distinct colour (black is the convention), stroke to None
2. Remove all background elements: Delete the background rectangle, guide lines, and any imported raster images used for reference during design.
3. Set stroke width for cut paths: Most laser software requires hairline strokes. In Inkscape, set the stroke width to 0.01px or 0.001mm via Object > Fill and Stroke > Stroke Style.
4. Export as Plain SVG: File > Save As > Plain SVG. Verify the file opens correctly in your laser software (LightBurn, RDWorks, LaserGRBL) before cutting.
5. Check document units: Set document units to mm in File > Document Properties. Laser cutters work in physical dimensions — an SVG sized in pixels may import at the wrong physical size.
Post-export verification: Open the Plain SVG in your laser software and confirm that cut paths appear in the correct colour layer, engrave fills are on separate layers, and the design dimensions match the intended physical size.
Use the PNG to SVG Converter above to generate laser-ready SVG from image files directly.