Troubleshooting guide

Computerized Controls 4-3
Power / Speed
Enter your settings for the Power, Speed, and PPI for each color that you have drawn in your
graphic by typing in the numbers. For advice on what settings to start with, please refer to the
Material Applications Guide.
Color
In your graphics software, you can draw your graphic by using up to eight (8) colors so that you
can assign a different Power, Speed, and PPI setting for each of those colors that you have
drawn. In the Printer Driver, type in the desired settings for each of the colors of your graphic.
This color mapping feature ONLY applies to DRAWN colors, not bitmapped colors.
Grayscale, or black and white bitmapped images are handled differently by the driver and are
ALL mapped to the Black color. The use of Color bitmapped images IS NOT recommended.
Convert Color bitmapped images to either Grayscale or Black and White bitmaps before printing
to the laser system.
If you draw your graphic in a color other than one of the eight colors shown in the Printer Driver,
the Printer Driver will automatically map that color to one of the eight Printer Driver colors that it
most closely resembles. It would use the settings for that Printer Driver color, but it would
halftone texture the image to try to match the shading of that color relative to the color that the
Printer Driver automatically mapped it to. Sometimes the results can be unpredictable. It is
best to draw your graphic using the correct colors until you become completely comfortable with
the operation of the laser system.
% Power
Available settings are from 0 to 100%. The Power setting is directly related to how deep the
engraving will be. The higher the setting, the deeper the engraving or cutting will be and vice-
versa. The effect of this setting is linear meaning that 100% power will engrave or cut twice as
deep as 50% power.
% Speed
Available settings are from 0 to 100%. The Speed setting controls how fast the motion system
moves in a percentage of the maximum speed of the laser system. Power and Speed work
together in determining how deep the engraving will be. Higher power settings and slower
speeds will produce deeper engraving or cutting. If you keep the Power setting constant and
lower the Speed, the engraving or cutting will be deeper. If you keep the Power setting constant
and increase the Speed setting, the engraving or cutting will be shallower.
PPI
PPI stands for “Pulses Per Inch” and available settings range from 10 to 1000 PPI. PPI
indicates how many laser pulses, per linear inch of travel, the laser cartridge will emit during
raster or vector processing. The pulsing of the laser beam is linked to the mechanical motion of
the Focus Carriage. These pulses will always be equally spaced, from one to the next,
regardless of changes in Speed, Power, acceleration, or deceleration of the Focus Carriage.