Glowforge Software – Tutorials & What’s Best to Use

So you bought a Glowforge, or are thinking of buying one and are not sure what you need to operate it and whether or not it will be hard to learn? Let’s dive in and hopefully help to clear up your concerns.

What software does a Glowforge use?

Glowforge can be used out of the box with their own web-based software – Glowforge Print – all you need is an internet connection. There’s nothing to download. Most people however create and or purchase their svg laser cut files in a separate vector design program and then import that file into Glowforge Print.

How much is the Glowforge Software?

Glowforge Print is limited in it’s functionality, unless you pay for the Premium version which is $50/month or $19.92/month if you prepay for 1 year access. The software will allow you control over cut, engrave and score settings on the free version and for any svg file that you upload.

What do you get with Glowforge Premium Subscription?

• You get access to thousands of Glowforge Catalog Designs for FREE
• Graphics & Font Library with 5 Million+ vector illustrations and 1200+ Fonts
• Customization Tools – Curved text, text effects, shapes, and patterns.
• Creative Tools – Design stamps, puzzles, keychains & more.
• Cloud Storage & Faster Prints – Unlimited design storage and ulftrafast processing on upgraded servers.
• Proofgrade Discount – Exclusive monthly discounts on all Proofgrade materials.
• Design Versioning – You can revert to different versions of designs, helpful when tweaking files

Cost: $50/month or $19.92/month if you prepay for 1 year access.
I definitely recommend Glowforge premium if you’ll be a power user of the Glowforge as the time, money, and frustration it saves you is critical.

What’s a Vector File? What’s an SVG File?

SVG stands for “Scalable Vector Graphic”.  The lines in SVG are very precise.  Vector file lines will not lose any quality if they are resized very large for a giant sign or very tiny to put on a personalized engraving or to make a delicate lapel pin. Vector files, specifically SVG’s, are the preferred file format for laser cutting. The filename will look like: cut-file.svg

What’s the best file format for Glowforge?

Glowforge can use JPG, PNG, SVG and PDFs. However, SVG & PDF are the only Vector file formats for uploading into the Glowforge machine that will allow you to utilize all features: cut, score, and engrave. JPG and PNG are ‘Raster’ or ‘Non-Vector’ file formats and will only allow engraving. SVG files are best for Glowforge because they allow you to do everything you want to do.

Vector Software for creating Glowforge SVG Files