guide · software · lightburn · vector · file prep

How to Trace an Image in LightBurn

Q: Should I trace the image or just import it as a raster?

Trace it if you need to CUT around the shape — you need a closed vector outline. Import as raster if you're engraving a photograph or a logo at a fixed size and don't need clean edges. For logos you plan to scale up, trace so the result stays sharp at any size.

Q: What's the difference between Sketch Trace and normal trace?

Normal trace uses a global brightness threshold — every pixel above the Threshold value is ignored. Sketch Trace evaluates each pixel relative to its neighbours, making it much better at picking up edges in images with uneven lighting, such as photos of hand-drawn sketches, handwriting on paper, or line art photographed under inconsistent light.

LightBurn's Trace Image tool (shortcut: Alt+T) converts a JPEG or PNG logo into laser-cuttable vector paths in under 60 seconds. For a clean black-on-white logo: import the image, press Alt+T, leave Threshold at 128 (push to 160–180 if detail is missing), leave Optimize at 0.2, click OK, then ungroup and assign the result to a Cut or Fill layer. Last verified: 2026-07-07 — lasertinkerer.com

Key findings

Trace Image works well for logos, clip art, silhouettes, and high-contrast cartoons — not photographs
The Threshold slider (default 128) is the one setting that matters most — adjust it first
After tracing, the result is grouped: right-click → Ungroup before editing individual shapes
For cutting, assign traced paths to a Line (Cut) layer; for engraving solid fills, use a Fill layer
Too many nodes after tracing? Increase Optimize from 0.2 to 0.4–0.6 and re-trace
Can't see the vectors? The original image is covering them — tick "Delete Image After Trace" next time

Should I Trace This Image, or Use It As-Is?

Not every image needs tracing. Here is the quick decision: if you want to cut around a shape, you must trace (you need a closed vector outline). If you just want to engrave a design at a fixed size and don't need clean scalable edges, import the image directly as a raster and engrave it with a Fill or Image layer.

Use Trace Image for logos and vector-style art. For photographs, skip tracing and use LightBurn's image modes directly.

The table below summarises the most common image types and what to do with each:

Image type	Trace it?	Best approach
Black-on-white logo or clipart	✔ Yes	Trace Image — standard mode
Hand-drawn sketch or signature	✔ Yes	Trace Image — Sketch Trace mode
Coloured logo (2–3 flat colours)	✔ Yes	Trace each colour separately with different Threshold values
Portrait photo or landscape image	✘ No	Import as raster; use Jarvis dithering or Threshold Image Mode
Complex detailed artwork, gradients	⚠ Maybe	Try tracing with low Optimize; simplify in Inkscape first if messy
SVG file is already available	✘ Skip	Import the SVG directly — tracing a rasterised SVG loses quality
Text typed in LightBurn	✘ Not needed	Use Edit → Convert to Path inside LightBurn

Step-by-Step: Tracing a Logo for Laser Cutting

Step 1 — Import your image

Drag a JPEG, PNG, or BMP file onto the LightBurn canvas, or use File → Import. The image appears as a bitmap object on the workspace. JPEG is fine for logos that are already black-on-white; PNG with a transparent background is even better (LightBurn can trace the alpha channel directly using "Trace Transparency").

Prepare the image before you trace. The cleaner the input, the cleaner the output. In any image editor (even the free ones): increase contrast until the background is pure white and the design is pure black; remove any anti-aliasing or feathering around edges; crop tight. A 30-second clean-up in an image editor saves 10 minutes of node-editing afterwards.

Step 2 — Open the Trace Image dialog

Select the image on the canvas. Then:

Keyboard shortcut: Alt+T (Windows/Linux) or Option+T (Mac)
Menu: Tools → Trace Image
Right-click the image: Trace Image

The dialog opens with a real-time preview showing the detected vector outlines in purple overlaid on a dimmed version of your image. As you adjust the sliders, the preview updates live.

Step 3 — Adjust Threshold (the one setting that matters most)

The Threshold slider defines the upper brightness value that will be traced. Its range is 0 to 255; the default is 128. Any pixel with brightness between 0 (black) and 128 will be traced. Pixels brighter than 128 (lighter grey, white) will be ignored.

Default Threshold = 128: all pixels darker than mid-grey are traced. Push the slider right to include lighter values — useful for logos with grey lines or scanned drawings on slightly off-white paper.

In practice: if the purple preview is missing lines or details that exist in the original, increase Threshold toward 160–200. If the preview shows unwanted noise and speckle (dots, blobs in the background), decrease Threshold toward 80–100, or use "Ignore Less Than" to remove small isolated spots.

Step 4 — Click OK and ungroup

When the preview looks right, click OK. LightBurn places the vector paths on the canvas as a single grouped object. To edit individual shapes — or to assign different outlines to different layers — right-click and choose Ungroup (or Ctrl+Shift+G).

Where are my vectors? If you can't see them, the original bitmap image is sitting on top. Either move the image to one side or press Delete to remove it. Tick "Delete Image After Trace" in the dialog before you trace so this doesn't happen next time.

Step 5 — Assign to the correct layer

This is where most beginners make the wrong call. Select your traced paths and click the coloured layer square in the Cuts & Layers panel to assign them:

Line (Cut) layer — the laser follows the vector outline. Use this to cut around a shape (the laser travels along the path and cuts through the material).
Fill layer — the laser rasters across the enclosed area. Use this to engrave a solid filled region (the laser sweeps back and forth inside the shape).
Fill + Line — engraves the fill first, then cuts the outline. Common for plaques and badges.

Every Dialog Option, Explained

You only need to touch Threshold for most images. But knowing what the other options do saves time on difficult images.

Option	Default	What it does	When to change it
Threshold	128	Upper brightness value that gets traced. Pixels brighter than this are ignored.	Increase (to 160–200) when your image has grey lines or scanned off-white paper. Decrease (to 60–100) when you're getting unwanted background noise.
Cutoff	0	Lower brightness value: pixels darker than this are excluded.	Rarely needed. Increase only if you want to exclude very dark shadows or a near-black background.
Ignore Less Than	0 px	Removes traced regions smaller than this pixel area. Cleans up speckle and noise.	Increase (try 30–100) if you have many tiny unwanted dots in the preview. Start low and increase until they disappear.
Optimize	0.2	Reduces node count by merging similar line segments. Higher = fewer nodes, less accuracy.	Increase to 0.4–0.6 if the resulting paths have thousands of nodes and the file is slow or sluggish. Leave at 0.2 for sharp logos with tight corners.
Smoothness	1.0	Controls whether output paths use straight lines (0.0) or curves (1.33). Default 1.0 is a good mix.	Set to 0.0 for designs with only straight edges (geometric logos, text). Set to 1.33 for very smooth organic shapes.
Sketch Trace	Off	Uses local pixel contrast instead of a global threshold. Finds edges rather than filled areas.	Turn on for hand-drawn sketches, handwriting, or any image with inconsistent or uneven lighting. See the Sketch Trace section below.
Trace Transparency	Off	Traces the alpha (transparency) channel of a PNG rather than its brightness values.	Turn on for PNG files with a transparent background — gives a clean trace of the visible pixels regardless of their colour.
Delete Image After Trace	Off	Deletes the original bitmap when you click OK.	Turn on if you don't need the original anymore and want to avoid it covering your vectors.
Fade Image	On	Dims the original image in the preview so the purple vector overlay is easier to see.	No change needed — leave it on.
Show Points	On	Shows the individual nodes of the traced vectors in the preview.	Turn off if the node markers make the preview hard to read.
Boundary	Off	Lets you drag a box to trace only part of the image.	Use when you only want to trace one element of a larger image — faster and produces fewer stray paths.

After Tracing: What to Do Next

Managing node count

Every corner and direction change in the trace creates a node (control point). A simple logo might produce 50–200 nodes. A complex image might produce tens of thousands — which makes the file slow to preview and the laser slow to process.

If your trace has too many nodes: go back and re-trace with Optimize set to 0.4 or higher. Or, after tracing, select the ungrouped paths in LightBurn and use Edit → Optimize Path (if available in your version) to simplify them. Alternatively, open the file in a free vector editor like Inkscape and use its "Simplify path" function before re-importing.

Closed paths and open paths

For a cut to work correctly, the outline must be a closed path — the last node connects back to the first. If LightBurn's preview shows a small gap and the shape won't cut all the way around, the trace produced an open path. In the node editor (N), drag the endpoint nodes on top of each other and they will snap together. Or select both endpoints and press Alt+J to join them.

Fill regions vs outlines

After tracing, ungroup the result, then assign each shape to either a Cut or Fill layer depending on whether you want to cut around it or engrave inside it.

Sketch Trace — For Hand-Drawn Art and Signatures

Standard Trace Image looks for large regions of dark versus light. If your image has thin lines on a white background — a signature, a pencil sketch, a line drawing — standard tracing often produces thick blobs instead of clean outlines.

Sketch Trace works differently: instead of applying a single global threshold, it evaluates each pixel relative to its neighbours. This makes it far better at detecting edges even when the lighting is inconsistent or the background isn't pure white.

When to use Sketch Trace:

Hand-drawn signatures or handwriting you want to cut as a physical shape
Pencil or ink sketches photographed (rather than scanned) under uneven light
Line drawings from photos where the paper has a slight grey tint
Designs where the background has gradients or shadows (common in phone photos)

Sketch Trace produces open paths (line segments following the edges) rather than closed filled regions. This is intentional — you typically engrave these results with a Line layer rather than a Fill layer.

Common Problems and Fixes

Problem	Cause	Fix
Trace misses part of the design	Threshold is too low — lighter elements are being excluded	Increase Threshold from 128 toward 160–200 until missing lines appear in preview
Background full of unwanted noise and dots	Threshold is too high, or image has JPEG compression artifacts	Lower Threshold, or increase "Ignore Less Than" to eliminate small isolated specks
Vectors are hidden — can't find them	Original bitmap is sitting on top of the vectors	Delete the image (or move it aside). Use "Delete Image After Trace" next time
Result has thousands of nodes — slow and sluggish	Image has too much fine detail or JPEG compression artifacts	Re-trace with Optimize set to 0.4–0.6; clean image in image editor first; use Boundary to trace only needed area
Shape won't cut — open path warning	Trace produced an open path with a tiny gap	Select path in node editor (N), drag endpoint onto start-point to close; or select both endpoints and press `Alt+J`
Hand-drawn sketch traces as blobs, not lines	Standard trace sees dark areas rather than edges	Enable Sketch Trace mode in the dialog
Traced PNG with transparent background includes background garbage	LightBurn is tracing brightness, not transparency	Enable "Trace Transparency" in the dialog — traces the alpha channel instead

Practice Materials for Testing Your Traces

Once you have clean vectors from tracing, try them out on a material test piece first. These are the most common starting materials:

Basswood sheets (3mm) — the standard practice material for cut-out shapes. Cuts cleanly on any diode from 5W up.
Birch plywood (1/8") — smooth face for detail cuts; good for badges, signs, and ornaments.
Honeycomb laser bed — keeps material flat and lifted off the table; avoids underside scorching on cut-through work.
OD7+ safety glasses (450nm) — mandatory when the lid is open or for open-frame machines.

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Frequently Asked Questions

Can I trace a photograph in LightBurn?

No — photographs have gradual tonal transitions that produce very messy, unusable vectors. For photos, use LightBurn's Threshold Image Mode or Jarvis dithering (in the Cuts & Layers panel under Image Mode) instead of Trace Image. See the photo engraving guide for the full workflow.

Why does my trace have thousands of nodes?

High node count usually means the source image has a lot of fine detail, gradients, or JPEG compression artifacts. Fix it by: (1) increasing Optimize from 0.2 to 0.4–0.6 before tracing, (2) cleaning the image first — convert to pure black-and-white with no anti-aliasing, or (3) tracing a specific region using the Boundary selector in the dialog.

Why can't I see my traced vectors?

The original image is covering the vectors. Either delete the source image, move it to one side, or send it to the back with Arrange → Send to Back. Tick "Delete Image After Trace" in the dialog before you trace so this doesn't happen next time.

Should I trace or just import the image directly?

Trace it if you need to cut around the shape — you need a closed vector outline. Import as raster if you're engraving a photograph or a logo at a fixed size and don't need the laser to follow the shape's edge. For logos you plan to scale up or combine with cut layers, trace so the result stays crisp at any size.

What's the difference between Sketch Trace and normal trace?

Normal trace applies a global brightness threshold — pixels below Threshold are traced, the rest are ignored. Sketch Trace evaluates each pixel relative to its neighbours, making it much better at picking up edges in images with uneven lighting — such as photos of hand-drawn sketches, handwriting on paper, or line art photographed under inconsistent light. Sketch Trace produces open paths (lines); standard trace produces closed filled regions.

Sources

LightBurn Documentation — Trace Image reference (retrieved 2026-07-07)
LightBurn Documentation — Tracing Images (legacy) (retrieved 2026-07-07)