Stainless takes fine detail well, but only if the laser can mark it at all and the photo is prepared for a dark mark on a bright surface.
Reviewed by the Vextrify team, tested in our own laser workshops · Updated · How we test
Try Vextrify freeFiber lasers mark bare stainless directly. CO2 and diode lasers need a marking compound or spray on bare stainless: the laser fuses the compound onto the metal and the mark is the compound, not the steel. Without it, the result on bare stainless is faint or absent. Whichever laser you have, test the combination on a scrap piece before a customer part.
On stainless the mark is usually darker than the surface, which is the same logic as a pencil drawing on paper and the opposite of a light mark on dark acrylic or slate. A photo is prepared as a normal positive: highlights stay bare metal, shadows become mark. If your process leaves a light mark instead, the Invert control swaps the tones, and a small test engraving shows which version is right for yours.
Photo Studio has a stainless steel profile among its 12 material profiles. It sets starting brightness, contrast and gamma and suggests a dithering method; you can try any of the ten methods or grayscale in the live preview. Dark source photos with closed shadows turn into solid patches, so lift the shadows until detail shows. Remove a busy background if it competes with the subject, and export a PNG at the DPI and size you will engrave at.
No speed, power or frequency figure is valid across machines and steels. Engrave a material test grid on a scrap piece of the same stainless, with the same compound if you use one, choose the best field and save it as a recipe. Remember dot gain: the mark spreads, so a tone can come out darker than on screen.
Vextrify's desktop app drives GRBL diode lasers and Ruida CO2 lasers. It does not drive fiber or galvo lasers, so for a fiber laser you export the prepared file and run it in LightBurn or EZCAD. A free account is needed to load and process images.
Not on bare stainless by itself. A diode laser needs a marking compound or spray, and the mark is the compound fused to the metal. Test on scrap first.
Also with a marking compound or spray. Bare stainless is marked directly by a fiber laser.
Usually dark on a light metal, so a photo is prepared like a normal positive image. If your process leaves a light mark, use Invert and confirm with a small test.
A fiber laser changes the steel surface itself, so the mark does not peel off; a marking-compound mark is fused onto the surface. How well either resists abrasion and dishwashers depends on the process and the compound, so test a sample and follow the compound maker's guidance.
No. It exports files for LightBurn or EZCAD. Its desktop app drives GRBL diode lasers and Ruida CO2 lasers.