Universal Laser Systems VLS2.30 User Manual Download

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Raster Sub-Tab

The raster sub-tab on the manual control tab of the
printer driver setting interface displays a group of
settings which affect how raster objects are
processed by the laser system. The controls in the
sub-tab are described below:

Print Special E

ﬀ

ects

The  drop  down  list  allows  you  to  choose  from
several  special  print  modes,  normal  for  most
materials  and  applications  or  one  of  the  other
modes for special applications. The modes work as follows:

Normal mode

In this mode all single color raster data is mapped to the closest color in the color table and
processed using the job settings attached to that color. All grayscale or multicolor bitmaps are
converted to grayscale and then a dither pattern is applied to them and the black color job settings
are used. This is the default recommended mode of operation.

3D mode

This mode affects raster elements of your image. In this mode all raster objects regardless of color
will be converted to 256 color grayscale and then during processing the laser power level is varied on
the fly in accordance with the grayscale levels in the image. Lighter parts of the image will receive
less  laser  power  and  darker  parts  more  laser  power  resulting  in  a  contoured  depth  and  a  three
dimensional look. Special 3D software is required to produce the type of grayscale images that are
compatible  with  this  mode.  Please  contact  our Applications  Department  for  the  latest  3D  software
recommendations. If you select 3D mode, you can adjust the grayscale to laser power level mapping
table using the 3D Setup button. See the description of the 3D Setup button for more details. Keep in
mind  that  it  may  require  several  passes  to  create  enough  relief  in  the  engraving  to  get  the  desired
results.  By  default  all  other  colors  are  forced  to  raster  mode  and  are  not  used  since  colored  raster
data is converted to grayscale. The red pen is left in rast/vect mode and it is recommended that all
vector cut lines in the graphic being printed be colored red so that they will be interpreted as vectors.
Any black vector lines will be converted to raster objects.

3D Setup Button

This button is used with the 3D print mode to adjust the grayscale to laser power level mapping
table.  It  only  appears  when  3D  mode  is  selected.  When  3D  mode  is  selected  the  laser  power
levels mapped to the various shades of gray in the image are scaled from the laser power level
you entered for the color black in the color table. The darkest shade of gray (black) in the image
will  be  assigned  the  black  color  laser  power  level.  The  lightest  shade  of  gray  (white)  will
automatically be assigned a 0% laser power. All other shades of gray that fall between black and
white  will  automatically  be  mapped  to  a  laser  power  level  in  between  0%  and  the  laser  power
level assigned to the black color based on the mapping table you set up in the window brought up
when you press the 3D setup button. When you select the 3D setup button, the ULS 3D Power
Calibration window will appear. There are 16 slider bars representing the 16 shades of gray of the
calibration scale. The 00 and the 15 are not adjustable as they represent white and black. The
other  14  can  be  adjusted.  Higher  values  result  in  deeper  engraving  than  lower  values. A  linear
mapping  works  for  most  applications  (adjust  the  sliders  in  a  diagonal  line  going  up  from  left  to
right),  but  in  some  cases  the  setting  can  be  varied  as  a  sort  of  gamma  correction  for  depth  of
engraving.

The APPLY button saves any changes you have made to the mapping table. You must press the
apply button before pressing the CLOSE button to exit this window or you will lose your changes.