How do I convert an image to DXF for laser cutting?

Updated on 6 October 2026

Drop the PNG or JPG into the Homotope workshop, pick Logo to cut shapes or Single stroke to engrave a line, set “Ready for cutting?” to your beam diameter, then download the DXF, which counts as a production export.

JPG · 400 × 400 px

Engine SVG

400 × 400 px compressed JPEG logo and the SVG produced by the engine, Logo preset alone, 5 colours, untouched: the JPEG artefacts are gone, the ring stays a circle and the star keeps its straight edges.

×6 detail: the end of the band against the white rim: a closed contour, with no gap or overlap. Drag the slider to compare; hover over the image or hold your finger on it to move the magnifier.

Try it with your image Open this example in the workshop

Steps for the laser

Drop the image into the workshop.
Cutting: Logo or Black and white preset. Line engraving: Single stroke, which traces the axis of each line in one pass.
In Export, choose DXF; in “cut” mode, tick “Merge shared boundaries” so a border between two colours is not cut twice.
Open “Ready for cutting?” and set “Tool diameter (mm)” to your beam (0.2 by default): finer details are flagged.
Download, import into the laser software and scale.

Nothing leaves your computer: see vectorize without uploading.

What the DXF contains

DXF R12 ASCII, in millimetres (1 pixel = 1 point, or 0.353 mm).
Closed contours, holes included; with Single stroke, open polylines with no width.
One layer per colour: one colour, one power and speed setting.

LightBurn, for example, imports SVG and DXF (source: LightBurn documentation). The format is detailed on image to DXF, the preparation in the laser guide and a full case in logo to DXF for a laser.

Production exports (DXF, EPS, PDF, separations): 2 free per month with an account, unlimited with Pro; without Pro, 1 credit each beyond those 2. The details: how much vectorizing costs.

Limits

Homotope does not compensate for kerf: set the offset in the laser software if the part must be accurate to a tenth of a millimetre. A greyscale photo engraves better as a raster image than as a DXF. A dimensioned plan is redrawn in CAD. For a pencil line, see the single-line file.

Frequently asked questions

Is the DXF free?

It is a production export: 2 free per month with an account, then 1 credit each, unlimited with Pro. The SVG stays free.

Cut or engrave?

Logo gives closed contours to cut; Single stroke gives the axis of each line, followed once, to engrave a line.

Is my image sent to a server for the DXF?

No. The conversion runs in your browser; the server only counts the export.

Sources for statements about other tools, checked on 6 October 2026: https://docs.lightburnsoftware.com/latest/Reference/FileManagement/

Guides and conversions

Try it with your image