The Difference Between Relief Carving Mode and Regular Raster Mode
Specific software may be required for the type of relief carving you want to do with your laser.
Referring strictly to lasers, having the ability to vary power based on grayscale color value is the primary difference between relief carving mode and regular raster mode. When a regular raster job is executed, power is set in the print menu and does not vary. Instead, it spreads that steady level of power over varying, dispersed dot patterns based on color values. Great relief carving results cannot be easily achieved in the regular raster mode. If your machine does not have the varying power capability, or the software (print option) to enable it, you will not easily be able to create a relief carving. Lasers capable of doing relief carving also require specialized software. For specific information about relief carving with your model, contact your machine’s representative.
-Jim Puentes, COOLaserCraft