EveryCutFileWhat LightBurn imports
Import adds artwork to the project you have open; Open replaces the project. Importing a LightBurn project file brings in its shapes but not its cut settings.
| File | What comes in | Check before you cut |
|---|---|---|
| SVG | The shapes, at the size written in the file. A file sized in pixels, or not sized at all, is read at the SVG import DPI | Width and height against the size you expect |
| DXF | The shapes. LightBurn detects the unit when the file records it, and otherwise uses the unit you set for DXF files | The size, then the DXF unit setting |
| PDF, AI | The vector shapes | Text, and the size |
| PLT, HPGL | Plotter outlines | The size |
| PNG, JPG, BMP, GIF, TIFF | A picture to engrave, with no outline to cut | Trace it into outlines first if you want to cut around it |
Read the size it came in at
An SVG states its size as a width and height. In millimeters or inches there is nothing to guess. In pixels, or with no size at all, LightBurn turns pixels into inches with its SVG import setting (Edit > Settings, or LightBurn > Preferences on a Mac, then the Import / Export tab), and programs disagree on the count: Inkscape uses 96 pixels to the inch, Adobe Illustrator 72. A file drawn at 72 and read at 96 comes in at 72 ÷ 96 = 0.75 of its size.
| What you see | Likely cause | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| About 0.75 of the size you expected | The file was made at 72 pixels per inch (Illustrator, or Affinity set up for cutting) and LightBurn reads 96 | Choose 72 DPI under SVG Import, then import the file again |
| About 1.33 times the size | The file was made at 96 pixels per inch (Inkscape) and LightBurn reads 72 | Choose 96 DPI, then import again |
| 25.4, 10 or 2.54 times out | Millimeters, centimeters and inches mixed up, not pixels | Check whether LightBurn shows millimeters or inches before you change anything |
A worked example
Our rounded rectangle pantry label says width="76mm" height="42mm" with a viewBox of 0 0 76 42, so LightBurn places it at 76 × 42 mm with either DPI setting. The same label exported from Illustrator with Responsive ticked keeps only its viewBox, 215.43 × 119.06 in Illustrator’s points, and LightBurn at its default 96 DPI places it at 57 × 31.5 mm, three quarters of the size. Switch SVG Import to 72 DPI, import it again, and it measures 76 × 42 mm.
Text and fonts
LightBurn cannot import embedded fonts. Text in an SVG, PDF or AI file comes in only if its font is installed on your computer; otherwise turn the text into paths in the program that made the file, with Path > Object to Path in Inkscape or Type > Create Outlines in Illustrator. When LightBurn can read nothing in a file, its status bar says Nothing Imported.
Every word design on this site is already outlined, and the label customizer and monogram maker download outlined letters.
DXF files and their unit
A DXF may not record the unit it was drawn in. In the same Import / Export tab, keep Auto-detect units if possible ticked, and set the DXF unit to the one the file was drawn in for files that don’t say; a wrong unit gives the 25.4 or 10 times errors above. Our SVG to DXF converter writes its coordinates in millimeters without recording the unit, so set the DXF unit to millimeters for its files.
Bring a file from this site into LightBurn
- Download the single design’s SVG from its page, not the whole pack sheet.
- In LightBurn choose File > Import (Ctrl+I; Cmd+I on a Mac) and pick the file, or drag it into the window.
- Compare the width and height LightBurn shows with the size on the design page.
- Give each layer a mode: Line follows the outline, to cut or to score at low power; Fill engraves the area. Test on a scrap of the same material first.
Find the cause of a wrong size from the number →
From the maker’s documentation: LightBurn: file management, LightBurn: settings and preferences.