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10.1 Glossary
Color Fill – Term within the awards and engraving industry used to describe the variety of
techniques used to add color or contrast to engraving.
DPI – Dots Per Inch or Pixels Per Inch. The resolution of an image is defined by the amount of
dots/pixels included in an inch. The DPI setting of 500, will tell the machine to include 500 laser
firings within an inch.
Driver – A software program that allows the computer to communicate with its components and
peripherals: printers, scanners, monitors, etc.
Error Diffusion (Dithering Method) - This effect uses a series of random black and white pixels
to represent shading.
Firmware – Programming permanently set into a computer’s ROM chips. This information is burned
into the computer chips and can only be changed by replacing the chips, or in the case of EEROM, by
special procedure.
PPI – Pulses Per Inch. PPI determines the gross amount of laser pulses there will be per linear inch.
PPI is exclusively used for the vector setting. A PPI setting of 500 results in the laser firing every .002”
(500 times per inch). If the standard lens is producing a vector laser focal point of .007”, then higher
PPI settings will result in deeper, overlapping laser pulses. PPI settings lower than 150 will result in
the individual laser pulses being spread far apart, so they will not touch each other. Low PPI settings
are a good example of perforate paper.
Raster – The process of rendering a cutting or engraving by multiple horizontal lines. For example:
when cutting out or engraving a square, the raster setting will make the laser use numerous horizontal
lines to fill in the outlined space.
Raster Image – An image that is defined as a collection of arranged pixels in a rectangular array of
lines. A raster image is similar to a “Bitmap” graphics image.
Raster Line – A raster line is the individual horizontal line that makes up the raster image.
Serial Port – A connection that allows a computer to send data to a peripheral device one bit at a
time.
Usually it is a COM port that meets the RS232C specification.
Vector – The process of cutting or engraving an image by using single horizontal, vertical and
curved lines. For example: when cutting out or engraving the outline of a square, the vector setting
will make the laser use a thin single line to follow the outline of the shape.
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