Setting Up Single Line Fonts in the Glowforge App
The Glowforge app handles SVG files differently than LightBurn — it uses a color-based operation system and calls single-line engraving "Score". This guide walks through the exact steps to get clean single-line text out of your Glowforge.
Exporting from Pathhaus for Glowforge
Export your text from Pathhaus Studio as SVG. The Laser optimization preset (epsilon=2) is correct for Glowforge. Enable Travel Optimizer if you're engraving multiple words or a complex layout. The resulting SVG will have black strokes on a white background — exactly what the Glowforge app expects.
Uploading to Glowforge app
In the Glowforge app, click the upload button and select your SVG file. The Glowforge app will show your design on the bed preview. It will automatically assign your paths to an operation — likely "Engrave" by default. You need to change this to "Score" for single-line vector engraving.
Setting the Score operation
Click on your design in the left panel. In the operation dropdown, change "Engrave" to "Score". Score mode tells the Glowforge to trace your paths as single-line vector cuts at high speed. Set speed to 500 and power to 15–25 for most wood materials. Score mode is significantly faster than Engrave mode for text — a full name might take 8 seconds in Score mode vs. 2 minutes in Engrave mode.
Troubleshooting common Glowforge issues
If your text appears broken or incomplete in the Glowforge app, the SVG may contain groups or transforms that the app misinterprets. Re-export from Pathhaus with a fresh file. If the text looks correct but engraves with inconsistent depth, your node count may still be too high — try reducing epsilon to 1 or using the "Laser" preset. If paths appear filled instead of stroked, ensure your Glowforge app operation is set to "Score", not "Engrave".
Try it in Pathhaus Studio
Free to start — optimize and export your first font file in under 5 minutes.