PatchForge — Raised Texture Builds (Mimaki)
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Can I get my print and cut files in the same zip?
On a gang sheet, yes — open "Also include the full production package" in the dialog and tick xTool (.xs) or LightBurn (.lbrn2). They come down in the same zip as the texture files. Print PNG, print PDF and cut SVG are not listed because every texture export already includes them. -
How does the grayscale control the height?
Black builds highest, white does not build at all, with greys in between. The goal is plenty of darks and light greys — a flat mid-grey prints as a flat slab. The dialog shows a live preview plus how much of the sheet will build and how many distinct levels you have, and warns you if the map has ... -
RasterLink is reading my build file as colour instead of grayscale.
Fixed as of 15 September 2026 — re-export and it will come in as grayscale. The build file used to be written as an RGB image whose channels happened to be equal: grey to the eye, but three colour channels to a RIP, so RasterLink separated it into CMYK. It is now a true single-channel grayscale f... -
It depends on your art. By default dark areas build high and light areas stay flat. Turn Invert on when it is the light areas that should stand proud. It is off by default because which tones should rise is a decision about your particular design, not a rule.
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The sheet is too small to see what the sliders are doing. Can I zoom in?
Yes. Scroll on the preview to zoom, drag to pan, and double-click to fit the whole sheet again — or use the +, −, and fit buttons in the corner of the preview. It zooms into the sheet at full resolution rather than magnifying the thumbnail, so on a busy gang sheet you can pull right into one patc... -
What do I do with the files in RasterLink?
Broadly: set the build file to Mono Color (black → black), duplicate it once per channel and assign each copy a colour including both whites, stack them in the Composition tab with the colour file on top, then set a high overprint count on the build layers and one on the colour layer. Your printe... -
They are the Photoshop routine, in order. Invert flips which tones stand proud. Brightness and Contrast push the tones apart so the relief has real highs and lows. Gamma is the fine control for the midtones. Black point and White point set the input range. Reset puts everything back.
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A colour file as both PNG and PDF (your artwork, with registration marks on a gang sheet), a build file also as both PNG and PDF (the height map, in true single-channel grayscale so a RIP reads it as one ink), and a cut file — all in one zip, all describing the same frame at the same DPI so they ...
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Printing physically raised texture on a UV printer by driving ink height from a grayscale image, then cutting the result on your laser. It is how you get relief on a patch rather than a flat print. PatchForge builds the three files the process needs.
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What is the difference between Artwork tone and Flat slab?
Artwork tone makes the relief follow your image's own tones, so detail in the art becomes detail in the texture. Flat slab ignores tone entirely and raises the whole patch to one uniform height. Use the slab when you want a clean raised shape rather than a contoured one. -
A colour file (your artwork, with registration marks on a gang sheet), a build file (the grayscale height map), and a cut file — all in one zip, all describing the same frame at the same DPI so they stack correctly in RasterLink.
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In the Patch Builder: Export ▾ → "Texture build (Mimaki)…". In the Gang Sheet Builder: the "Texture build (Mimaki)" button under Quick export.
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Why does the build file have no registration marks?
Because the marks are for your laser, not the printer, and they have to stay flat. The build layers take multiple overprints of raised ink; building the marks would leave your cutter trying to optically read a target that has been physically raised. The colour and build files are not registered t...