__Time for some Thick Acrylic__
Up until now, the only color of thick (¼”) acrylic we’ve had in the shop was clear. You’ve asked for more, though, and today we are providing! We’re adding Thick Black, White, Blue, Red, Green, Orange, Yellow, Purple, Teal, Fluorescent Green, and Fluorescent Pink Acrylic. Now, you can tackle projects with thicker acrylic in a variety of colors!
And, for something different, we’re adding Thick Glass Green Acrylic. Glass Green Acrylic is completely clear when viewed straight on, but from the edge, has the greenish tint of traditional glass.  It’s a stunning look for framing projects, layering, and so much more. We hope you’ll enjoy it!
![Screen Shot 2018-04-10 at 9.55.13 AM](//images.ctfassets.net/ljtyf78xujn2/4otVjh6Y36u4wQqqQsAMwm/f1f43f2af943677c71ff02582d324731/Screen_Shot_2018-04-10_at_9.55.13_AM.png)


__Pro Shields - now in the Shop!__
In our [February update](https://community.glowforge.com/t/february-2018-update/18875 "February Update"), we mentioned that all Pro units were now shipping with Pro Shields (and anyone who received a Pro previously, would get them by the beginning of April). All Pro customers should have now received them - let support know if you haven’t and we’ll take care of you.  In case you’d like an extra pair, though, we’re now including them in the Shop.
We love them because they let you use the faster print speeds of the Pro in a manner that’s safe around kids and the general public. Not bad to have an extra set!
![Screen Shot 2018-04-10 at 9.55.22 AM](//images.ctfassets.net/ljtyf78xujn2/32Qbda0wcwkYke8ooo4MAG/a57f322c672dce7cb607199c52c1732c/Screen_Shot_2018-04-10_at_9.55.22_AM.png) ![Screen Shot 2018-04-10 at 9.55.42 AM](//images.ctfassets.net/ljtyf78xujn2/614zmFdaCIqOIUwOK4mQiC/8d999e1ca2d4c139bf1dbcbdc40df19d/Screen_Shot_2018-04-10_at_9.55.42_AM.png) ![Screen Shot 2018-04-10 at 9.55.34 AM](//images.ctfassets.net/ljtyf78xujn2/7xSLhrXE3uu6k6EgQK8AWe/028dcfd1bf3631dbb7aed600fd8ecb21/Screen_Shot_2018-04-10_at_9.55.34_AM.png)

PS: you may also see that our photos in the Shop look different. We aren’t changing our products, but included updated photos so you can get a better idea of what your Proofgrade materials will look like when they arrive.

Today, we're adding lots to the Shop! New Thick Acrylic Colors: Black, White, Blue, Red, Green, Orange, Yellow, Purple, Teal, Fluorescent Green, and Fluorescent Pink. And, for something different, we’re adding Thick Glass Green Acrylic too! Pro Shields will also be available in the Shop, just in case Pro Owners would like an extra pair.

Shop additions! Acrylic that’s just like glass, Thick Acrylic, and Pro Shields

The day after our launch, we [made an announcement](http://blog.glowforge.com/we-ll-release-a-gpl-licensed-firmware-for-glowforge/) based on feedback from our very first customers: we said we’d open source our firmware.  (This is a technical topic, so if this doesn’t mean anything to you, you can safely ignore the rest of this update.)

It took longer than we intended, but today we’re starting that process.  We’re publishing both links to all the third-party open source software that’s used in the firmware, and the kernel modules responsible for lower-level hardware operation.  This meets a crucial goal of ours: to recognize and fulfill our obligations to the work of the many great engineers who build the Linux operating system that runs the Glowforge.  

We are working on doing more - the current software release doesn’t include all the files in the firmware, for example - but we believe this release both complies with our license obligations for 3rd party software we’re using, and gives people who want to experiment a useful starting point. 

Please note that modifying your firmware is not recommended: besides voiding your warranty, it can cause severe damage to your Glowforge and cause fire, property damage, or even death.

You can find the code on our GitHub page at [github.com/Glowforge](https://github.com/Glowforge) and more information at [glowforge.com/open-source](https://glowforge.com/open-source).


We're releasing the source code to the firmware that powers your Glowforge.

Publishing our firmware

When we released Autosave, we heard that it was a great feature - but sometimes you wanted to keep the original design, even though you’re making a custom version. For example, perhaps you have a coaster with a cool engraving.  When you have friends over, you have them add their name by using the ‘trace’ feature and print them a custom coaster set.  But you want to keep the original, without their names, too.

Today, once you edit the coaster, you have to either undo or re-upload it to get a new, blank one.  With “Copy”, you’ve got another option.

To duplicate a design, simply:
1. Go to the Dashboard at http://app.glowforge.com
2. Hover over the design you’d like to duplicate
3. Click the arrow that appears at the top right side of the design
4. Click "Make a Copy"

You’ll get an exact copy, so you can edit one and keep the other.  Note that this only works for your own designs, not designs we provide (like the Gift of Good Measure) or that you purchase from the Catalog (which you can reset after you modify them).

You all have the best ideas - there are lots more ideas for how to make file management work well, and we’re looking forward to making lots more improvements.  For the time being, though, we hope this will help.

Thank you so much for all your feedback!


When we released Autosave, we heard that it was a great feature - but sometimes you wanted to keep the original design, even though you’re making a custom version. For example, perhaps you have a coaster with a cool engraving.  When you have friends over, you have them add their name by using the ‘trace’ feature and print them a custom coaster set.  But you want to keep the original, without their names, too.

Lots to print? Make a Copy!

 
## Snap and Store Box
![Snap and Store Box Image](//images.contentful.com/ljtyf78xujn2/1uiH5dH3jiseaE4wU606Qu/77da8d742fa4daf496f4bc7fbbb52b23/Snap_and_Store_Box_Image.jpg)

We love to see the amazing things people make - whether they’re elaborate original creations, or just a joyful printing of one of our starter projects.  We’ve been thinking about upgrading the plaque project for a while, and we finally found the perfect replacement.  The Snap and Store box is fast to print, easy to assemble, fun to personalize, and will be a great new way to get started with Glowforge.

Of course, you’re already started - but we’ll add this handy box to your Dashboard at app.glowforge.com shortly.  New users will get this instead of the plaque.  You’ll get both!


## Full Rotation
You can now rotate! Previously, rotation only worked with pure vector images.  Now, you can click on anything, then drag the little frying pan handle sticking out of the top to rotate it.  It works with both uploaded files and with Trace.  You might try it out by customizing your new Snap and Store box?


## Refer
The #whatmadethis campaign is showcasing hundreds of beautiful projects, and it’s just the first few days!  We’d love for you to participate. Just share a picture of something you made with the text #whatmadethis and include the custom link we created for you at [glowforge.com/referrals](https://glowforge.com/referrals).   


We love to see the amazing things people make - whether they’re elaborate original creations, or just a joyful printing of one of our starter projects.  We’ve been thinking about upgrading the plaque project for a while, and we finally found the perfect replacement.  The Snap and Store box is fast to print, easy to assemble, fun to personalize, and will be a great new way to get started with Glowforge. Of course, you’re already started - but we’ll add this handy box to your Dashboard at app.glowforge.com shortly.  

Snap and Store and Rotate and Refer

## Autosave
From now on, every design you create on your Glowforge will automatically save changes you make, as you make them. That means that if you close your browser, navigate to another page, or just hit refresh, your work will pick up right where you left off. 

Should you make a change by mistake, you can use undo any time until you leave or refresh the page. If you want a clean start, you can always go to your dashboard and click the upload button to upload the file again. If you got the design from the catalog, then you can start fresh if you click on the three-dot icon and click “Reset Design” to remove all changes.

This was our most requested feature from customers like you - we’re excited to be able to launch it today!

## Faster startup
When you turn on your Glowforge, you’ve probably seen it move the Printer Head to the center so the camera can determine exactly where it is.  That process is getting a lot smarter this week, so your Glowforge will start faster and you’ll be printing sooner.  You’ll also notice that it’s less likely to rattle against the left or right side, even if the head is not in the center when you turn it on.   

## More helpful messages
If you use material that your Glowforge measures to be too thick or print a file that your Glowforge can’t handle, you’ll now get a more detailed message explaining what happened and what you can do about it.

## Print preview improvements
We’ve made some improvements to squash bugs, improve appearances, and speed up the print preview page.  You should find it works better now on non-Chrome browsers, too! Note that the image no longer blurs when your lid is open - instead, it changes to black-and-white.

From now on, every design you create on your Glowforge will automatically save changes you make, as you make them. That means that if you close your browser, navigate to another page, or just hit refresh, your work will pick up right where you left off. 

Should you make a change by mistake, you can use undo any time until you leave or refresh the page. If you want a clean start, you can always go to your dashboard and click the upload button to upload the file again. If you got the design from the catalog, then you can start fresh if you click on the three-dot icon and click “Reset Design” to remove all changes.

This was our most requested feature from customers like you - we’re excited to be able to launch it today!

Autosave, Faster startup, and more

We’re always working to make your prints faster and better.  Today, we’re rolling out a whole host of new engrave options for Proofgrade materials.  Here’s a quick guide to what you’ll find:

## Detail and speed options ##
We now offer a variety of choices to let you pick the tradeoff of detail and speed that best fits your project.  Not all choices are available on all materials, but you may find:

__Draft__ engraves are designed to print as quickly as possible, while still giving good visual quality.  For some purposes you may like the lighter low-res look; for others, you may want to do a draft engrave just to see how the project is going to come out.  

__Standard definition__ (“SD”) engraves are the default.  These offer better detail and smoother edges than draft engraves, but are still not too slow to finish. 

__High definition__ (“HD”) engraves are now available.  These offer the very highest level of detail, smoothest corners, and the ability to engrave truly tiny details.  HD engraves are slow, and best for smaller prints where you want exquisite detail.  

## Engrave styles ##
We also now offer styles that are specialized for different types of source art.  Not all materials support all styles, but you can choose from:

__Graphic__ engrave: Graphic settings are optimized for vector art, sans serif text, and solid blocks of color. It’s great for icons, images that are pure black and white (with no grey), or images with a few solid colors.  

__Photo__ engrave: Photo settings are optimized for photographs, color or greyscale images, and images with gradients or lots of colors.  You’ll need to pre-process your image for engraving (increasing the contrast and sharpening it) for the best results. 

The old settings will be maintained for a week or two and then will be removed.  We hope you’ll enjoy trying them out - we can’t wait to see what you’ll make!


New & Improved Engravings

Following our brief scheduled downtime Monday, we rolled out some significant fixes that we hope you'll like:
* Fewer upload errors
* Fewer planning errors
* Faster planning for prints
* Large prints should work better
We know how frustrating it is when you upload a print and get an error - that should be happening quite a bit less often now!

Following our brief scheduled downtime Monday, we rolled out some significant fixes that we hope you'll like.

Printing Improvements

We’ve heard from many of you that it’s hard to find out when things have changed, and the Latest Improvements information (that’s this!) is hard to find.  We heard you!  From now on, we’re including Latest Improvements in the sidebar so you can stay current on whatever’s happening.

Latest Improvements, On the Side

This week’s improvement is short and sweet: we’re making your cameras faster!  We know how much you love to print and hate to wait - this will bring your thumb-twiddling quotient down every time you close the lid.  The update will download and install sometime this week when you power on your machine.



Snap! Faster cameras

## New Proofgrade presets

Part of the magic of your Glowforge is that you can print without the frustration and hazards of experimental materials and settings.  Today, we’re introducing some new Proofgrade engraving presets to make your prints even better.  These presets are designed for different kinds of artwork, so each design can show its best.

These are all under continuous development - we’d love your feedback for how they work.  Expect more refinements and options to come!

### Graphic
Use the Graphic setting for text, logos, or other images that have large areas of one color.  It will give you crisp edges and maximum impact!  Clip art, icons, and vector drawings are all great choices for the Graphic setting. 
 
Our design team has worked to bring out the characteristics of each material - you’ll find that in addition to the regular Graphic, some natural materials have other tones, like the Dark Graphic setting, and acrylics will give you a Deep option.  

You’ll have best results with text that’s 10pt and above and lines that are 0.01” (0.25mm) or thicker.  We recommend converting your image to grayscale using your favorite image editor, then making sure that anything you want to see clearly is medium to dark gray (at least 20%, and more than 40% is recommended).    

### Photo 
The key to great photo engravings is your photo editor.  You want lots of contrast and liberal use of the “sharpen” effect!  If you’re printing on clear or translucent acrylic, you may want to mirror the image (so you can view it from the opposite side) and invert the colors for the best effect.

Once you’ve done that, though, the “photo” setting will get you the rest of the way there.  It’s terrific for making family photos permanent, especially on Proofgrade hardwoods, plywoods, and Draftboard.

### 3D Engrave 
It’s finally here!  One of the amazing things you can do with your Glowforge is engrave shapes with real depth and detail.  You can’t use a regular image for this - you have to use an image that’s been specially created for 3D engraving called a Heightmap.  A Heightmap is like a grayscale picture, except that the darker a spot on the picture is, the deeper it will engrave. 

Proofgrade hardwoods, acrylics, and Draftboard all support 3D engraving.  Thick materials have a second option, “Deep 3D Engrave”, that uses a second pass of the laser to achieve maximum depth. 

We can’t wait to see what you’ll do with this!

### High Quality Score  

High Quality Score setting gives you a clear, consistent line to maximize the visual effect of your artwork.

### Draft Score 

Use this option when you’re prototyping - the Draft score setting is faster, but it’s lighter in the middle and creates dark spots on corners. 

One last note: These new settings will replace the old settings -- but don’t worry, the existing ones will be there for at least a week, and labeled with “(Expiring Soon)”.  That way, if you’re in the middle of a project and want to preserve the ones you’re using for later, you can click the arrow at the top of the Proofgrade Engrave or Proofgrade Score menu, then click “Manual” to see the underlying settings & write them down.

## Decreasing veneer prices 
Prices in the shop vary over the course of time and we usually don’t announce it, but we did want to mention that after working with our supplier, we managed to get rid of the $1 price increase for finished veneer. It’s so attractive and useful (for everything from stickers to wall decor), we think you’ll love it!

## Referral code
Our referral program is going strong, and owners are scooping up new referrals every day.  A few of you asked if we could make it easier to share.  You got it!  We got the domain “glowforge.us” just for you.  You can see your new, shorter “.us” referral code here:
 
https://glowforge.com/referrals
 
Enjoy!
