Why does my DXF import at the wrong size?

A DXF of this version cannot say whether its numbers are millimeters or inches, so your app guesses. Read the unit in the file's name and set your app's DXF import unit to it: in LightBurn, under File Settings. Inches read as millimeters come in 25.4 times too small.

Every 96 pixels of your picture become one inch, 25.4 mm. The size is the drawing's own, measured around it, and the drawing keeps its place on your picture, so it may sit a little away from your app's origin. Move it and scale it to the size you cut in your laser app.

Can I convert a JPG to DXF for free?

Converting and previewing cost nothing. Keeping the file takes one credit, with the DXF and every other format in it.

Should I use an SVG or a DXF for laser cutting?

This DXF suits CNC routers and CAD; laser apps such as LightBurn take an SVG too. The laser guide compares both, app by app.

Is a DXF a vector file?

Yes. It stores lines and the points they run through, so a laser or a CNC can follow it at any size.

Which DXF version does VecSnap write?

R12, the version laser apps, cutting software and CAD programs all read. Its curves are short straight steps, too small to see in a cut.

Why can't I download a DXF for my image?

Some drawings cannot be cut into clean pieces, and VecSnap would rather refuse than send a file that cuts badly. You see the pieces before you spend a credit, so a drawing that cannot be cut never costs one; its SVG and PDF are still there.

JPG to DXF converter

JPG or PNG to DXF, in color layers.

Drop in a logo, a sign or an emblem as a JPG or PNG. VecSnap redraws it as clean shapes and writes a DXF your laser or CNC reads: one layer per color, every outline closed, in millimeters or inches.

Drop an image here

PNG, JPG, WebP, AVIF, GIF, BMP, TIFF or SVG · Up to 10 MB

or paste it with ⌘CommandV

It is free, and your first 3 downloads are on us.

Converting and previewing are free
One credit keeps the file, every format included

JPGpixelsDXFshapes

The JPG as uploaded18 KBVecSnap's DXF4 layers14 outlines

To convert a JPG or PNG to DXF, drop it on VecSnap, then download it for a laser or CNC, in millimeters or inches. The DXF holds the drawing as closed outlines, one layer for each color, with nothing stacked and no background to cut. It comes in at 96 pixels to the inch, in the place it has on your picture, so set your laser app's import unit to the one in the file's name. Converting and previewing are free.

Updated Nov 6, 20262 sources ↓

The picture, redrawn

The shapes your DXF is cut from.

A real JPG of a layered emblem. Drag the line across it to compare the picture with VecSnap's shapes, or put potrace beside them. The DXF below is cut from these shapes.

OriginalVecSnap

An example we picked, made with Gemini.

Read asLossy JPG · quality 55

Anchor points

98% fewer

File size

98% lighter

In the file

2 circles · 6 paths

Convert your file

Inside the file

What's inside my DXF?

One layer for each color, so your laser can cut, score or skip each one. Each layer here is drawn from the file's own outlines.

Version
This DXF
R12 (AC1009)
What it means
The version LightBurn, Inkscape, Fusion and CAD apps all open
Layers
This DXF
4
What it means
One per color, each named by its color code
Outlines
This DXF
14 outlines, all closed
What it means
Each piece is one closed line, so the laser knows inside from outside
Size
This DXF
158.8 × 158.7 mm (6.3 × 6.2 in)
What it means
The drawing at 96 pixels to the inch; scale it in your app
Units
This DXF
Millimeters
What it means
Chosen when you download; the file's name says which

In the file	This DXF	What it means
Version	R12 (AC1009)	The version LightBurn, Inkscape, Fusion and CAD apps all open
Layers	4	One per color, each named by its color code
Outlines	14 outlines, all closed	Each piece is one closed line, so the laser knows inside from outside
Size	158.8 × 158.7 mm (6.3 × 6.2 in)	The drawing at 96 pixels to the inch; scale it in your app
Units	Millimeters	Chosen when you download; the file's name says which

Download this DXF

Before the laser

What a DXF for cutting needs

A layer per color
Set a cut, a score or an engrave for each color, or hide the ones you skip.
One outline per piece
Pieces never sit on top of each other, and touching pieces of one color are joined into one outline.
No background
The paper behind the drawing is left out, so there is no frame around it to cut.
Curves that cut round
Curves are written as short straight steps far finer than a laser's beam, so a circle cuts round.

Which file

Which file for a laser, a cutting machine or Illustrator

LightBurn, xTool, a CNC or CADDXF
What you get
The DXF, in millimeters or inches, a layer for each color.
Cricut or SilhouetteCut-ready SVG
What you get
An SVG cut the same way, which Design Space reads as layers.
Illustrator, Inkscape or FigmaDesign file
What you get
Each part a shape to edit, before you cut it.

Where the file goes	Download	What you get
LightBurn, xTool, a CNC or CAD	DXF	The DXF, in millimeters or inches, a layer for each color.
Cricut or Silhouette	Cut-ready SVG	An SVG cut the same way, which Design Space reads as layers.
Illustrator, Inkscape or Figma	Design file	Each part a shape to edit, before you cut it.

One credit keeps the file, every format included.

Questions

JPG to DXF, answered.

Sources

DXF Reference: header variables ($ACADVER)Autodesk, read Oct 30, 2026
DXF file from AutoCAD imports with wrong sizeLightBurn forum, read Oct 30, 2026

A drawing exchange file: lines and the points they run through, kept in layers, which CAD programs, laser apps and CNC machines read. VecSnap's holds one layer for each color, every outline closed; the section above draws each layer from the file.