OK, first off I still absolutely love my Glowforge pro (this is true). I was one of the original crowdfunded owners and still use it regularly. I also still recommend it for anyone who's looking to try out a laser cutter, the Glowforge is extremely easy to use and is a great first laser (this is still true but I am actively looking for a new laser to recommend).
I just don't recommend the "premium" subscription. Sure it's got nice to have features and now a new "Magic canvas" feature. But at anywhere from $12 to $50 a MONTH it can't hang with Illustrator or even free Inkscape in my opinion. Especially if you do more than just Glowforge.
OK, back to the story - I've been receiving messages from the Glowforge team for a week or so hyping up this new "magical" feature! Sign up now for the reveal, space is limited!!!
So like most people, I was pretty curious.
What new feature are we getting?
The pro pass through alignment feature is pretty amazing (no, like super awesome if just f'ing works amazing), wonder if they figured out someway to tell if the material cut all the way through?!
Or automatically adjust if the engraving is too close to an edge?!
OR did we finally find an easy way to clean the damn exhaust fan?!?!?!?!?!?!?
I was pretty excited, it's got to be something fancy if there's this much hype right?
Well today I logged in and found out...
It was a YouTube livestream, there was no space limitation.
The new feature is called "Magic Canvas" and it's an AI art generator that's now part of the premium subscription.
I stopped watching at 11:20 after I heard that the design competition was for the best magic canvas print and the winner gets proofgrade material.
So yeah. I feel a little let down. And premium still isn't my cup of tea for how I choose to use my Glowforge.
You want AI art, fine that's cool, I'm not sure how I feel about AI art generation yet but I know it's likely here to stay (not going into that rabbit hole today!). So google AI art generator and pick your favorite, from DALL-E to Midjourny and others. Put that image into Inkscape and BAM! Bob's your uncle, we've got a basic version of magic canvas we can tinker with. I'm sure magic canvas makes it easier to pick settings and cleanup the image for engraving, but yeah... I'll pass.
If you read this far, thanks! I know this is a little more of a negative post than usual here, but I felt more clickbaited than usual and wanted to vent a little.
I do love my Glowforge, I have no regrets about purchasing it. If you're curious about a Glowforge, feel free to ask questions, and if you already know you want one, Link removed - This link will save you up to $500 on your purchase (https://glowforge.us/r/QofYAh), just don't go blow that savings on the premium subscription OK? Lol 🤣
Alright, lets sum it up:
TLDR - Glowforge laser = good, Glowforge materials and subscriptions = overpriced.
-Glowforge laser, love it and use it all the time. Dislike the extra BS that's getting added to the interface recently
-Glowforge pro passthrough feature, awesome, works well, read more here https://support.glowforge.com/hc/en-us/articles/360047669153-Pro-Passthrough
-Glowforge premium subscription, not worth it IMO, get Inkscape free here https://inkscape.org/
-Glowforge new feature release, clickbaity IMO. Watch more here and you be the judge https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9P5ogeReP10
-Glowforge proofgrade material, good stuff but overpriced. And are you kidding me on your shipping costs?!?!? It's over $80 to order two sheets of proofgrade thick maple plywood... That's why I use a lot of Columbia Forest Products 1/4" maple plywood from my local hardware store which runs about $5 a sheet if you buy it pre cut.
Screen captures of the prices as of this post:
September update:
After further review of the direction Glowforge seems to be headed, I no longer recommend purchasing a Glowforge laser.
As a tool I still love it and don't regret purchasing it (I have an original crowdfunded unit) but there's too much I don't like about the changes to the app/interface/je ne sais quoi of the Glowforge relm anymore that using it isn't as fun as it used to be 😢.
So I've removed all affiliate links to Glowforge on my site. This probably sounds like the person who has to proclaim when they're fed up and leaving Facebook, so to give some context - This isn't a small thing for me, I was earning $500-$600 per purchase with my affiliate link which is significant for a small business like myself. Anywhoo, that's all the internets needs to know, buy me a drink sometime if you'd like to hear the rest of the story 😂