Bambu Lab R1 turns photographs into laser engravings

Photography normally ends with a screen, a print or perhaps a photo book, but the new Bambu Lab R1 offers a rather different way of turning an image into something physical. Instead of putting ink onto paper, this 55W CO2 laser cutter and engraver can burn photographic images directly into materials such as wood and engrave them into stone, opening up some interesting possibilities for displaying and selling photographs. Bambu R1 Media Kits cmpress Announced on 22 September 2026, the R1 is Bambu Lab’s first dedicated laser cutter and its first product outside 3D printing. It can cut and engrave wood, acrylic, leather, paper and fabric, while Bambu Lab also specifies engraving support for glass, stone and coated metals. [Press Release] Big Job. Light … It is that engraving capability that caught my attention from a photography perspective. A photograph can be prepared as an image file and translated into...