USA Plaque DesignerHelp and activation
Installing the app, the free trial, your licence key, and getting files into LightBurn.
1. Install the app
From the Microsoft Store: open the app's Store page and click Get or Install. Windows installs it and keeps it up to date.
With the Setup installer: download it and run the .exe. It installs for your Windows user (no admin needed) and adds desktop and Start menu shortcuts. If Windows says "Windows protected your PC", click More info, then Run anyway.
You need Windows 10 (version 1809 or newer) or Windows 11, 64-bit. See Download for the full requirements.
2. Start the free trial
Open the app. The 3-day trial starts by itself. There is no key to enter, no account and no card.
Every feature works during the trial. When it ends, enter a licence key to keep exporting. Your saved plaques stay on your PC either way.
3. Enter your licence key
After you buy a key, it arrives by email. Then:
- Open USA Plaque Designer on your PC.
- Click Help, then Enter licence key…
- Copy the key from the email and paste it in.
- Confirm. The PC needs to be online for this one step.
After that, the app works offline. It checks in with our key server now and then when the PC is online.
4. Move your key to another PC
One key works on up to 3 PCs at a time. To move it to a new PC when all 3 are in use:
- On the old PC, open the app's Help menu and deactivate the licence key there. This frees one of the 3 places.
- On the new PC, install the app and enter the same key with Help → Enter licence key…
Old PC broken, sold or gone? Email us with the email address you bought the key with.
Your plaques are .json files with the artwork inside. Copy them to the new PC and they open there. To bring your settings along, use Save settings file… in Settings.
5. Find your key again
Search your email for "USA Plaque Designer". Can't find it? We can send it again.
6. Open your plaque in LightBurn
Click Export SVG (or press Ctrl+E). In LightBurn, use File → Import or drag the file in. LightBurn puts each color on its own layer:
| Layer | What's on it | Set in LightBurn |
|---|---|---|
| C00 black | Flag cutouts: stripes and stars | Line (cut) |
| C01 blue | Plaque outline | Line (cut) |
| C02 red | Backer outline (off unless you turn it on in Settings) | Line (cut) |
| C03 green | Logo engraving (black & white) | Fill |
| C04 yellow | Pictures (PNG and JPG logos) | Image |
| C05 orange | Text | Fill to engrave, Line to cut the letters out |
| C07 magenta | Logo cut lines, for logos you cut out and glue on | Line (cut) |
| C10 dark red | Separate backer pieces | Line (cut) |
| C11 dark green | Score lines | Line (low power) |
These are the defaults. Change them in the app under Settings → LightBurn layers. Only the layers a plaque uses are in the file.
- Check the plaque has the width you chose, for example 24.000".
- An SVG can't carry speed, power or mode. Set the engraving layers to Fill and the picture layer to Image, then your speeds and powers (or use your material library).
- For each logo, decide: engrave it on the flag (delete its magenta cut line), or cut it out to glue on. For cut-out logos, use Pieces: it saves a sheet with every logo side by side, ready to cut from spare stock.
- Cut each board with only its layers turned on. Check the order in LightBurn's Cuts / Layers list.
7. If something goes wrong
- The window goes blank or black: click Reload on the screen that says your plaque is kept. Your plaque comes back as it was.
- Send us the error log: click Help → Show Error Log. It opens the folder with
errors.logselected. Attach that file to an email to us. The log stays on your PC unless you send it. - Unsaved work: the app keeps it and brings it back the next time you open it.
8. Contact us
Email: SUPPORT_EMAIL
Please include the email address you bought your key with, and what you were doing when the problem happened. A screenshot helps.
Laser Creations Shop LLC, Gilbert, Arizona.