Text effects

Five text effects — stroke, two neon styles, and emboss — with the settings each one reveals.

Custom Effect applies a visual treatment to a text layer. Select an effect that matches the product you produce.

Applies to: Text, Textarea, Number.

The five effects

Effect	Appearance	Reveals
No effect	Plain text. The default	Nothing
Stroke	An outline around each letter	Stroke Color, Effect width
Neon 1	A glowing outline	Nothing
Neon 2	A second glow treatment	Nothing
Emboss	A raised or pressed look, using a shadow	Shadow X position, Shadow Y position

Each effect is previewed as you select it, so choose by eye.

Stroke

An outline in a color you select.

Setting	Default	What it does
Stroke Color	A pink	The outline color
Effect width	1 px	The thickness of the outline

When to use it

A stroke can be decorative, but its main purpose is keeping text readable over a photograph. Light text with a thin dark stroke remains legible over uploaded photos, regardless of how light or dark they are.

If customers can upload their own images and you place text over them, use a stroke. You cannot predict whether their photos will be light or dark.

Keep Effect width low. Above about 2, the outline can start to obscure the letters.

Neon 1 and Neon 2

Two glow effects with no additional settings.

Use them for products designed to emit light, such as LED signs, acrylic light panels, and neon-style displays. They are not suitable for engraved products.

The two effects create different glow styles. Compare both with your own background image to choose the one that looks best.

Emboss

Creates a raised or pressed appearance by using a positioned shadow.

Setting	Default	What it does
Shadow X position	1 px	Horizontal shadow offset, from -100 to 100
Shadow Y position	1 px	Vertical shadow offset, from -100 to 100

How to position the shadow

The shadow offset determines the lighting direction. Small offsets create a subtle, physical impression, while larger offsets make the effect look more like a drop shadow.

Effect wanted	Try
Pressed into the surface — debossed	Small positive values, around 1 to 2
Raised off the surface — embossed	Small negative values
Matching your photograph's lighting	Offset in the same direction as the shadows already in the image

Match the shadow direction to the lighting in your product photo. If the light comes from the top left, the shadow should fall toward the bottom right.

Choosing an effect

Product	Effect
Engraved metal or wood	Emboss with small offsets, or No effect
Printed text on fabric or paper	No effect
Text over a customer's uploaded photo	Stroke, thin, in a contrasting color
LED or acrylic light products	Neon 1 or Neon 2
Vinyl or sticker lettering	Stroke matching your cut outline
Embroidery	No effect, with a font that suits stitching

Choose the effect that most closely matches the actual product you produce. If a customer sees a glowing preview but receives flat engraving, the order may be correct, but the preview was misleading.

Notes

• You can apply one effect per layer.

• Effects apply to the entire layer, not to individual parts of the text.

• Effects are drawn on top of the layer's Text color, so check both settings together.

• Effects apply to the preview only. They do not affect the actual product or production process.

• Thick strokes and large shadows on long text can take longer to render, which may be noticeable on older devices.