AI Integrations: Free Early Access for Every Store
Etch Express now works with Claude and ChatGPT. Once your account is connected, your assistant can work right inside Etch Express: creating designs, importing a spreadsheet of names into a data table, setting up plates with variables, arranging the run across your beds, and exporting the same production PDF the bed editor gives you. It can also check low stock in Materials, review analytics, start from a saved template, or clone a past job.
Getting connected takes one approval. You sign in, review exactly what the assistant will be able to see and do, and allow the connection. Every action is checked against your live Etch Express permissions, so the assistant can never do more than you can. Organization owners and admins turn on AI integrations for each member, store by store, under Organization Settings > Members > Store Access, and you can disconnect at any time from User Integrations.
AI integrations are in early access and free for every Etch Express customer. Ask your Etch Express representative to enable it for your stores, and we'd be happy to turn it on.
Etch Express Is Now an Approved App in ChatGPT
Our official Etch Express app has been reviewed and approved by OpenAI, so you can add it directly from ChatGPT. Search for "Etch Express" in ChatGPT's apps, connect your account, and approve access the same way you would with Claude. The same permissions and store-by-store controls apply.
Our announcement page walks through getting started step by step.
New Features
Upload PNG, JPEG, WebP, GIF and TIFF Images as Artwork
The graphic upload dialog in the Plate Editor now accepts PNG, JPEG, WebP, GIF and TIFF images, alongside SVG and EPS. Each image can be up to 100MB. The dialog shows upload progress and processing status, and "Check again" lets you recheck an image that is still processing.
Images are placed on the plate at their correct proportions. Photo rotation information is applied, so images appear upright.
When you select a placed image, you can see its pixel size and print resolution in dpi. You get the warning "Low resolution. The image may print soft." when the resolution is too low for a clean print. You can also lock or unlock the aspect ratio of graphics.
You can upload images to the ornament library in Store Settings and reuse them as ornaments. You can cancel an upload in progress or retry files that failed.
Images are included in PDF and SVG exports. If an SVG or EPS file contains a very large embedded picture, you are asked to upload that picture on its own as a PNG, JPEG or TIFF instead.
Show a Different Graphic for Each Data Row
In the Plate Editor, "Add Graphic" now offers "Static Graphic" and "Variable Graphic". A Variable Graphic is a frame that holds several graphic options, up to 500 per frame. Use "Add option" to add each one.
Each option has its own name, size, aspect ratio lock and position within the frame. "Reset fit" returns an option to its default fit.
In "Assign graphics" you choose which option each data row uses. You can search, filter by column, sort and assign many rows at once. Set an "Unassigned default" for rows without a specific choice. A row with no assignment and no default gets no graphic.
Assignments stay attached to the right rows when you edit, sort or use AI to change your data table. All variable graphic frames in a design use the same data table.
The plate editor, bed editor, batch bed editor and your exports all show the correct graphic for each row.
Sign In With Google
The sign-in page now has a "Sign in with Google" button.
The first time you use Google with an existing Etch Express account, you may be asked to enter your Etch Express password to connect the two. After that, Google sign-in works directly.
Use Etch Express on Phones and Tablets
On small screens, the left navigation becomes a menu you open from the header. It keeps the organization and store selectors, your account controls and the Quick Record Transaction shortcut.
On tablets and other narrower screens, the plate, bed, batch and template editors stack the canvas and settings in one scrollable column.
On a phone held sideways, the editors use a compact side-by-side layout. Use "Hide settings panel" and "Show settings panel" to switch between the panel and the canvas. On a phone held upright, the editors ask you to rotate to landscape.
Dialogs fit the visible screen, buttons are easier to tap, and actions that normally appear on hover are visible on touch screens.
Improvements
Wrap Text to the Box Width and Justify Lines
Turn on "Wrap Text" for a text or variable element to move words onto new lines when they reach the edge of the text box. Wrapping is applied before "Squeeze to Fit". "Line Height" is available for wrapped text.
"Justify" is now one of the horizontal alignment options.
"Fit to Plate" and "Auto Arrange" take the height of wrapped text into account. Auto Arrange keeps overflowing wrapped blocks separate instead of overlapping them.
Wrapped and justified text looks the same in the bed editor, the batch bed editor and your exports. When you resize a text box, the text lays out at the new size as you drag instead of stretching.
Invite Team Members by Email With Store Access
In Organization Settings, "Invite" opens the "Invite a team member" dialog. Enter a name and an email address or existing username, choose an organization role, and set store access and permissions for each store.
The invited person gets an email and finishes setting up their account with a password or with Google. Their store access starts when they accept.
Pending invitations appear in Store Access. You can change their role and store access, or use "Cancel invite".
More Reliable AI Plate Generation
AI plate layouts are checked against the columns in your data table. If the AI produces an invalid result, you see an error. Previously, the content could be replaced with "Sample Text" without notice.
When you ask for a specific number of lines, the result matches that number. When you generate from a template, every template text field is kept.
"AI Generate Plate Design" saves the new layout and keeps your crystal shape, gutter settings and selected font.
The AI wizards set up your data first and never replace an existing data table. If you retry a design in the Multi-Design Wizard, the wizard reuses that design instead of creating a duplicate. Plates from the Constant Text Wizard can include wrapped or multi-line text.
Understand Template Import Results and Keep More PDF Artwork
When you import a template from a file, "Import review" explains in plain language what was imported or why the import failed. An "Artwork preserved" note tells you when the original artwork was kept. Error messages are also easier to understand.
Full-page PDF designs keep their original artwork as layers, and live text stays editable. Embedded images are kept as images instead of being traced.
Rotation, opacity, letter spacing, line height and paragraph alignment come through more accurately. The draft preview shows wrapping, squeezed text, shapes and graphics more faithfully.
Upload SVG, EPS and PDF Files up to 25MB
The 25MB limit applies to SVG and EPS graphic uploads in the Plate Editor, ornament uploads, crystal template uploads and template imports from file.
Choose a Material When Creating a Design
"New Design" and the Multi-Design Wizard now include a material field. On the design overview page, you can change the material without opening a separate edit form.
Search materials by name or SKU, or choose "None" to clear the selection. The field appears when your store has the material subscription and you can view materials.
Resize the Custom Gutter Directly on the Canvas
Click the gutter boundary on the canvas to show resize handles, then drag or resize it. The values in the settings panel update to match, and the gutter stays within the plate.
Sort Rows in the Bed Editor Row Filter
Click a column header in the row filter to sort by that column. Sorting only changes the order you see in the filter. It does not change your row numbers or data.
Search Your Organizations and Stores in the Navigation
Both selectors in the left navigation list names alphabetically. With six or more entries, a search box appears. If nothing matches your search, the selector tells you.
Bug Fixes
Correct Sizes for Imported SVG and EPS Graphics
Graphic size now comes from the width, height and units set in the file (mm, cm, in, pt or pc). Previously, some files came in at the wrong size.
Very large graphics are scaled down evenly so the longest side is at most 500 mm. Previously, the width and height could be reduced separately, which distorted the graphic.
Align and Distribute Rotated Elements Accurately
Align and Distribute now use each element's actual rotated outline, including strokes and polygon shapes. Previously, they used the element's unrotated box.
Distribute now makes the gaps between elements equal. Previously, it spaced their centers evenly.
Exports Keep Layer Order, Graphic Colors and Labels in Place
Text in exports now stays at its layer position, so it no longer shows through images placed in front of it.
Each embedded SVG graphic keeps its own styles. Previously, one graphic's styles could recolor other graphics in the same export.
Export labels that are too long now end with "..." instead of overflowing. In batch exports, section header titles stay within their section width.
If several designs in a batch export are missing a plate design, the error now lists all of them instead of only the first.
Stop Exports When Changes Fail to Save
The plate and bed editors now stop an export or page change when saving fails, so your exports use your latest saved work. Previously, the export could continue after the save failed.
Reload the App Cleanly After an Update
Previously, the error screen offered "Try Again", which retried without loading the new version and could not fix the problem. "Reload app" loads the latest version and returns you to the page you were on.