Need laser to engrave photos

[aerialpixs]

I am looking for a laser engraver to engrave photos on glass, wood, plastic and marble. I don't need a large cutting table most of what I am looking to do is photo images 8x10. I don't think I will be trying to cut material with this laser mainly engrave. I don't have much experts in this field so I am asking for your expertise in this field to help me. I know there are many different types of laser and wide range of prices so does anyone do this type of engraving and can you help me out. Thanks

[coltons customs]

hello i currently have two lasers and do many things with them if you are only wanting to do photos i would suggest an rabbit hx series they are relatively inexpensive and fairly easy to run i purchased mine off ebay for 1500 dollars i also own and epilog legend ext 120 watt and i love it if you were only doing pictures i would from my experience purchase an epilog mini 18 in th 45 watt version however trust me when i say this if you purchase a laser everyone wants something done and the limits are endless i have learned if you can afford it bigger is better

[aerialpixs]

Thanks for you help I have been looking at the Epilog Laser but thats the first one I did any research on I like what it offers so now I looking for other laser and comparing what they can do and the cost of systems. I always looking for feedback from people that use the equipment to help me. So how is the Epilog system, what model do you have, how long have you had it and how are you using it. Have you had any problems with you laser and does the company stand behind the system. Do you engrave photo if so on what materials? Thanks

[nosplinters]

Hi aerialpixs,

I've been doing photo laser engraving for the past five years. We deal with anything from Alder wood (most popular) to stainless steel. It's definitely, something that will take some practice to get it just right. I think I have something like 20 different settings saved for all types of material. I learn something new each time I do a photo, especially when a customer supplies you with a really bad photo (been there way too many times).

I run a 30W VersaLaser with CorelDraw and I use my own Laser Photo engraving sofware. There's one other stand alone product called PhotoGrav, which does work, but expensive for what it does and a bit buggy.

I wouldn't recommend going with a VersaLaser, unless you have a rep in your area. The problem I ran into is my rep quit and I was stuck with zero support. I would seriously think about coltons customs suggestion and go with an Epilog mini at the max 45W. It'll cost ya a bit more, but you'll be much happier down the road. I would also suggest getting an industry standard table 12"x24" or larger. The Vl200 from ULSC only has a 12"x16", there's been many times I've had to turn down commercial jobs because I couldn't fit the pieces in the machine.

When doing photo engraving, don't let them sell you on the 1.5 lens. You don't need it. For best photo results, you'll run the DPI at around 250-300. One of the high detail lenses won't buy ya much at least from what I've seen.

Photo engraving on glass unfortunately doesn't work well at all. Glass engraving alone is a challenge with C02 lasers and the detail required for a photo will typically be washed away. I have had success lasering on optic crystal, but it's too pricey for customers'.

What's always a blast to photo engraving is Onyx Marble and Black Granite. Both have their challenges, but the results are quite impressive.

Leather photo engraving looks nice as well, it just STINK up the shop pretty badly.

I hope my info helped some.

You can see some examples of our photo engraving. The top of the page has a variety of different material engraving as well.
http://www.nosplinters.com/plaques.htm

Good luck!
-Ed

[svenakela]

Ed,
How do you make the tone difference on the lasered picture, do you make the picture in one session and control the tone by time/power or do you make the picture in layers?

Really good work, I'm amazed you did that with a laser.

Regards,
Sven

[coltons customs]

Originally Posted by aerialpixs Thanks for you help I have been looking at the Epilog Laser but thats the first one I did any research on I like what it offers so now I looking for other laser and comparing what they can do and the cost of systems. I always looking for feedback from people that use the equipment to help me. So how is the Epilog system, what model do you have, how long have you had it and how are you using it. Have you had any problems with you laser and does the company stand behind the system. Do you engrave photo if so on what materials? Thanks

the epilog is awesome it is very user friendly and easy to use i own a legend ext 36 inch model in the 120 watt range i use it in numerous ways from doing wood signs to etching glass i have done photos with it on black corian tile mostly but also on wood glass i have done project on everything you can imagine , wood glass ceramic acrylic coated metals plastic delrin cloth leather ( i even accomplished leather with hair on it) marble paper mylar balloons rubber for stamps tile cork you name it ive done it, as far as problems i have not yet had any and have been running it for a years time in 4 more days i had some problems getting my serifdraw program to work with it but know i use coreldraw and it works great i also will tell you if you can afford to go bigger do it trust me when i say this i had a rabbit model 40 it work good but not like the epilog and i have not had anything come in to the shop i couldn't do because of my machine not being big enough the epilog mini24 in a 45 watt package i thing would be optimum for yourself but i always say bigger is better as far as the company backing it all it takes is a phone call and they are more than willing to help they spent about 3 hours with me trying to get serifdraw to work and we did but its a pain cuz i have to export the image from serif to lasergrave to get it to cut and as with corel draw it just worked and one thing else ive noticed everyone uses corl so it is pretty easy to find help



also ed what speed and power do you use for galss my epilog works superb at it but the rabbit isnt the best hers some pics

[nosplinters]

Thanks Sven,

The images are engraved in one step. The depth is controlled by the clustering of pixels during the conversion process; therefore, giving the appearance of depth. Sincer you're only dealing with black/white or (ON/OFF with the laser), there's not a whole lot you can do or need to do. On certain items I use black embossing powder after a deep engraving (slower speed), then I apply the black embossing powder (found at stamp stores). I proceed to run the laser at a higher speed just to melt the embossing powder. The result is pretty good when you're engraving on lighter woods that don't have a lot of pitch (Western Maple). PhotGrav will do a good job on most images. PhotoGrav didn't give me enough adjustments when I had a poor quality photo. I've also used paint fill and black wax to highlight areas. We do a lot of work for the U.S.M.C. ROTC and they like gold flake color fill for their images on Granite plaques.

Colton, outstanding glass engravings! I can't recall exactly what power and speed I run the glass at. I'm thinking somewher around 40 speed and 80 power at around 500 PPI. I've been noticing that my cartridge has been losing some power; therefore, once it dies, I'm going with a large Epilog or the new hybrid from Trotec. I'd love to do some YAG engraving.

I highly recommend CorelDraw, I've been using it for quite sometime now and it's very simple to use once you memorize the shortcut keys.

-Ed

[laserengraver]

Originally Posted by aerialpixs I am looking for a laser engraver to engrave photos on glass, wood, plastic and marble. I don't need a large cutting table most of what I am looking to do is photo images 8x10. I don't think I will be trying to cut material with this laser mainly engrave. I don't have much experts in this field so I am asking for your expertise in this field to help me. I know there are many different types of laser and wide range of prices so does anyone do this type of engraving and can you help me out. Thanks

Hi Please contact with A4dAblewoodworking TEL: 1-541-977-4171 Attn:Gary on laser engraving cutting machineLG3040.

He is our agent in USA specially for desktop machine.
He will give you stable machine quality and outstanding after-sale-service.
Jenny

[frankgant]

I have an epilog. It's a great engraver. Very versatile and easy to use. Feel free to contact me with questions.

[lcshkevin]

our machine can engraving phone on many materials, hope to know your email, then i can send pics to you.
Liaocheng Shenhui Laser Equipment Co., Ltd.
Contact: Kevin Zhang
Tel:0086-635-8511078 Fax:0086-635-8511101
Mobile:0086-13563522963 E-mail:lcshkevin@yahoo.com.cn
MSN:lcshkevin@hotmail.com Skype:lcshkevin
Web: http://shenhuilaser.en.alibaba.com www.shenhuilaser.com/eng
Address: Huanghe Road 16th, Liaocheng Economic Develop District. Shandong Province, China.

[jamescabeceiras]

Originally Posted by aerialpixs I am looking for a laser engraver to engrave photos on glass, wood, plastic and marble. I don't need a large cutting table most of what I am looking to do is photo images 8x10. I don't think I will be trying to cut material with this laser mainly engrave. I don't have much experts in this field so I am asking for your expertise in this field to help me. I know there are many different types of laser and wide range of prices so does anyone do this type of engraving and can you help me out. Thanks

Hello yes I can help you ,I have a great laser a Pinnacle 40 watt that cuts glass as long as its not temperd but engraving on glass is very hard to get a good picture because it doesn't look 3D it looks 2D ! I do picture engraving on a few things & black plexiglass looks good it gives a nice 3D effect! My E-mail jims_p@hotmail.com HAGD

[vikki007]

HI, we are the manufactures of laser engraver in China. We have many models, one of this should be good for you. We have CE and FDA certificates. Our website is www.hflaser.com, please contact me if you are interested in our machine.
Email: vikki@redsailcutters.com
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