CerMark question

[Steven Wallace]

I have a customer inquiring if you can do shades of gray with CerMark. To tell the truth, I have never tried anything other than a solid black mark.:( Can any of you Creekers out there with a more experienced background in this product turn the lights on for me... I am standing in the dark?:confused:

:)Happy New Year!!!:)

[Mike DeRegnaucourt]

Hi Steven,

I believe through the use of halftones, it should be possible. Halftones are basically the use of various dot sizes and spacing to produce the appearance of differing shades of gray. Hope that helps.

[Frank Corker]

Steve process it through Photograv and you will get shades of grey. I find that the thinner you put that stuff on, the better the result. The shading is noticeable and just like all engraving it's about where the dots land to give the illusion of shading. However I have to admit in the last few days I have been putting my thoughts more to halftoning. I just need to find the perfect way for doing it with all images, time will tell, however, photograv is perfect for it.

.

[Mike DeRegnaucourt]

Excellent work Frank! I especially like the dog picture. :)

[Frank Corker]

Thanks Mike, a dearly departed friend of a friend.

[Steven Wallace]

Frank thanks a lot for the information and the pics. Secondly how do you go about selecting to do halftones.

For all of you that replied, thank you very much for your assistance... Don't ask for a commission but this customer is talking a sizable amount of work possibly. I hope this is the start to my Happy New Year... Time will tell though, this is not my first rodeo of big promises.

[Rodne Gold]

you already have photograv. It is the best possible solution. Use a low DPI in it , like 150.

[Frank Corker]

you already have photograv. It is the best possible solution. Use a low DPI in it , like 150.

Rodney is right, the halftoning will be more apparent on a low dpi setting, but Steve, all the advice has been given
but it is no substitute for practice, practice, practice!

Now go and experiment.

[Dave Johnson29]

I have a customer inquiring if you can do shades of gray with CerMark.


Hi Steven,

Sometime back there was a posting I read here I think, where they had used some spray on galvanizing paint (something like 85% Zinc, maybe Krylon) and then lasered it twice and it came out gray. Not sure if that helps.

I can't seem to find the posting though. May have been another group.

I bought a can of the spray but have not as yet tried it.

[Bill Cunningham]

I have done zinc animal dog tags without cermark. If you go slow and hot, it will turn a rich black, but you do have to seal it with a lacquer coating afterwards, or the black will come off on your fingers..
Photographs do come out nice on stainless using cermark, and you don't really even need Photograv.. The normal halftone driver will work fine..
Thats how the one below was done for a roadside memorial on a plain chunk of stainless brought in by a customer..
http://www.sawmillcreek.org/attachment.php?attachmentid=55674&d=1169419768

[James Rambo]

I don't know how to post a link to the correct thread but if you do a search for poorman's cermark it's there.

[Dave Johnson29]

I don't know how to post a link to the correct thread but if you do a search for poorman's cermark it's there.


Hi James,

Thanks I will post a link to it.

For your future information, to post a link, right click on the "#1" (or whatever the number is) in the top right of the posting you want to copy.

In IE select "Copy shortcut"

In Firefox use "Copy link location."

That will make a copy of the link to the clipboard and you can then paste it into your reply.

http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showpost.php?p=925848&postcount=1