Granite Engraving

[Liesl Dexheimer]

I am going to have my first granite engraving job which is making me slightly nervous, especially since I need to engrave a photo and the customer is supplying the stock. I was reading up on one of the posts http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?47013-Granite-amp-Marble-engraving

Any suggestions for speed/power settings on a 35 watt? I thought I read somewhere that it would be best to engrave at a lower resolution (around 200 dpi or so) since granite doesn't hold the dots very well.

[Dan Hintz]

I would suggest grabbing some scrap material and get your settings honed in now. Whatever settings we give you will not be ideal for your machine.

[Liesl Dexheimer]

Just out of curiosity, are there any suppliers other than lasersketch that carry granite? I was thinking of trying Home Depot/Lowe's but my customer is looking for something that is approx 1" to 1 1/2" thick.

[Tim Bateson]

Use a low DPI for Photos (150-200) & higher for text (300-400). It would help a lot if you would add your machine info on your signature line as I do below. This can get you the right answers much quicker.

BTW: The Granite at Home Depot/Lowe's is good stuff not only for practice, but as a finished product as well - inexpensive too. Just remember what works on one piece doesn't necessarily mean it's the same setting on all other pieces, but it should be a good guideline. Buy the Home Depot/Lowe's granite and practice, practice, practice.

[Liesl Dexheimer]

Thank you for the advice Tim. I have the same laser as you. An Epilog Mini 24, 35 watt. :)

[Khalid Nazim]

Check this site for tutorials/videos. Great Resource:

http://www.engrave.ca
http://www.engrave.ca/video-elements/?p=119
http://www.engrave.ca/archives/date/2010/02
http://www.engrave.ca/video-elements/?p=276
(http://www.engrave.ca/archives/date/2010/02)

[Richard Rumancik]

Liesl - take a look for local fabricators of granite countertops. They could probably supply some scrap material to experiment with. As well, they probably could make up custom shapes. It may cost a bit for custom shapes but you would avoid shipping heavy material. They may be able to make your items from scrap material and cutoffs so in the end it might be advantageous both ways and you would have a local source. Also, some monument fabricators may have some equipment such as polishing equipment. If you had a problem with a plaque, perhaps they could grind off a few thousandths and polish it back.

[Ron Chapellaz]

Hey Liesl, here's a previous post of mine. Check out the video from Mike Clarke and you'll get a good grasp of what to do.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZubRDUrg_7k (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZubRDUrg_7k)

For my Epilog 35 Watt I used 60 speed 30 power 250 DPI with Stucki, but as mentioned by Dan you'll have to tweek things for your own machine. Good luck!

[Liesl Dexheimer]

Wow, thanks Ron! That video is very useful. I have been following some of Mike Clarke's articles in EJ but I didn't realize he had videos as well. I do have Photograv but it's nice to know how to manually tweak things in CorelDraw too!

[Laurynas Savickis]

Well Ron.I personaly think,that you destroyed your image by doing it that way.Do you have a foto of finished tile.Would be interesting to see the result.207128Thats how I do it in photoshop.It is possible to engrave images without sharpening them,so they look realistic.But still would like to see your result.

[Martin Boekers]

Well Ron.I personaly think,that you destroyed your image by doing it that way.

Wow, Welcome to the Creek. You jumped right in with your first posting! Not sure how you are doing
it in PS as your image covered the area that said how you did it. (unless the photo was ment as the
the way) This forum is about sharing if you have a better method help us all out. If you have been
monitoring this forum for a while you know everone has different methods from PhotoGrav, One Touch,
Gold Method, you name it many out their. One I recently found was from a great engraver Roy Brewer
on converting to half tones; www.youtube.com/watch?v=yllZTBA0HO0 (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yllZTBA0HO0)

So just a thought, share some of you ideas instead of just critisizing.

[Laurynas Savickis]

I`m not good at explaining things,just saying,that doing it that way is not a good idea.unless u want it to look like skech or artistic drawing.

[Dan Hintz]

I`m not good at explaining things,just saying,that doing it that way is not a good idea.unless u want it to look like skech or artistic drawing.
I have to disagree, and so do my customers. If you can't explain why and your only comment is to say it's bad, well... maybe you should find something more positive to comment on.

[Mike Null]

Your customers??

Let's not all be so anxious to pounce. Laurynas certainly could have been a bit more diplomatic but have we not all fumbled in our choice of words at one time or another?

[Ron Chapellaz]

Well Ron.I personaly think,that you destroyed your image by doing it that way.Do you have a foto of finished tile.Would be interesting to see the result.207128Thats how I do it in photoshop.It is possible to engrave images without sharpening them,so they look realistic.But still would like to see your result.

Well, I don't really think it is fair to criticize anyone before you see the quality of their work! We are all here to help and guide each other on the forum. Why don't you post your technique so it can furthur help other members. I posted this pic using Mike Clarke's method and I received many compliments from the forum. Mike Clarke is highly respected in the field of laser engraving and has been writing for the Engravers Journal for over 10 years and has instructed for years on laser engraving. I attended 2 of his seminars at the ARA show this past year and he certainly knows a lot about laser engraving. As a side note: If anyone is in the Niagara region there will be an engraving show Oct. 21-23. It is the first in Canada in over 20 years. Mike will be doing a seminar on Corel Draw. Here is the link if anyone is interested http://www.fortuneatthefalls.com/
http://www.sawmillcreek.org/attachment.php?attachmentid=152650&d=1275927831

[Hannu Rinne]

Seems that there is also huge differences between granites. In the attached picture I've used 300 dpi photo ( ran through photograv ). Pictures 1 and 2 I've made on Chinese "absolute black" and pictures 3 and 4 on Finnish "absolute black". Pictures 1 and 3 have been made with settings; dpi 300- ppi 300 - power 28 - speed 100. Pictures 2 and 4 have been made with the same settings but the power was 60 %. All of these have been made with my 60 Watts GCC. Final conclusion; I don't use Finnish granite anymore :)

Regards,
Hannu
( once again, I'm sorry about my English )

[Dee Gallo]

Hannu,

Good comparison, pix, thanks for posting them. It's so helpful to see exactly what happens with various settings and substrates.

BTW- your English is fine, and your typing is better than a lot of people who are native English speakers, making your posts easier to understand than some I've read!

cheers, dee

[Mike Chance in Iowa]

What a fun photo Hannu! Thanks for sharing your test results. I agree with Dee. Your English, spelling & typing is MUCH better then many of the American posts we see! :D

I too found it's best to try different granites and engrave the settings you used so you can go back and compare. I found two types of Absolute Black Granite through my local tile suppliers and one of them produced much nicer photo results then the other. I can tell the difference when I look at the un-polished back sides. The one with the finer particles engraved better. Results vary upon the photo quality and detail needed. I've even had great results at 600 dpi - but it really depended upon the granite I was using. For my 45-watt, I had success with 100 speed, 45 power for the granite I use.

[Larry Bratton]

Well Ron.I personaly think,that you destroyed your image by doing it that way.Do you have a foto of finished tile.Would be interesting to see the result.207128Thats how I do it in photoshop.It is possible to engrave images without sharpening them,so they look realistic.But still would like to see your result.

Please post your technique. I am interested to see what you are doing with Photoshop.
I agree with Ron though. how can you make a statement that he destroyed his image before you saw his work? There are several methodologies for image preparation and the proof is in the results.

[Hannu Rinne]

Dee & Mike,

Thanks for your compliments !

I have to be a little emotional here and say that this is the greatest forum I've ever seen. All of you are so friendly and talented people and you always get an answer to your question ( or is it 99% :D ). I would love to involve more to your conversations, but so many times there's just a question about understanding... ( just hope you all speak Finnish :D ).

With my best regards,
Hannu

[Dan Hintz]

Hannu,

Looks like the "Finnish" granite has a really high quartz content, leading to a larger average "pixel" size. I'd stay away from it.

[Dee Gallo]

Personally speaking, I think that both Laurynas and Ron did excellent jobs on their granite. They are obviously not comparative however, as one is a close-up person and one is a building. The contrast, shading and detail are completely different and if I were doing the prep work, it would require two different perspectives on what is important to emphasize.

Helping Liesl with her settings should be the focus here. That's what we do best here on the Creek!

Just my two cents, dee

[Laurynas Savickis]

I am sorry if you understand it wrong.I am not critisizing,just said "I think...". My english language level is low,so I always try to say everything straight.Sorry ,if someone understood it wrong.He used a good quality foto,which is highly possible customers wont give you.

[Larry Bratton]

I am sorry if you understand it wrong.I am not critisizing,just said "I think...". My english language level is low,so I always try to say everything straight.Sorry ,if someone understood it wrong.He used a good quality foto,which is highly possible customers wont give you.
Your right about that. Customers don't understand the requirements. Poor or low resolution photos are very difficult to work with and sometimes are impossible to get good results from them.

[Martin Boekers]

Just out of curiosity, are there any suppliers other than lasersketch that carry granite? I was thinking of trying Home Depot/Lowe's but my customer is looking for something that is approx 1" to 1 1/2" thick. You may check with some marble or monument suppliers. I have found some great stuff locally in their "off-cut" area. You may even get some work from them!

[Liesl Dexheimer]

I thought I read somewhere that there was some sort of spray you could apply to seal off the engraved area...does anyone know the brand?

[Martin Boekers]

I am sorry if you understand it wrong.I am not critisizing,just said "I think...". My english language level is low,so I always try to say everything straight.Sorry ,if someone understood it wrong.He used a good quality foto,which is highly possible customers wont give you.

Sorry if I was getting on you a bit, this forum is more about helping, so please contribute with your successes.
If you read through many of these postings you'll see that for the most part that's what we do, help each other
with our experiences.

Most don't realize the difference from resolution and compresstion. They think it looks good on the monitor
it should look good on final piece. I have had customers start with a low res screen grab, I tell the it's too
low resolution then they go home and resave it at a higher resolution thinking that will solve the problem. :-(
It doesn't.

If you can get nice photos on Granite, you are three steps ahead of the curve. That is one of the most difficult
of the materials to work with. Jump in with your method.

[Martin Boekers]

I thought I read somewhere that there was some sort of spray you could apply to seal off the engraved area...does anyone know the brand?

I know that many do a fill with a lithographers ink, you may try search under that for a clear coat.

[Tristan Ranatza]

Get Grout sealant for kitchen and baths from Lowes or HomeDepot.

[Liesl Dexheimer]

Thank you to all that helped! Here's the final result, the customer was happy and I was extremely pleased with the way it came out, especially for my first time engraving on granite207482!

[Martin Boekers]

Wow! That came out really nice! Almost wants to malke me try some granite again!
You'll be our next "go to" granite pro!

[Liesl Dexheimer]

Thank you!! :)

[Dee Gallo]

Excellent job, Liesl! Just goes to show what thoughtful research and careful planning will accomplish - you did it right!

Cheers, dee

[Ron Chapellaz]

Liesl, it looks good! Now which method did you use, Gold, Photograv, Clarke's or perhaps another?? Curious minds need to know!

[Tim Bateson]

Great job. I'm with Ron - What method did you use for the photo? What are it's dimensions?

[Dave Russell Smith]

Nice job , looks like you nailed it :)

[Liesl Dexheimer]

Thank you Dee, means quite a lot coming from a fellow artist! ;)