Test Art/text of Laser Demo

[Mark Maslonkowski]

Does anyone have an art/text file that they would be willing to share with me that I can take in a on jump drive to the two laser complanys who will be giving me demo's on there product that would be a good test of the systems. I want to go in with my own file so that they don't just run me through the best of the best that they have in there system. i will be laser engraving a full range of products. Any help would be great.


Thanks

Mark Maslonkowski

[Mike Chance in Iowa]

A "full range" of products for me is a completely different "full range" of products then Betty Jo offers, as well as what Jim Bob supplies. Look around the forum and you will see that there is a tremendous variety of products that can be engraved as well as different types of engraving equipment. You need to be more specific as to what your "full range" of products will be and what type of laser you are looking for and then we can point you in the right direction.

[Mike Null]

If you're going for a demo from Trotec, GCC, Epilog or Universal I would be a little more trusting of the mfr. They'll all be prepared to do what you ask but all will have various drawings and materials available to demonstrate the versatility of their product.

Make particular note of the features of each mfr's software and what it will and will not do. All will engrave and cut.

[George D Gabert]

If you check the Epilog web site, they have many different projects you can download as samples.

GDG

[Jeff Belany]

In my opinion, as important as bringing files to run is to bring samples of the type of materials you plan to use. It is nice to see the laser cut or engrave on the actual material you will use as opposed to items that the laser company knows will run and look good.

Jeff in northern Wisconsin

[Dee Gallo]

I agree with Mike. But in addition, I'd say that seeing what the company runs to show off the best they can do is a good thing, not some "trick" to dupe you into buying. Ask what they are using, what substrate, what software, how they prepped the art and substrate, etc. Ask how they maintain the machine. Ask where they get their wood, acrylic, metal, whatever they are showing you. This is experience demonstrating the machine, not a shell game. If you cannot replicate the results, it's not the machine's fault really. Running a laser successfully is a lot more than pressing GO, as you will learn. We have all tried different materials and programs and each person comes to like some things more than others. Have an open mind and open eyes.

~ dee

[Joe Hillmann]

I would see if you can send them samples of the parts you want to test ahead of time so that they can find the right settings for your parts that way you can see what your parts will look like when engraved.

If you want to see how easy the software is to work I would suggest asking them to go online and find some black and white clip art,vectorize it, then put text on a curved path around the art and have them engrave the clip art and the text a different power setting. If you are looking at american machines that use a print driver and coreldraw it should take them about 10 minutes from beginning to end. If you are looking at imports then that may be a bit of a challenge depending on what type of driver they use. But since that is a good analog of a common real world job. Although that is assuming the person showing you the laser knows what he is doing otherwise you are testing him more than the machine and software.

[Scott Shepherd]

230485

Here's one I would try.....

The thing you want to look for after this runs is mismatches in the text or lines. When it starts engraving and then shifts over to do text to the left and right, you can get horrible engraving quality on the main text in that area.

Also, on the line with 3 lines of text next to it, look for shifts in the line when it's between the text. That can be a real mess.

The small text with commas and i's, you want to check the dots on the i's and make sure they are clean and visible like the rest of the text.

That's just one off the top of my head with little thought, but things I've seen real issues with on some machines.

[Martin Boekers]

I find TNR lower case y is a good test of resolution see where the "tail" falls off.