Enrgraving into Bone China

[Ernie Martinez]

I just got a request to engrave a logo into Bone China plates for a restaurant. At first I figured I'd have to Cermark the plates, but after closer examination of the plates I noticed wear marks where the white porcelain was worn off in spots to reveal a dark underlayment, which has led me to believe that I could engrave these plates without any coating.

Does anyone have any experience engraving Bone China?

Assuming that I do have to use Cermark for Glass and Ceramic, my questions are:

Will it hold up in dishwashers?
Is it food safe? The engraving will be on the rim and not under the food.

Thanks

[walter hofmann]

hi ernie,
after my experience if any dishes show anythings dark under the white glasing then its not real china its ceramic. I do lots of engraving on tiles and if there is a dark core it engraves well and will hold up. you just need to make rather two runs with less power to avoid cracking.
greetings
walt

[Mike Null]

It's hard to tell just what the plates are made of until you engrave them. The material can be porcelain (fairly common for restaurant ware), ceramic, stoneware etc.

If they are bone china engraving into the plate is not likely to be satisfactory and a coating as you've suggested would be appropriate. You might find that testing material from http://www.lasermgroup.com/shop/ might provide a solution.

[Ernie Martinez]

I tried engraving it. @ 100% power and around 40% speed, It finally changed the color after 3 passes, but I was just burning the china. It is white all the way through. So Cermark for Glass it is. Will the Cermark wash off? What is a recommended ball park power and speed setting for Cermark for Glass?

Thanks

[Darryl Hazen]

Before you go engraving in restaurant plates you may want to check with the health department. There are laws as to what can be done to dinnerware because of bacteria.