JDS Glass Masking Material Tests

[Martin Boekers]

I got the material in yesterday, did a few tests today. I haven't spent much time with it but I am impressed!

A couple things I noticed, it really held fine detail even smaller point sizes. On text, without the masking it almost
looked like a bold version of the font compared to the masked version.

On the photo, test 1, the top is masked and the bottom is unmasked. It's hard to photo these black mirrors, it may
look like some text is dropping out on the masked version, but it's not. It is better than the photo shows.

On the photo, test 2, I wanted to show how even the etching is, it is very even!

The plastic razors work well for weeding when finished.

The material is very tacky when applying the masking, I am assuming that it melts and fills in the fracturing, not positive,
but my thoughts. Worth trying.........

[Dan Hintz]

I'd suggest repeating the tests with lower dpis... down to 250, for example.

[Jesse Anderson]

how does it work with clear glass. I have not tried any glass masking..... If u get a chance to do some on clear glass let me know.

[Martin Boekers]

I'd suggest repeating the tests with lower dpis... down to 250, for example.
I have tried quite a bit of settings, 1200 seems to work best for black mirror, this is new material so I haven't had
time to play with it. When I go lower dpi on engravings, not just glass I get a cross hatched pattern. Most all I do
is at 600.

Today was our open house at our Arts & Crafts Center on base had 300-400 folks come through so didn't have much
laser time. I'm at the end of the qtr, so it's awards time. inventory and finacials, so It may be a week or so before
I get a chance to really test it.

Jesse, the black mirror is clear glass with the backside "black silvered" so I expect it to be fine.

[Dee Gallo]

Good testing , Martin. Is this material thick enough to affect your settings or do you just run it the way you would without masking?

[Martin Boekers]

This is just slightly slower on these tests. I'll work with it a bit when I get a chance to optimize the settings, it does look promising though...

[Keith Upton]

An old thread I know... Martin, so are you still using this for your glass engraving and if so, what have you learned about it in the last year?

[Ross Moshinsky]

I have the JDS tape. I used it on a few projects. Results were fine. I'm back to using soaking wet newspaper packing material. It looks better and is considerably faster.

We still use 100 power, 30 speed, 600dpi, full black. Our results have been consistently good with glass and crystal. Just have to make sure that your material is in focus. When in focus, all is well with the world. When you get out of focus, you're really going to start seeing the inherent flaws in lasering glass. One thing to note, this is a light etch. Just a surface fracture. If you aim to get any depth, you're fighting a losing battle.

[Tim Bateson]

I bought a roll at the Vegas show. Yes the results are a little better... However there is a cost - Cost of the tape, Cost in 2 passes, Cost in time to weed.

I rairly will use anything on glass/crystal & get great results. I don't play around with paper or soap... unless it's fragile like a champagne flute. Yes, these methods all work & maybe they produce slightly better results, but only under extreme magnification. To the naked eye, I'd wager few if anyone could or would see enough of a difference. NOTE: This is assuming optimum settings & material - all of which can skew results.

[Jon Sollee]

Tried out that JDS glass marking tape. Its crap. I get way better results on glass and crystal with the normal parameters I use. Save your money and your time.

[Bill Stearns]

I too had trouble using JDS glass masking tape - bought a roll - didn't find it helpful. Plus, as some of the text engraved on the glass was small, it was a pain to weed! I don't use the "wet paper" technique - but, I have found it helps some wetting the glassware slightly with a film of water 'n Dawn dish soap - applied to each piece with my fingertip. It's the old adage: what ever works for you!

Bill

[Keith Upton]

I've been getting good results with straight lasing. The only thing I've not been happy with is large ares of engraving. They don't look that even and thought that this tape might help with that based on the OP.

[Ross Moshinsky]

I've been getting good results with straight lasing. The only thing I've not been happy with is large ares of engraving. They don't look that even and thought that this tape might help with that based on the OP.

The glass gets hot and then you don't get a consistent fracture. The water/newspaper/soap all helps in reducing that. Even with the newspaper soaking wet, on an certain items with dense images, I can pull out the glass and it will be warmer than room temperature where the engraving was.

[Keith Upton]

The glass gets hot and then you don't get a consistent fracture. The water/newspaper/soap all helps in reducing that. Even with the newspaper soaking wet, on an certain items with dense images, I can pull out the glass and it will be warmer than room temperature where the engraving was.

Thanks for that. I did not know it was the heat causing the unevenness. For images with large engraved areas I'll do something to help dissipate the heat.