Laser engrave dog tags

[Junior hall]

Ive done some laser engraved dog tags most look good but i am having one that looks like well you know what. Would it be better if i take it out of auto focus for this particular one it is a Shih-Tzu dog the dog tag is from chabaca

[Jeff Belany]

Not sure what the issue is. Too light? Might just need a bit more power or 2 passes. Some times the anodized coating is a little thicker and requires a bit more power.

Jeff in northern Wisconsin

[Bert Kemp]

once again a picture and what your using for a machine will get you better help

[Junior hall]

My machine is a boss laser 1620 the dog tags came from chabaca pink anodized

The dog tags look good only one Ive done, does not look like a Shih-Tzu it looks too bunched up. The only camera i have is a cell phone camera

The other dog tags ive done look good except for the one with the shih tzu as it looks so bunched up

[Bernie Fraser]

Taking it out of focus will not help if the graphic is too bunched up to look any good. The other tags engrave fine so I would not adjust anything on the laser. I would look for or draw a new graphic that has less detail overall but still has the important information to recognise the Dog breed. If you cannot take a photo can you post the image you are trying to engrave so we get a better idea of why the poor result.

[Junior hall]

Thanks Bernie Fraser i thought that wouldn't work by taking out of focus

Here is the picture i vectorized the picture and deleted all but the middle one The middle one is the one i am trying to put on a dog tag that looks all bunched up. Also on the wood i lasered it came out good nice to me i think.

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here is the same one on a piece of wood I took the picture with a cell phone camera It is the only camera i got
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[Dan Hintz]

Doesn't looked scrunched up to me...

[Junior hall]

Dan it is when i laser it onto a dog tag but when i do it on wood or a drinking glass it looks fine

[Bernie Fraser]

Do you invert the image to engrave the pink dog tag?.Looks like you need to engrave the White areas in the image and if you did that it looks like you may have to add a thin outline around the whole face to define the image.

[Dan Hintz]

Dan it is when i laser it onto a dog tag but when i do it on wood or a drinking glass it looks fine

Then how about showing us a pic of the problem item rather than something the image did work on? Helping you always seems to be an exercise in pulling teeth. Give us a well-lit picture of the problem you are having.

[Bert Kemp]

Junior your jumping into to many things at once slow down learn one thing at a time you can't jump from wood to anodized alum and then to glass all in the same day , not when your learning anyway. get one thing down first before you go on to another. This is all causing you stress and your getting frustrated to early in the game . give it a chance ,go slow. I've been at this close to 2 years now and I still know nothing. I learn something new everyday. Anyone on here will tell you your not gonna learn how to laser in a day a week a month it takes time.

[Junior hall]

Bernie Fraser (http://www.sawmillcreek.org/member.php?126509-Bernie-Fraser) I might need to redo things as invert things instead of the other way around I know when i vectorize things its one way then i save it that way and go to import and look for what i want then put it on the screen and then do my power and speed and scan cap and send it to the machine ( boss laser ) and wait until it is done

(http://www.sawmillcreek.org/member.php?26182-Dan-Hintz) Dan Hintz (http://www.sawmillcreek.org/member.php?26182-Dan-Hintz) sorry i will try to do better as me explaining things is my weak point ill try to do better sorry

(http://www.sawmillcreek.org/member.php?96598-Bert-Kemp)Bert Kemp (http://www.sawmillcreek.org/member.php?96598-Bert-Kemp) I agree need to learn one thing first which i thought it looked good on wood then i tried to do it on glass and aluminum but it just does not look right from going from wood to glass I see some of you alls pictures and have done couple and omg it looks like well you know what then i get frustrated and try to figure out things until i give up.... I will try to slow down as it get so interesting the things that these machines can do and make a picture appear on wood glass mirror as they are so dern pretty amazing to me. Wish i had some one local that can teach me but ive asked several and they dont got time ( competition ) i think which im not nor will ever be as this is mainly a hobby for dog training to make pictures of dogs on wood glass mirrors that's all i want to do nothing to be a business

[Bert Kemp]

I think most here will tell you photos with the laser is one of the hardest things to do and a lot won't even attempt them on a business level. If you read the forum the most important thing is the photo processing. theres many tutorials here on how to process photos. Start reading.


Bernie Fraser (http://www.sawmillcreek.org/member.php?126509-Bernie-Fraser) I might need to redo things as invert things instead of the other way around I know when i vectorize things its one way then i save it that way and go to import and look for what i want then put it on the screen and then do my power and speed and scan cap and send it to the machine ( boss laser ) and wait until it is done

(http://www.sawmillcreek.org/member.php?26182-Dan-Hintz) Dan Hintz (http://www.sawmillcreek.org/member.php?26182-Dan-Hintz) sorry i will try to do better as me explaining things is my weak point ill try to do better sorry

(http://www.sawmillcreek.org/member.php?96598-Bert-Kemp)Bert Kemp (http://www.sawmillcreek.org/member.php?96598-Bert-Kemp) I agree need to learn one thing first which i thought it looked good on wood then i tried to do it on glass and aluminum but it just does not look right from going from wood to glass I see some of you alls pictures and have done couple and omg it looks like well you know what then i get frustrated and try to figure out things until i give up.... I will try to slow down as it get so interesting the things that these machines can do and make a picture appear on wood glass mirror as they are so dern pretty amazing to me. Wish i had some one local that can teach me but ive asked several and they dont got time ( competition ) i think which im not nor will ever be as this is mainly a hobby for dog training to make pictures of dogs on wood glass mirrors that's all i want to do nothing to be a business

[Junior hall]

Bert kemp i agree the most very most important thing in doing pictures is the processing as on engravelab 9 it has regular vectorize and then photo image vectorize as i some times will do both just to see if any thing looks different or better as most of the time it looks the same to me. But then again im not knowing what to look for except for the eyes as that is most important as ive read

[Bert Kemp]

Search the forum for the Gold Method and try that


Bert kemp i agree the most very most important thing in doing pictures is the processing as on engravelab 9 it has regular vectorize and then photo image vectorize as i some times will do both just to see if any thing looks different or better as most of the time it looks the same to me. But then again im not knowing what to look for except for the eyes as that is most important as ive read

[Scott Shepherd]

Why are you converting to vector? Just engrave it as a bitmap.

[Junior hall]

thanks all for the awesome great help thanks got a lot to learn i need to go to wal mart get some of that cha cha chea pet for the hair that i scratched out

[Mike Chance in Iowa]

Junior,

Reading through your posts asking for help, you are not providing us with any detail to help you. We need photos and details of the problem.

If I posted and said "I can't start my truck. What's wrong?" there is no way anyone can know what I'm asking about. People would have no idea if I am asking about a new pickup truck or a remote-controlled toy truck or a Class 8 Semi truck or a vintage truck with a crank start. People would have no idea if I am trying to start it in -20 temps, in a flooded river or if I'm trying to start it by twitching my nose like Samantha from Bewitched.

So let's try this again Junior.

Ive done some laser engraved dog tags most look good but i am having one that looks like well you know what. Would it be better if i take it out of auto focus for this particular one it is a Shih-Tzu dog the dog tag is from chabaca
1. Exactly what are you engraving on the tags - text or graphics?
2. What settings are you using?
3. What type of laser are you using?
4. What "doesn't look good" - we can't see what you are looking at. Is it a blob, is it grainy & dotted, is it a negative image?
5. Show us a picture of the "doesn't look good tag" so that we can see the problem.

This forum is willing to help you Junior, but we are not Carnac the Magnificent. You need to give us better descriptions and details.

[Junior hall]

sorry i will post a picture of the dog tag sorry i thought i did post the picture of the dog tag but i think i posted a drinking glass and some wood i done sorry ill post the dog tag here soon more than likely tomorrow 2-10-15