Photos using Cermark for ceramics

[Shari Loveless]

I am trying to do a photograph of an elk on a 6" matte surface tile from Home Depot. I've used this photo for engravers plastic and it comes out absolutely awesome so thought why not tile! I have done my line art with no problem but I think this will be different, yes? I have a ULS V460 50 watt laser. Should I use photograv or just print directly from corel? The picture is already a greyscale bitmap. Have any of you out there tried this before with success? If and when I get it figured out, I'll post a pic. The cermark I'm using is for ceramics.
Thanks,
Shari

[Jeff Chumbley]

I have had some success with cermarc for creamics, but not a very consistant record. It appears that application of the material is crucial. For some reason that I have not been able to correct, I am having problems applying it with my airbrush.

I did do some tile that came out fine using my Epilog 24 TT 45 watt. 20s/10p 400dpi. Was also told to try 30/80 but have not had time so far.


Jeff

[Lee DeRaud]

Unless you're looking for a particular type/color of tile, you might want to look at the precoated tiles from www.lasermark.com (http://www.lasermark.com/) ...work great for photos. They're not cheap (about triple HD's price for plain tile), but then again, neither is Cermark. They have a sample package for $20 or so.

[J Porter]

Lee.... I don't see anything on this LaserMark site about tiles. Did you mean to say LaserTile.com??

To see some nice tile work, go to Lasertile.com. They don't sell small quantities, so you can follow the links to 3Score.com. You can purchase a sample pack there for $20.

~Joe

[Lee DeRaud]

Lee.... I don't see anything on this LaserMark site about tiles. Did you mean to say LaserTile.com??Yeah, sorry...bad case of CRS today.:p

[Shari Loveless]

Lee,

Yes I do want a particular tile. I am using the sandstone looking tiles from home depot. Some are coming out verrrrrry nice. I do not like the real shiny tiles. The wildlife drawings and photos I am using just seem to go better on the more "natural" looking tiles. There is definitely a trick to getting the stuff on the tiles, but I seem to have that down pretty good now. The larger the nozzle, the better it flows on. And it really helps to have the tiles "hot". Mike is the one who said to warm them, and it really helps. I just set them in the sun for a bit. Works great.
My real problem seems to be the photos. My line art comes out fantastic. No problems there. The weird thing is I can't tell when a photo will come out nice and when it just fades away. I've tried the Photograv with lots of different parameters with absolutely no luck. Just using the ULS print driver seems to be giving me the best results. Now if I could just figure out why one photo will work and the next one won't. Any ideas? My dpis are the same. I am adjusting for good contrast, changing to greyscale, etc. I want to drop off some samples this week to some potential clients. When I get a couple of good ones, I'll post some pics. It's really hard to do them justice with a low file size picture but I'll try.

[Lee DeRaud]

Lee, Yes I do want a particular tile. I am using the sandstone looking tiles from home depot. Some are coming out verrrrrry nice. I do not like the real shiny tiles.Ok. Note that the stuff from lasertile is not glossy: it looks a lot shinier on the web site than in person. They have 4" and 6" glazed tile in white and cream, but it's a matte finish...rough enough to write on it with a pencil. They also have 8" sandstone finish in kind of a beige.

This thread has an example of the 6" white glazed tile: http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?t=23923

[Michael McDuffie]

It's been a while since I looked but Home Depot sells a 8X8 tile called Ragione White (UPC 19284 45503) that lasers nicely without Cermark. If they still stock it, you could use it for testing as it's only 40 or 50 cents each.

You might also try lasering the photos onto wood or mat board to see if it is a problem with the tile or the file.

Michael

[Shari Loveless]

Michael,

The problem isn't the tile. It's the photo file. Some I can get to work out nice and other photos just look awful. I can do my line art on the tiles and it's coming out really nice. I just coated a dozen more tiles this afternoon. Have several new photos to try out that I tweaked over the weekend. We'll see what happens. I made lots of notes on my process, so hopefully I can figure this out.
My problem with the precoated tiles is I do not like the colors. I am using the rougher textured tiles in mochas, tans, grey, marbled brown, etc. I got some 18" ones that look like oiled leather. Can't wait to try those. I have a western scene I want to do on those.
I am still experimenting to get everything just right. I have the cermark application process down pat. I just need to figure out the photo process a little better.
Thanks,
Shari

[Bruce Volden]

Shari,

Perhaps you can "proof" your artwork on a piece of scrap wood; using the same power/speed settings you normally would for tile~~dump it on a piece of scrap??? If it worked on the wood, remove and insert tile! Maybe?? Bruce

[Nick Adams]

Just because I too have had my fair share of issues with cermark, cerdec, thurmark. and such I though I would also point out something I do.

I find that when burning through the coating using greyscale hinders you. I like using pure black and white using Jarvis or such. It seems to help the process. Not sure why photograv wouldnt work well for you. I have had great sucess with it on tile, however I also can mimic the same results in photoshop.

Not really a solution however I would prolly lean to more pure black and white then I would greyscale when using coated products. And anything over 3-400dpi is going to be iffy in my book on cerdec/thurmark