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Jim Watkins
07-05-2007, 5:34 PM
Good afternoon all,
I am just getting started and you all know how expensive these engravers are.

I have corel draw and want to get into photo engraving but need to make some denero before I can buy any software (Photograv) right now. Can only afford material for the time being.

Since Corel is all I have to work with, and I am sure I am not alone, can some of you good people provide some setting suggestions and advice on how to do photos (as good as you can) using only corel?

My target material is the annodized aluminum and wood (Alder, Maple, & Cherry).

Thanks all.

Joe Pelonio
07-05-2007, 5:47 PM
I've been at it 3 years now without Photograv, but I have not only Corel but also Photoshop and Freehand and was using them long before I bought a laser.

The main difference is that you cannot see a preview or simulation of what it will look like engraved as in Photograv.

The main thing is to start out with good resolution photos, and using Photopaint convert to B&W, then adjust the brightness and contrast as needed. It's impossible to tell you how to adjust them as it will be different
for every photo. There may be times when you are given a picture of a dark object in front of a dark building, so there is no real contrast. You may have to request a better photo or pass on the job until you learn enough to be able to remove the object and place it on a new background, which is difficult with Photopaint.

Jim Watkins
07-05-2007, 6:15 PM
Thanks for the reply Joe,
I have had not much luck (probably operator error) in removing photos from their backgrounds with Photopaint. I can do it, it just takes a while. The laso seems hard to use. I have had much better luck using MS digital image 10 though. I got it for with Publisher when I was doing my Elk's Lodge news letter. The laso seems to work well with it, but I don't know how to link Corel to that program so that when I want to edit a photo which was imported into Corel, it brings up Digital Image 10 instead of Photopaint.

Would any of you have an idea on that?

Also Joe, when you do the B&W conversion, do you do just black and white or 256 gray scale? If you have done both, which seems to work out better?

Thanks all.

Jeanette Brewer
07-05-2007, 6:19 PM
See if this helps any...

Go to http://www.engravingconcepts.com/newsletters-chron.htm and click on Engraving Concepts Today 2006 #3 (http://www.engravingconcepts.com/Newsletters/ECT%20Vol%201%20No%203.pdf). See pages 2-3.

Joe Pelonio
07-05-2007, 6:36 PM
I have had much better luck using MS digital image 10 though. I got it for with Publisher when I was doing my Elk's Lodge news letter. The laso seems to work well with it, but I don't know how to link Corel to that program so that when I want to edit a photo which was imported into Corel, it brings up Digital Image 10 instead of Photopaint.

Would any of you have an idea on that?

Also Joe, when you do the B&W conversion, do you do just black and white or 256 gray scale? If you have done both, which seems to work out better?

Thanks all.
I've never used any microsoft program for graphics.

As for B&W vs Grayscale again it depends on the photo. Sometimes I'll print it on paper for a preview rather than depend on the screen to see what the image is going to look like. It's like the driver for the laser, the option of clipart vs photo can sometimes give better results set "wrong".

Scott Shepherd
07-05-2007, 7:27 PM
Jim, have a look at this link- Frank listed out a procedure to do it, which I believe he said Rodne posted some time ago. Scroll down and look for Frank's post :

http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?t=59299

Is that what you're looking for?

Jim Watkins
07-05-2007, 7:59 PM
These all are great starting points which is what I was looking for. Otherwise, a newbie like me would be shooting blanks and blowing a lot of stock testing.

Thanks for the starting area. I am going to work on some stuff this weekend and I'll post any findings and probably elicit your comments and further suggestions.

I'll also do as you guys suggest and note my settings, material and results.

Thanks.

Stephen Beckham
07-05-2007, 11:12 PM
I know it may be a hard chunk to swallow - $400 for Photograv. I was bet the $400 cost that it was like lays potato chip - once I used it once, I'd never be able to not use it again. I'm over 1100 images used on Photograv and I'd never be able to go without it now.

The honest truth - using it properly will increase your productivity and loss of manhours of 'pixelating' in graphics software to try to match it. Being more productive, you'll recover the $400 through time saved in no-time. And the images have no comparison from me trying to do it manually versus PG.

You've got a bigboy toy now that you paid at least five figures for. You'll throw more waste items away trying to do it the hard way than the $400 - speaking from experience. Yea, I still toss an item or two using the PG software, but I wouldn't put 87 octane in a Porche! You've got the Porche - fill er up with Premium...

Gary Hair
07-06-2007, 2:12 AM
I know it may be a hard chunk to swallow - $400 for Photograv. I was bet the $400 cost that it was like lays potato chip - once I used it once, I'd never be able to not use it again. I'm over 1100 images used on Photograv and I'd never be able to go without it now.

The honest truth - using it properly will increase your productivity and loss of manhours of 'pixelating' in graphics software to try to match it. Being more productive, you'll recover the $400 through time saved in no-time. And the images have no comparison from me trying to do it manually versus PG.

You've got a bigboy toy now that you paid at least five figures for. You'll throw more waste items away trying to do it the hard way than the $400 - speaking from experience. Yea, I still toss an item or two using the PG software, but I wouldn't put 87 octane in a Porche! You've got the Porche - fill er up with Premium...

You said that much better than I was going to. I actually read this post earlier today and wanted to reply but put it off until now.

If this is a hobby then you are probably right that $400 is a lot to spend. If you are in business then it's a pretty small investment that will pay you back very quickly. I consider myself very astute in most software programs but wouldn't consider going through the steps to do photos without PhotoGrav - too much testing, tweaking, etc. PhotoGrave is truly a solution, not just a piece of a puzzle.

Gary

Stephen Beckham
07-06-2007, 8:01 AM
I did forget to mention - those 1100 images I've done started last fall (Oct-Nov timeframe). So that is true - Hobby Vs Business needs to be considered. I do well over 120 pictures a month. I provide a walk-in and leave-with solution to the customers in most cases.

I'd never be able to sell a person on waiting the time required to do it manually. I'd have to go to a 'drop it off and pick it up later' business. Currently I can have a customer come in for an ornament, wine glass or engraved plaque (etc...) and leave with their image on it in an average of 20-30 minutes (sometimes less). When it's a real easy and quickly done job - I drag it out because...


Warning - it's a double edge sword. Do it too quick in front of the customer and you can run into the flea-market mentality "it didn't take that long and wasn't very hard - why do you want so much?" Goes back to my comments about the nickels - target audience is important. If it's someone who doesn't respect or understand the abilities of the laser - they'll want to pay the dime per page charge like they're using a copy machine at the library.

BTW - No offense to you 'flea-marketeers' I'm one myself! But be honest - one who frequents a flea-market is looking for a rock bottom price for someone else's junk. None of us in this forum is creating items for that market... Inviting lots of customers in from that category and everything you make will be 'too expensive' to them.