Photograv alternatives?

[Jack Harper]

Does anyone know of any alternatives to Photograv, no matter the cost? I use and like Photograv but have discovered it is very limited in file size handling ability. It can only process a 100mb file.

I am trying to process an image that is 12594 x 21000 pixels i.e. 6'x10'. It turns out Vytek sells a large machine but includes software that is incapable of creating any file large enough for the machine. The only alternative I can come up with is to piece meal process the image and hope for good registration.

It is a little bit like owning a really expensive car with no keys. It might look pretty and powerful, but you can't actually drive it anywhere.

[Scott Shepherd]

There's a plug-in for Photoshop called something like "Screens". Search the laser forum for that word and it should bring it up. I haven't used it, but others have, and have had some very nice results.

Here's the link : http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?t=65376&highlight=screens

[Jeanette Brewer]

Or EngraveLab's PhotoLaser Plus

www.cadlink.com (http://www.cadlink.com)

[Rodne Gold]

175 pixels per inch for that size image is way over the top , the viewing distance is the diagonal of 10x 6 foot and you can easily get away with 50 or less pixels per inch bearing that in mind. I do large format printing and would drop as low as 30 pixels per inch on a single image that size.

[Sandra Force]

Out of curiousity, why don't you use photopaint with corel. I prefer to do it that way over photgrav even though I have the program.:)

[Jack Harper]

Scott: Thanks for the tip. I downloaded the plug-in and have done a couple of runs. It seems the program muddies the file by quite a bit. I will try some more test with different settings to see if it get s better.

Jeanette: I've contacted Cadlink about PhotoLaser Plus. They have never ran a file this size and do not know if it can handle it. Their head of development is going to set up a test for my file and see if it works. Thanks for the lead.

Rodne: I agree that the files resolution could be lowered in some situations. Sometimes I need the resolution as the image will be seem close up, like in a shower. Other times it will be seen only from a distance and can be lowered. My other problem that is even worse, is for large multi file runs in marble at 200dpi. Here the bed is filled with smaller material and is running many different images at once or many copies of one image. Of course here I could individually process each one and build out the final file myself, however, this is time consumingly and costly.

Sandra: I will give Photopaint a try. I am a long time Photoshop user, all the way back to version 1.0. I will check it out and see how well it processes the file. In the end the file I create has to be a 1 bit .bmp file as Vytek only accepts this one file format. I also have to manually load this file into the laser as Vytek does not seem to posses the skills to write a working print driver (by their own admission). Of course this is not what they represented at the time of sale.

Thanks to everybody for your input and should any other ideas come up, please let me know.

[Jack Harper]

Sandra,

What conversion method do you use in CorelPaint for the 1 bit conversion? It looks like Stucki might be close.

[Bill Cunningham]

If you have photoshop, it will also process the picture..
Rodne posted the processing information a while back, and it's been reposted several time since.. I have a feeling it might get reposted here as well.. Sorry, I don't have it handy or I would do it...

Wait a minute
Found it
http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showpost.php?p=510491&postcount=12

[James Stokes]

Jack, I have a 4x8 Vytek laser. What I have done is to break my file down to smaller sections and process each one separately, then put back together to laser. I use Photo impact and it will do a partial load of the file.

[Jack Harper]

Thanks again everyone for your input on this subject. I thought I would share my first finished mural. I ended up using a modified version of the photoshop directions listed here on the Creek. The original was not a photo but rather a digital copy of a artists painting. 150 dpi at 120ips and 100%(65w) power. Finished size " 8' x 8' "! The material was two 4'x8', 8mm Shanxi black (premium grade, no spot) with a fiberglass backing for support. I choose to split on sheet to avoid a seam in the middle.

[Jack Harper]

Here it is with some perspective.

[James Stokes]

Looks good Jack, How long did it take to run?

[Jack Harper]

James,

192 minutes for the whole thing. Not bad really. My laser is such that I can start a job and go home, come back in the morning and it is done.

[Dan Hintz]

I would worry about fire too much to leave a machine running unattended...

[Jim Dornon]

Jack that is awsome. Did you just postersize, break up the picture then engrave each tile ? What is the material ? Jim

[Jack Harper]

Jack that is awsome. Did you just postersize, break up the picture then engrave each tile ? What is the material ? Jim

Jim,

The image was broken up into two images. The center image and then the two outside panels i.e. ears. The entire 8'x8' mural is just three pieces/slabs of stone. My laser bed can only handle 6' x 10' at a time, so the whole 8'x8' would not fit for a single run. The material was two 4'x8', 8mm Shanxi black (premium grade, no spot) with a fiberglass backing for support.

[Anthony Scira]

You must REALLY like bears !

Where is that thing going ? Over the bed ?

BEAUTIFUL JOB !

[Bill Cunningham]

I have a friend that thinks that picture resembles his Ex Wife :D:eek:

[Uma Duffy]

Wow, that is simply unbelievable.... It looks beautiful . can't begin to imagine working at that size...Congratz on solving the problems

[Jack Harper]

Wow, that is simply unbelievable.... It looks beautiful . can't begin to imagine working at that size...Congratz on solving the problems

It is a lot of fun working in large scale. You know you've stepped it up when you have to use vacuum lifters, forklifts and overhead cranes just to load and unload your laser.

[Jim Dornon]

Jack,
That is totally awsome. I am doing some experimenting on tile for murals also. Let you know when I have some pics.:)

[Sandra Force]

Jack, Sorry for not getting back to you sooner. When I run b/w through photopaint I usually do it in grayscale 8bit. I run Kerns and they let me do that. Kern lasers have an excellent program for doing photos and run in tiff mode. I have talked to the Vytek people and I will say they were missing some answers that I wanted. Are you using a dedicated computer to run your programs? I have found that by doing that and removing all security I can run the large programs directly from the computer and have no porblems. Take the screen savers off and anything that wants to interfer with memory.:cool:

[Jack Harper]

Jack, Sorry for not getting back to you sooner. When I run b/w through photopaint I usually do it in grayscale 8bit. I run Kerns and they let me do that. Kern lasers have an excellent program for doing photos and run in tiff mode. I have talked to the Vytek people and I will say they were missing some answers that I wanted. Are you using a dedicated computer to run your programs? I have found that by doing that and removing all security I can run the large programs directly from the computer and have no porblems. Take the screen savers off and anything that wants to interfer with memory.:cool:

Thanks Sandra,

I got everything working by using a modified version of the photoshop steps here on the Creek. Power was never my problem as I run a HP workstation in 64 bit with two 64bit possessors and 16 GB of memory. My problem came when I tried to use Photograv. Photograv is incapable of processing large files. I have been told by them that they "may" address it in the future, but I did not get a worm and fuzzy it would be anytime soon. Thanks again.

[Peck Sidara]

Very nice....