Spotting Marble cracks

[Sylvia Mossbrucker]

Anyone have a technique for determining if a 12x12 MARBLE tile has cracks in it before lasering images onto it? Im asking because im doing a 72 in. x 24 in. photograph mural on marble and it seems a few of the tiles have cracks on them that do not appear until after the image is lasered. I did try a suggestion of using van son after lasering which worked EXCELLENT, however this specific project does not look so good lightened up and just touching up the crack does'nt work because it lightens just the scratched area way too much.

[Jack Harper]

One additional option would be to darken your image prior to lasering and then use the van son to bring it back up to the original level. I did this on this image and it worked well. The piece is 67" x 47" on a single piece of stone.

[Michele Stone]

If you dont mind me asking...what is van son?

[Jack Harper]

Van Son is a brand name of professional printers ink. You use the oil base CML type to color fill stone laser images to brighten or otherwise color the image. If you use it, you will find it easier to use when mixed 50/50 with paint thinner for easier application and intensity control. You can buy it direct or go to most professional printing supply houses. I purchase mine from Xpedx.