I Love You Guys & Gals!

[Dee Gallo]

Thanks to all of the helpful posts on the Creek, I braved my first granite tile from HD, and didn't even screw it up. I never would have known what to do, where to start or what to check for without you all even though I have been using my laser for over 4 years.... never did granite before. Of course it's not a photo of a person, but it is a photo of a watercolor painting (baby steps, people!)

Not that this is something I will do often (I think), but now I won't be afraid if someone else asks for one. Sorry the picture is not as clear as it looked on my computer. That's another lesson to learn.

Thanks again to so many of you who generously posted settings, prep procedures, pictures and comments.

cheers, dee

[Frank Corker]

Well done Dee. Looks very nice with the inscription on it. What size did you do this on?

[Dee Gallo]

Thanks, Frank (all hail Frank Corker)-

This is a 12" tile, and the girl's Chinese name means Loves Horse (Ai-Ma sounds a lot like Emma), and she was born in the year of the Horse.

Her grandfather commissioned it for her birthday in May. Don't you love customers who plan ahead?

BTW - question to everyone: I charged $80 for this, was that in the right ballpark? The tile was on sale for $6.

cheers, dee

[Phil Garcia]

Job well done Dee, here is pic of a wedding picture I did on some 4 inch black glossy porcelain tile. It's really different than the granite or marble tile but just to give you something else to think about.

[Dee Gallo]

Funny you should mention that, Phil. I bought one 4" ceramic tile at the same time but have not done anything with it. I wondered if I could blast the glaze off to expose the white..apparently you can!

Thanks,dee

[Tim Bateson]

Dee, Tile is easy to laser. I use two methods.
1. Laser through the glaze, then paint fill.
2. Paint the tile black and use a negative image. Here you only have to laser away the layer of paint. This the method I prefer for photos.
The second method is the easiest, but both produce great results. Besides for a $.13 investment in a 4x4 tile it's dirt cheap.
Another hint - I get much better photos on tiles without PhotoGrav.

[Zachery Thomas]

Tim,

I like the idea of painting and then exposing the tile, could have some fun with that. What paint do you use? Does it chip/flake off easily?

Zax.

Dee, Tile is easy to laser. I use two methods.
1. Laser through the glaze, then paint fill.
2. Paint the tile black and use a negative image. Here you only have to laser away the layer of paint. This the method I prefer for photos.
The second method is the easiest, but both produce great results. Besides for a $.13 investment in a 4x4 tile it's dirt cheap.
Another hint - I get much better photos on tiles without PhotoGrav.

[Tim Bateson]

I use acrylic paint. After it dries it really sticks to the tile. Like anything it can scratch, but I'm surprised how durable it is. I've got a couple I've used for coasters and for hot pans/dishes, with no problems or scratches to-date. A couple I've even baked @ 200 for 20-30min. Those are even more difficult to scratch.

I'm open to additional methods.

BTW, I've used that bake method with anodized tags as well.

[Martin Boekers]

Anyone try the Krylon Fusion on ceramic?

I love it on acrylic espcially the hammered metals. Might be nice on a tile if it sticks good.

[Dee Gallo]

Dee, Tile is easy to laser. I use two methods.
1. Laser through the glaze, then paint fill.
2. Paint the tile black and use a negative image. Here you only have to laser away the layer of paint. This the method I prefer for photos.
The second method is the easiest, but both produce great results. Besides for a $.13 investment in a 4x4 tile it's dirt cheap.
Another hint - I get much better photos on tiles without PhotoGrav.

Thanks for the tips, Tim -

I'll have to try the tile. So if you are not using PhotGrav for photos, what is your prep procedure?

cheers, dee

[Tim Bateson]

B&W images inverted to a negative, then use Epilog's Dithering options. Not all would agree, but I get better range of gray tones with fewer dots.
These tiles are so cheap, try both.

[Steve Clarkson]

Dee,

What settings did you end up with? Did you use any of the other tricks like amourall?

It looks 100,000 times better than MY first attempt!!!!

Nice job.

[Dee Gallo]

Thanks, Steve-

I used 100 speed/25 power on my 35w Epilog.

I did use the Armorall trick, which makes the black blacker. I also used Photgrav but only after I twiddled with the black and white levels in Photoshop. I tried doing the Gold Method action first, but it was not as clear.

On my test tile I used 300 dpi and 600 dpi. 600 was better. As a result of suggestions, I am keeping the test tile with markings to show the different settings used so I know next time what does what. Other speed/power combinations did different things but 100/25 worked best for this job.

In the end, I did decide to color fill a little with white oil paint, it brightened the light areas to create more contrast and looks much nicer now. The test tile came in handy there too, so I could see how much is enough and how much is too much.

The posts here saved me reinventing the wheel and tearing my hair out, not to mention wasting a lot of granite. THANKS everyone!

The Creek Rules!

[Steve Clarkson]

I used the settings for marble when I did mine.....I think that was the biggest mistake I made (out of the MANY!). Thanks for sharing.

[Steve Clarkson]

Dee, I forgot to ask.....which Photograv material setting did you use?