[OP]
Member
Hi Everyone -
I've been using Photograv 3.1 with spectacular results on wood, glass, granite, acrylic and anodized aluminum for about a year.
Suddenly, the quality is gone and I'm not processing the photos any differently. I'm using a BOSS LS1630 (65W) that gets it's toolpaths from RD Works.
Any suggestions are very appreciated. Can I attach sample photos here?
Thank you!
Sara
Member
Can't offer much help as I'm still struggling but....the text in the first photo looks like it's reversed? Nothing I can offer re the "lines" but there are loads of people here with loads of experience.
Two things which are always true.........."No matter where you go, there you are" and "You can't outrun yourself"
Rabbit QX60-9060, Corel 2017, PhotoGrav, 24x40 laser shop and 24x24 building with woodworking and other messy tools. No background or natural aptitude but lots of ambition.
Moderator
The first photo is banding. That's a laser issue, not a Photograv issue. Not sure what issue is on the second photo. At first glance, that looks decent to me.
Lasers : Trotec Speedy 300 75W, Trotec Speedy 300 80W, Galvo Fiber Laser 20W
Printers : Mimaki UJF-6042 UV Flatbed Printer , HP Designjet L26500 61" Wide Format Latex Printer, Summa S140-T 48" Vinyl Plotter
Router : ShopBot 48" x 96" CNC Router Rotary Engravers : (2) Xenetech XOT 16 x 25 Rotary Engravers
Real name Steve but that name was taken on the forum. Used Middle name. Call me Steve or Scott, doesn't matter.
[OP]
Member
The second one is when everything was working. Lol.
The banding one was the disaster. The text is reversed because it's acrylic and etched on the back side.
Ok... it's the laser like I suspected. Any thoughts on what is happening with my BOSS laser?
And thanks for the feedback!
Contributor
Ray Scott (Rabbit Laser) posted up not long ago about photo engraving, and he mentioned that photo resolution and engraving resolution should match as closely as possible. As in, if the image res is 300dpi, then the laser should be set to engrave at the same dpi. I've found this to be true- recently I engraved some leather, was basically a black image that I'd changed to 70% black then had Corel 'convert to bitmap' at 200dpi. I engraved the image with a .18mm gap, which works out to about 140 dpi. At about halfway down, the engraving totally changed, the top half didn't match the bottom half, at all. Remembering what Ray said, I change my gap to .127mm, which is near exactly 200dpi, and it engraved perfectly. I've also found, so far at least in experimenting, that engraving resolutions that will equally divide-into the photo's resolution also works- example, I made up an image at 300dpi res, and not wanting or needing to engrave leather (again) at that high of res, I ran at 150dpi, which works out to .166mm gap, and the engraving was flawless...
so maybe a change of engraving resolution will help?
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ELEVEN - rotary cutter tool machines
FOUR - CO2 lasers
THREE- make that FOUR now
ONE - vinyl cutter
CASmate, Corel, Gravostyle
[OP]
Member
Thank you for the suggestions! It's frustrating because it was perfect for a year, and now it's not. I think another member did something they shouldn't have and now I have to trouble shoot what that could be.
Always right before the holidays, lol.
Member
Russ Sadler (SabarMultimedia) did a YT video on a banding (curtains) issue. His was caused by the drive belt. Not familiar with your laser, but it might be a clue as where to start. Check out his YT @ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B87ifTPKN8c
[OP]
Member
Great idea! Thanks for the link.
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