photos on glass an mirror

[sal shepherd]

Hi all,

I am having trouble engraving on glass an mirror, if you turn the glass at a angle the pictures look great. Stainght on it doesen't look like anything ,just a frosted washed out area. what am I doing wrong?

When I engrave mirror from back I have to make alot of passes. what is the correct power & speed?

I have a epilog helix 60watt 24x18

[Joe Pelonio]

I have never found great results with photos on glass, it seems to "chip" it more than engraving it like on acrylic. Acrylic mirror comes out better than glass mirror. If you engrave the back then paint it black you'll get the best results. As for settings on the back of mirror that can vary since all mirrors are not alike. On my 45 watt I used the following for the back of acrylic mirror:

400 dpi, Speed 100, Power 65

[Frank Corker]

Sounds to me like you have the wrong image engraved. You are engraving the positive which results in a negative image on your mirror. If you can see it side on and it looks perfect, that's what you have done. Try painting the engraved area in white (I know it will blend in with reflections but if you see your image, then it's a positive image that has engraved with a negative result)

PS Joe, no hats involved but I'm sure I'm right.

[sal shepherd]

ok back up what do you mean exactly. i went thru photo grav under acrylic painted blk Than what do I need to do

[Sandra Force]

Frank is correct in you have to invert the image when doing mirror. The black should be white and white black. Or is simple terms you want to engrave the lighter stuff not the dark. Don't try gray scale on mirror, stick to black/white unless you are using acrylic. That is easiest and looks best but scratches easy.

[Bill Cunningham]

When etching photographs into glass, not a lot of power is required. Using photograv, I get great photo results on plain glass, or the jade glass christmas ornaments using 100%power, and 75 speed, @ 300 dpi on a 35 watt epilog.. However, I drop the speed to 35-40% when doing line art and text. Line art and text can do with a good 'frosting' (etch 80% black), but you don't want a lot of chipping on photos, or they look over burnt and lacking detail.. Photos in clear glass, must be a negative..