Granite Engraving

[Hannu Rinne]

Seems that there is also huge differences between granites. In the attached picture I've used 300 dpi photo ( ran through photograv ). Pictures 1 and 2 I've made on Chinese "absolute black" and pictures 3 and 4 on Finnish "absolute black". Pictures 1 and 3 have been made with settings; dpi 300- ppi 300 - power 28 - speed 100. Pictures 2 and 4 have been made with the same settings but the power was 60 %. All of these have been made with my 60 Watts GCC. Final conclusion; I don't use Finnish granite anymore

Regards,
Hannu
( once again, I'm sorry about my English )

[Dee Gallo]

Hannu,

Good comparison, pix, thanks for posting them. It's so helpful to see exactly what happens with various settings and substrates.

BTW- your English is fine, and your typing is better than a lot of people who are native English speakers, making your posts easier to understand than some I've read!

cheers, dee

[Mike Chance in Iowa]

What a fun photo Hannu! Thanks for sharing your test results. I agree with Dee. Your English, spelling & typing is MUCH better then many of the American posts we see!

I too found it's best to try different granites and engrave the settings you used so you can go back and compare. I found two types of Absolute Black Granite through my local tile suppliers and one of them produced much nicer photo results then the other. I can tell the difference when I look at the un-polished back sides. The one with the finer particles engraved better. Results vary upon the photo quality and detail needed. I've even had great results at 600 dpi - but it really depended upon the granite I was using. For my 45-watt, I had success with 100 speed, 45 power for the granite I use.

[Larry Bratton]

Well Ron.I personaly think,that you destroyed your image by doing it that way.Do you have a foto of finished tile.Would be interesting to see the result.Attachment 207128Thats how I do it in photoshop.It is possible to engrave images without sharpening them,so they look realistic.But still would like to see your result.

Please post your technique. I am interested to see what you are doing with Photoshop.
I agree with Ron though. how can you make a statement that he destroyed his image before you saw his work? There are several methodologies for image preparation and the proof is in the results.

[Hannu Rinne]

Dee & Mike,

Thanks for your compliments !

I have to be a little emotional here and say that this is the greatest forum I've ever seen. All of you are so friendly and talented people and you always get an answer to your question ( or is it 99% ). I would love to involve more to your conversations, but so many times there's just a question about understanding... ( just hope you all speak Finnish ).

With my best regards,
Hannu

[Dan Hintz]

Hannu,

Looks like the "Finnish" granite has a really high quartz content, leading to a larger average "pixel" size. I'd stay away from it.

[Dee Gallo]

Personally speaking, I think that both Laurynas and Ron did excellent jobs on their granite. They are obviously not comparative however, as one is a close-up person and one is a building. The contrast, shading and detail are completely different and if I were doing the prep work, it would require two different perspectives on what is important to emphasize.

Helping Liesl with her settings should be the focus here. That's what we do best here on the Creek!

Just my two cents, dee

[Laurynas Savickis]

I am sorry if you understand it wrong.I am not critisizing,just said "I think...". My english language level is low,so I always try to say everything straight.Sorry ,if someone understood it wrong.He used a good quality foto,which is highly possible customers wont give you.

[Larry Bratton]

I am sorry if you understand it wrong.I am not critisizing,just said "I think...". My english language level is low,so I always try to say everything straight.Sorry ,if someone understood it wrong.He used a good quality foto,which is highly possible customers wont give you.

Your right about that. Customers don't understand the requirements. Poor or low resolution photos are very difficult to work with and sometimes are impossible to get good results from them.

[Martin Boekers]

Just out of curiosity, are there any suppliers other than lasersketch that carry granite? I was thinking of trying Home Depot/Lowe's but my customer is looking for something that is approx 1" to 1 1/2" thick.

You may check with some marble or monument suppliers. I have found some great stuff locally in their "off-cut" area. You may even get some work from them!

[Liesl Dexheimer]

I thought I read somewhere that there was some sort of spray you could apply to seal off the engraved area...does anyone know the brand?

[Martin Boekers]

I am sorry if you understand it wrong.I am not critisizing,just said "I think...". My english language level is low,so I always try to say everything straight.Sorry ,if someone understood it wrong.He used a good quality foto,which is highly possible customers wont give you.

Sorry if I was getting on you a bit, this forum is more about helping, so please contribute with your successes.
If you read through many of these postings you'll see that for the most part that's what we do, help each other
with our experiences.

Most don't realize the difference from resolution and compresstion. They think it looks good on the monitor
it should look good on final piece. I have had customers start with a low res screen grab, I tell the it's too
low resolution then they go home and resave it at a higher resolution thinking that will solve the problem. :-(
It doesn't.

If you can get nice photos on Granite, you are three steps ahead of the curve. That is one of the most difficult
of the materials to work with. Jump in with your method.

[Martin Boekers]

I thought I read somewhere that there was some sort of spray you could apply to seal off the engraved area...does anyone know the brand?

I know that many do a fill with a lithographers ink, you may try search under that for a clear coat.

[Tristan Ranatza]

Get Grout sealant for kitchen and baths from Lowes or HomeDepot.

[Liesl Dexheimer]

Thank you to all that helped! Here's the final result, the customer was happy and I was extremely pleased with the way it came out, especially for my first time engraving on granitegranite_memorial.jpg!