centers in this economic environment, offering personalization of glasses and ...
glass. If you're serious about glass engraving, you should learn about all of the.
RAISE YOUR
GLASS USE YOUR LASER TO OFFER ENGRAVED DRINKWARE AND BOTTLES BY JIMMY DUBOSE, XENETECH GLOBAL
As recognition and engraving businesses evolve and seek additional profit centers in this economic environment, offering personalization of glasses and bottles may fit well for your business. There are a few technologies, including rotary engraving, sandblasting, and chemical etching that allow you to engrave glass. If you’re serious about glass engraving, you should learn about all of the options so that you can pick the one that best fits your plan.
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Our first step involves understanding and selection of the medium we will engrave. In simple terms, glass is harder than wood, plastic, leather, and many other materials we traditionally engrave with the laser. This plays a role in how we prepare the images we want to engrave. Curvature of the glass, especially if there are significant peaks and valleys in the engraving area, impacts your ability to provide a consistent mark across the engraving area. From a safety standpoint, if you engrave bottles that contain contents that are under pressure (such as champagne bottles), you must make
Practice makes perfect when it comes to creating beautiful custom wine glasses with your laser.
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certain that the glass is thick and that the engraving won’t impact the integrity of the glass. It is helpful to have an ample supply of the glass you’re engraving for test runs. Also, know that bottles with paper labels have special considerations we’ll discuss below. Now that you’ve selected a glass item that can be laser engraved safely, the next step is to prepare your image and layout your design. Because you will not achieve significant depth when engraving glass with your laser, the images within your design should be monochrome. Utilize your laser
Wet newsprint or wrapping tissue is easy to smooth over drinkware after placing the glass in the cyliindrical attachment to disperse heat from the laser.
system print driver to dither grayscale images. You may need to enhance images by providing defining lines or gaps to differentiate sections of the image. Use your graphic design skills to finalize the layout, noting that if you are engraving a glass, your design should be located at least a half inch below the rim for safety reasons. Now that you have your layout, it is time to send it to your laser for engraving. Follow the guidance from your laser system manufacturer when selecting speed and power settings. Typically, system manufacturers provide a chart listing material types with suggested speeds and power settings. As a default for a 30-watt laser, try 100% power at 20 inches per second (IPS) as your engraving speed. Selecting 500 dpi at output should work well. In most cases you will use a cylindrical attachment to engrave your glass. If you need to purchase a cylindrical attachment, look for repeatability—the ability to engrave in the same spot multiple times; this is an important feature you will use. It’s possible to engrave a glass or bottle without the cylindrical attachment, but your engraving area will be severely limited due to the curvature of the piece. Follow your system’s manufacturer’s instructions regarding setup and output.
Apply the same rules discussed here to laser engraving bottles, but remember that paper labels and bottles with contents under pressure require special care while lasering.
left or right depending on where you want the engraving to appear. If you are engraving both sides, the handle should be facing “down,” in the 6 o’clock position. Consult your system documentation to confirm it will work this way for your system. After you place the piece in the cylindrical attachment, apply water-saturated newspaper or wrapping tissue as smoothly as possible over the engraving area. This will disperse the heat generated by the laser process and provide a uniform engraved surface. Alternatively, masking film is available from a number of suppliers including ARA members IKONICS Corporation, Rayzist
Note: If you are engraving a mug with a handle, position matters. If you are engraving one side, the engraving area should be facing up if you are using an x-center, y-center origin; the handle will be to the Contact companies on the Advertiser Index page
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The design to be engraved into the paper-wrapped glass can be seen on the laser’s color touch screen.
Gold Rub ‘n Buff is smoothed into the glass’s laser engraved design, visible at the left side.
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Photomask, and Innotec of Wisconsin. You should use these films when engraving bottles with paper labels to avoid damaging the label. Run the job, and as with all laser engraving jobs, continuously monitor your system as it engraves.
As with any process, if this is your first attempt, bring plenty of patience and test material. In a relatively short period of time, you’ll be offering a new, profitable product to your customers with little investment.
Once the piece has been engraved, you can add color with Rub ‘n Buff ® or a similar color agent. These products are available from industry suppliers and many hobby and craft stores. Our experience is that gold and silver provide the best finish, but other colors are available. Follow the instructions that come with your product for best results.
With 24 years in the engraving industry, Jimmy Dubose is Xenetech’s customer service and sales manager. Xenetech Global develops and manufactures a full line of computerized rotary engraving systems, laser engraving systems, and professional engraving software for the recognition, sign, rubber stamp, jewelry, gift, and industrial marking industries. Established in 1986, the company is based in Baton Rouge, LA, and supports a global distribution network. Visit www. xenetech.com or call 225.752.0225.
Creating a matching set of tumblers with a custom, color-filled design is a snap once you have the technique down.
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