Getting Optimal Results In Laser Engraved Artwork. Great Looking Photographs

Transcription

1 Getting Optimal Results In Engraved Artwork Great Looking Photographs

2 Why Engrave? Increase your sales & profitability Provide greater level of service to your customer Provide added value.. Create unique & memorable products.. Utilize the latest technology.. Improve existing lines of business and Grow new lines of business 2

3 What We Will Learn Photo-processing concepts Image processing including PhotoLase processing techniques Enhancement Ideas Material tips Best practices 3

4 End result Material selection Image format Getting Great Results - Making A Profit How much knowledge, skill & effort will be required to process & profit? 4

5 Which Material(s) Will Be Used? Many laserable materials available with new materials added continually Process images according to material attributes Combine materials for enhanced effect 5

6 What's The Best Image? 6 Image Storage Formats BMP - Bitmap (bulky, uncompressed, large, may exceed mailbox size) JPG or JPEG (Joint Photographic (Experts) Group) lossy format, compressed, smaller files, may create artifacts (small blemishes), best suited for final distribution of photo TIFF or TIF (Tagged Image File Format) can be lossy or loss-less GIF (Graphic Interchange Format) lossy, limited color depth PNG (Portable Network Graphics) lossless, very good format for saving images

7 What's The Best Image? 7 Digital camera JPG is standard format Tip: set quality to highest for best results Scanned Most labor intensive Scan at or above the dpi you intend to engrave Tip: use glossy finished photos. Some matte finished photos have a textured finish which may be picked up by the scanner Can scan photos directly into GravoStyle

8 What's The Best Image? Line art or continuous tone? In line art, each point is either black (or any single color) or white pixels; no grays. This is typically text, logos and clip art 8 In a continuous tone image, each point is a single color; typically color and grayscale photos

9 What's the best image? 9 What is a good quality image? Not all photographs can be laser engraved with good results Use good lighting to avoid over/under-exposed images with washed out or overly dark areas File compression can degrade the finished image quality Images containing text need to be high resolution Ask your client to supply images that: are not filtered in any way are minimally compressed use high resolution (300 dpi or better for best quality)

10 Preparing The Image 10 Raster or vector processing Dithering, diffusion & halftone spot size vs dpi Threshold responsive materials Linear responsive materials Scaling / Re-sampling Brightness & Contrast Cropping Sharpen / Soften Positive / Negative (polarity) Mirroring Masking Vignette & borders Adding text - Matching fonts

11 Raster or Vector Processing 11 raster vector

12 12 Dithering, Diffusion & Halftone

13 13 Spot Size vs DPI vs Material

14 14 Threshold Responsive Materials

15 Linear Responsive Materials Gray Level 15 Heat (power)

16 Re-sampling 3 rd party software Scaling / Re-sampling 16

17 Brightness & Contrast Bring out detail hidden in shadows Minimize washed out areas 17

18 Cropping Remove unwanted areas of image Reduces the resolution 18

19 Sharpen / Soften Sharpen to enhance texture & detail 19

20 Polarity Positive / Negative 20

21 Mirroring Useful in reverse engraving 21

22 Create a marquee Masking Mask off areas for selective color filling 22 White fill in corners.. Will not be engraved on white material

23 Mask Shape G5 vector mask outline Use Sketch tool to trace outline Export as Vector HPGL Import as mask into Bitmap Editor Fill outside mask 23

24 24 Vignette & Borders

25 Vignette & Borders Get fancy 25

26 Preparing The Image Adding text - Matching fonts 26

27 27 Preparing the Image with PhotoLase

28 Challenges in Processing Some materials difficult Time consuming: is it cost-effective for the customer? Lots of trial & error Wasted materials Not profitable 28

29 PhotoLase PhotoLase makes it quick & easy Steps to successful photo engraving A typical example Enhancements 29

30 What is PhotoLase? Designed for laser engraving images Automated or interactive process for quick image processing Simplifies laser image processing of materials, esp. difficult materials A standard feature in GravoStyle 30

31 Why PhotoLase? Real-time simulation of the finished engraving You can be confident of the output You can preview with your customer Saves time by reducing trial & error Saves cost by reducing waste from trial runs 31

32 How Does It Work? Adapts the image to the material 32 preview

33 How Does It Work? Transforms colors & shades of gray into groups of dots of varying density Use with threshold sensitive materials 33

34 How Does It Work? Calculates power & speed settings Simplifies positive & negative settings Simplifies mirror setting All through a transparent database lookup 34

35 Steps to Successful of Images 35 Start with good quality photo Edit image (optional) Convert to gray scale to reduce file size Adjust brightness Remove any distracting background Apply mask Use PhotoLase to convert to dithered image Add frame and/or text (optional) Set laser parameters (if required) Send to laser engraver

36 PhotoLase Real-Life Example A casual (non-professional) photo 36

37 Start with good quality photo Think about what material will be used DPI vs spot size on material How much clean-up is required (price accordingly) Lighting / shading characteristics Distracting background 37

38 Bitmap Editor Distracting lights 38 Distracting hair

39 Open Bitmap editor Let s Do A Little Clean-up Convert to gray scale & 8- bits (optional) reduces file size Choose eyedropper and click background to get the exact shade 39

40 Cleaning Up The Image Use brush tool to remove any distracting background Ctl-click tool to adjust brush width Paint over the background to remove unwanted areas 40

41 Choose the Mask tool Let s Make A Marquee 41

42 Place and size mask Let s Make A Marquee 42

43 Choose mask color Fill around mask Making A Marquee 43

44 Making A Marquee Simple rules what will be engraved? The black area around the mask will not be engraved on black material 44 Fill with white if engraving on a white surface

45 The PhotoLase Interface User preferences Manual adjustments 45 Work zone Simulation zone

46 Select The Material Settings recalled from material database 46

47 Adjust Image This image looks washed out. The background should be pure black 47 simulation

48 Halftoning First, choose the half-tone process. Burkes yields fine detail on smooth materials 48 Dithering algorithm

49 Gamma Correction Adjust the Gamma to correct background 49 Controls the overall image brightness & darkness

50 Edge width & strength Edge Enhancement 50

51 Settings power, speed, dpi, polarity, mirror 51

52 Simulation De-activate to view actual dot pattern 52

53 Frames for Marking Enhance with frames (optional) will be engraved 53

54 Frames for Marking Resize / re-position the image in the frame 54

55 Adding / Deleting text (optional) User Text 55

56 User Text Adding text dialog 56

57 User Text Use handles to resize / re-position the text Double-click the text to edit 57

58 Frames (optional) will not be engraved Frames for Preview 58

59 Preview on material Frames for Preview 59

60 Output Simulated environment Print image 60 To ing dialog

61 Frames for Preview Optional simulated environment 61

62 Material Database Save / restore material configuration 62

63 Quotation Tool Price automatically calculated based on: Fixed cost: set-up, implementation, finishing Material cost: area * cost / area Machine cost: distance & time 63

64 Great Looking Engraved with PhotoLase Automated or Interactive process You can do it quickly & easily Add value to your offer Increase business 64

65 Processing Driver Focusing Processing modes 65

66 Processing User settings Material presets Resolution Origin Plate size 66 Job mgt LASER path settings

67 Processing settings speed passes mode power 67 Offset/pass Air assist

68 Focusing Processing Slightly out of focus for raster engraving Overlapping paths for uniform background Default for LS lasers is out of focus Table is higher by making the focal point below the material surface In focus for vector or diffusion engraving Smallest spot size, best resolution 68

69 Processing Focusing shortcuts Set up in ing dialog (for current job) Set up in firmware (for every job) 69

70 Processing Orientation 70

71 Processing How to determine the best mode Line art or photo Clipart or overlapping objects Material composition 71

72 Processing Modes 72 Automatic Overlapping objects flattened (only visible areas engraved) Engraved in one pass Max power & speed set by black color Other colors converted to gray & power is set proportionally Exception: vector paths obey color settings User/Expert Uses the color power & speed settings as defined Processed one color at-a-time Overlapping object engraved > once processed last

73 Processing Modes 73 Halftone Colors converted to dot patterns Only 64 gray levels No choice of algorithm Good for course materials Photo Colors converted to random dot patterns More realistic approximation Negative Inverts entire material To invert image only, use bitmap

74 Material Tips 74 Acrylic AlumiMark Aluminum Ceramic Tile Painted Tile Coated Metal Polished Metal Plastic Corian Glass Leather Marble Wood

75 Extruded Acrylic 75 Tends to melt can yield glistening effect like icicle Use air assist Reverse engraving Experiment with power & focal distance to get frosted appearance

76 Cast acrylic easy to engrave Sheets or shapes Engraves frosted white Cast Acrylic 76

77 AlumiMark Aluminum substrate allows direct marking Yields a black mark Fine detail possible Low power required Available in silver or gold, glossy or matte 77

78 Anodized Aluminum Responds linearly to power Good results with either gray scale or dithered processing 78 photo mode

79 Ceramic Tile Add colors with Thermark substrates 79

80 Tile (direct engraving) Ceramic Tile 80

81 Painted Tiles Ceramic Marble 81

82 Ceramic Tile 82 White Tile Painted Black

83 Coated Metals Easy to engrave Great looking results 83

84 Thermark ceramic substrate Permanent black mark Polished metals 84

85 Corian Easy to engrave Paint fill 85

86 plastic Thin cap layer of Gravoply Ultra yields great detail Available in wide range of colors Contrasting colors 86

87 Glass 87 The laser causes the glass to fracture Too much fracturing reduces the effective resolution Tip: control the amount of fracturing with wet tissue paper Use lower dpi due to engraved dot size Tip Avoid dot blending Engrave in reverse on back of a mirror Spray paint in dark or black color

88 Glass Add color with Rub & Buff Material Tips 88

89 Material Tips Leather Great for old photos 89 Microcap flexible plastic sheets Stick-A-Lase (0.004" thick) Self-adhesive backing

90 Material Tips 90 Microcap flexible plastic sheets Tip StickALase (0.004" thick) Self-adhesive backing Black/White Silver/White Use Gravogrip to hold down material

91 91 Paper

92 Marble Fractures leave white marks Enhance with paint fill Material Tips 92

93 Material Tips Wood Light colored woods such as alder, basswood and cherry allow good detail and contrast 93

94 Material Tips 94 Wood Open grain woods like oak and ash can cause irregularities & loss of detail due to the course grain and open pores Coniferous woods like pine & spruce not recommended due to high resin content Use low tack paper mask tape before engraving to minimize cleanup of sticky, smoky halos around engraving Or, pre-treat with several layers of wipe-on polyurethane or tung oil

95 Wood Material Tips Use darkening powder to increase contrast 95

96 Wood LazerDarc enhances contrast Material Tips 96

97 Material Tips Get Creative 97 Positive image, black paint fill Negative image, white paint fill

98 Trouble-Shooting Too Much Heat JPG Artifacts Processing Mode Other Factors 98

99 Trouble-Shooting Too much heat Banding 99

100 Trouble-Shooting Heat over wide area can cause uneven background for some materials due to slight thickness variations in top layer 100

101 Trouble-Shooting JPG artifacts 101

102 JPG artifact removal Trouble-Shooting 3 rd party software (hop, Paint Shop Pro..) 102

103 Trouble-Shooting Not matching the processing mode to the material 103 Grayscale mode on painted aluminum

104 Trouble-Shooting Factors affecting engraving quality Optics cleanliness Alignment source power variations Material variations Proper exhaust 104

105 Finishing enhancements 105 Tinting LazerDarc ( Boot polish Pre-treat wood with Minwax Clean with mineral spirits Coloring Rub & Buff (hobby store) Engraver's Enamel (Gravograph) Ceramic substrate colors/black (Thermark.com) Spray paint Foil (Gravograph) Acrylic dye (hobby store) on reverse engraving Finish back with fine grit sandpaper

106 Image Processing Flow optimization Matrix/Batching optimization Best Practices 106

107 Best Practices 107 Image Processing Flow Acquire good quality digital image Select material to engrave Clean-up image & adjust for specific material Crop, size, remove distracting elements, brightness, contrast, sharpening.. Enhance as required Mask, vignette, mirror, borders If continuous tone photo, use dithering Photo mode or PhotoLase feature Do not resize a dithered image If line art, use automatic mode

108 Best Practices Image Processing Flow (cont d) Setup laser parameters Speed, power, orientation, position.. engrave Apply any finishing enhancements 108

109 optimization Best Practices Engrave the longest way in the X-axis to minimize reversals. Fewer starts & stops translates into shorter job times 109 Material long dimension

110 Best Practices 110 Matrix/Batching Variable list jobs are sent as separate jobs to engraver Group like jobs and engrave in XY matrix Job Manager (product announcement soon) Will group similar jobs (power/speed) to be done together Mix multiple matrix & non-matrix jobs Size of marked spot very important Control beam power to avoid heat bloom Change focus to exact lens focal distance

111 Best Practices optimization Separate the job into sections Avoid wasting time in empty areas Group 3 Group 1 Group 2 111

112 Increase your sales for Fun & Profit Add perceived value to the product Expand your product offering Innovative technology makes the process easier than you may have ever thought 112