In the business of personalization, engraving on crystal and glass is ubiquitous. Laser engraving on glass provides beauty and refinement in various applications, from putting a business brand on beer mugs to engraving the bride and groom’s image on wedding champagne flutes.
However, glass is a complex surface to engrave because of its fragility. If you know what you’re doing, it’ll open a whole new universe of options for your custom engraved wine bottles requirements.
5 Tips for Glass Engraving
#1. Clean the area using a wet paper towel.
The most common cause of glass splitting and shattering during laser engraving is too much heat. To prevent this, cover the engraving area with a damp paper towel before beginning the job. This improves heat dissipation and prevents the glass from shattering.
Use a moist piece of newspaper instead of a wet paper towel if you don’t have one. Dish soap is also sometimes used to cover the surface before engraving. This is equally as effective.
#2. Make use of a lower DPI.
Because it engraves dots away from each other, a lower resolution or DPI (dots per inch) is guaranteed to create a special frosting effect. When everything is said and done, you won’t be able to tell the picture was printed at a lesser quality since the finished result will look great.
This also prevents the etched glass from being too harsh. For laser bottle engraving NYC on glass, a DPI of 300 is suggested.
#3. The appropriate grayscale.
Use grayscale rasterization of 80% black to obtain the most outstanding picture effect on a laser. This lowers the amount of heat delivered to the glass, resulting in a superior outcome. Because the engraving will not be black, this brilliant technique will ensure a smoother finish.
#4. Dithering Jarvis.
Jarvis dithering is a technique for scrambling etched dots on glass. It is used to reduce engraving time and produce a high-resolution picture quickly and easily. Jarvis dithering creates a smooth image and reduces the likelihood of chipping and jagged edges.
#5. Slow down the engraving.
You’ll come across both soft and hard areas while dealing with bottles and other curved surfaces. If you don’t use the correct engraving settings, you may wind up with light and heavily frosted surfaces in various parts of your item. Engrave using high power and slow speeds to compensate for these differences.
Engraving Mirror
You can engrave a mirror in the same way as transparent glass to produce a stunning and dramatic effect. The only distinction is that etching on a mirror takes place on the backside. In a nutshell, you’ll reverse the file or simply “mirror” it to make it seem in the proper orientation when you look in the mirror. The engraving project’s result is mainly determined by the thickness of the mirror’s coating. When in doubt, start with lower output and gradually increase it until you reach the desired level.
Now that you know everything you need to do, what are you waiting for? Start your DIY project now and share away with us!
