Full Version: LaserSketch - Expectations?
From: Ken D. (KDEVORY) [#13]
18 Apr 2005
To: ALL
I just got a call from Jim at LaserSketch. After apologizing for taking so long to get back to me, he said there shouldn't be any variation. He asked that I email him a list of what I would like replaced.
Now's the hard part for me. Some I would say are definitely good, others bad without a doubt. It's the ones in-between that I need to really evaluate and decide where to draw the line.
This is the first time I've spoken with him, and it was brief, but he comes across as a person you would want to do business with. Hopefully their methods and inspections grow with their sales.
Yes I plan to buy more Granite from them as I need it. Marble too, when I'm ready for it.
From: Ken D. (KDEVORY) [#14]
18 May 2005
To: ALL
Just wanted to post an update regarding my LaserSketch order.
As per Jim's request I emailed a list of the pieces needing to be replaced. (4/19/05) Because this was my first order with them I asked that he personally screen the replacements. I would then use them as a basis for re-evaluating the originals. (Was I being unreasonably fussy?) If some were good based on the standards of the replacements, I'd purchase the extras.
When I didn't hear back, I followed up with a fax, then again on 5/6/05.
At this point I'm going to call. (previously faxing, then them calling at their convenience, seemed to work. It's also been more reliable then email.)
Hopefully I'll soon be posting a followup/resolution.
Edited to add:
I just called, Jim answered and said it was shipping out today. They're replacing the whole order. (I'll probably get it next week.)
EDITED: 18 May 2005 by KDEVORY
From: Cody (BOBTNAILER) [#15]
27 Jun 2005
To: Ken D. (KDEVORY) [#14] 30 Jun 2005
Ken -
Did you get your order fixed? How was the quality this time around?
As I stated in another thread, we have been engraving photos on acrylic blocks (2" x 4" and 5" x 7") with great success. In fact, this accounted for about 14% of our sales for January - June this year.
We'd like to start doing photos on marble, but I tend to be VERY picky about quality...from my suppliers and from me. (I've even had customers tell me that I'm too picky, but I tend to take that as a compliment!)
I really don't want to buy these things from Laserbits due simply to freight costs (we're in east Texas). However, I know that Laserbits will stand behind the products, and will exchange/replace/refund with absolutely no hassle.
Is there a supplier that's closer to Texas?
Cody
From: James (TILER02) [#16]
30 Jun 2005
To: Cody (BOBTNAILER) [#15] 30 Jun 2005
From: Ken D. (KDEVORY) [#17]
30 Jun 2005
To: Cody (BOBTNAILER) [#15] 30 Jun 2005
Cody,
I don't have the personal experience with marble to comment on its quality. I have seen other suppliers mentioned in other threads. (I know the people at LaserSketch say its not possible for anyone to have a marble that engraves with better quality then theirs.)
As its been stated LaserBits sells the LaserSketch marble tiles. The quality from the two suppliers will be the same. Buying from LaserSketch, if you do have any problems, I have no doubt they will replace any defective material no questions asked. If LaserSketch is cheaper then LaserBits, then buy it directly from them.
Regarding my granite order. They reshipped the whole order, not just the pieces I requested, and did not want any additional $. Yes there is more variation from piece to piece than I originally expected, but it is a natural material. I do plan on using them as my supplier. Though it has more variation then I expected prior to seeing it, my search has not turned up any supplier that can beat the quality of their Super Black. (Yes, I've been called a perfectionist.)
From: Cody (BOBTNAILER) [#18]
30 Jun 2005
To: Ken D. (KDEVORY) [#17] 1 Jul 2005
From: rich (SPYDER62) [#19]
30 Jun 2005
To: ALL
I have some Laserbit/sketch Black Marble and refuse to use it. :-( Every one I tried just don't come out no matter what setting I use.I get mine from My local Tile supplier and have much better luck,in fact just got in 9 cases for some trophies I need to do. Bet I can use all but 3 or 4 of the tile after I cut them to size. I have already used about 3 cases and have had only one I could not use. Have attached a photo of the same print one on Laserbits tile and one from my supplied,both done at the same setting. You tell me which is useable.
Sorry Harvey will repost them later tonight, was to late when I did them last night :'-(
EDITED: 1 Jul 2005 by SPYDER62
From: Ken D. (KDEVORY) [#20]
1 Jul 2005
To: rich (SPYDER62) [#19] 1 Jul 2005
Rich,
A comment and a question: Marble from different sources will require different settings. Are you using a secondary operation to whiten the engraving?
From: Cody (BOBTNAILER) [#21]
1 Jul 2005
To: ALL
I got my first shipment of black marble from N & R today.
I guess my expectations for the "blackness" might have been unreasonably high...was a little lighter than I had expected. Then again, I've never done much marble stuff...so there wasn't much of a basis for my expectation. ;-)
At any rate, I engraved my first picture (my family portrait, of course) on it, and it was SPECTACULAR! I can't wait to show it to some of my regular photo customers....they'll LOVE it.
The lighter spots/streaks in the marble didn't detract from the crisp detail in the picture. I'm very pleased with this first batch.
From: Harvey only (HARVEY-ONLY) [#22]
1 Jul 2005
To: rich (SPYDER62) [#19] 1 Jul 2005
The larger tile looks way overpowered.
The attachment is also way too large.
You will have to remove it and maybe post it in a later post, reduced to the proper file size.
From: Engravin' Dave (DATAKES) [#23]
1 Jul 2005
To: Cody (BOBTNAILER) [#21] 1 Jul 2005
Cody,
You could place the larger image on your own server, then provide us a link. I would really like to see your work.
From: Engravin' Dave (DATAKES) [#24]
1 Jul 2005
To: Cody (BOBTNAILER) [#21] 1 Jul 2005
Cody,
I have been using Laser Sketch marble because I like the beveled edges and the more finished look it provides once I add a nice felt to the back. I attached an image of a piece I did a few weeks ago for my showroom.
EDITED: 7 Jun 2010 by DATAKES
From: Cody (BOBTNAILER) [#25]
1 Jul 2005
To: ALL
Here's our first attempt.
The picture is a little grainy, but that may be the effect of PhotoGrav. It also may be that we're not doing anything to the pic except resizing it and converting it to grayscale.
It's worth noting that my digital camera made this a little blurry. The engraving itself is very clear. My wife is wearing a shirt with fine vertical stripes. The stripes are actually very crisp in the engraving. I apologize for my lack of decent photographic equipment (spent all my money on engravers!).
Please...no comments about the fat bald guy on the right (me).
EDITED: 1 Jul 2005 by BOBTNAILER
From: Cody (BOBTNAILER) [#26]
1 Jul 2005
To: Engravin' Dave (DATAKES) [#24] 1 Jul 2005
David -
Would you mind sharing with me your process for your pictures? The clarity that you have is outstanding!
From: Shaddy [#27]
1 Jul 2005
To: Cody (BOBTNAILER) [#25] 1 Jul 2005
Looks great.
By resizing, you mean before photograv right? You should do the sharpen/contrast/crop/resize first, then photograv as a last step.
For Laser Sketch marble I can only go up to 300dpi, any more and I actually start to lose detail. And i have to really lower the power for the same reason. (even though they still claim theirs is the best on the market).
Shaddy
From: Cody (BOBTNAILER) [#28]
1 Jul 2005
To: Shaddy [#27] 1 Jul 2005
Actually, all I do is resample and change the color mode in Photo-Paint. I don't do any of the sharpen/tune/contrast stuff - but only because I am not sure of what they do. I'm pretty ignorant about doing photos, so it's kind of ironic that we've been so successful with them.
Once we have a picture sized correctly (with resample), we change the color to 8-bit greyscale. That's all for Photo-Paint.
In PhotoGrav, I simply pick the material (sometimes I use the "stock" materials, and sometimes I use some parameters that others have sent to me). I only use auto processing. Again, I don't know what effect the other stuff will have on my final product, and I'm not willing to use a bunch of engraving stock to play with the settings.
Ours is a VERY simple process. However, we don't get NEARLY the results that you've shown us with your oval piece!
From: Ken D. (KDEVORY) [#29]
1 Jul 2005
To: Cody (BOBTNAILER) [#28] 1 Jul 2005
Cody,
Yes, you need to engrave a lot of photos to get a good feel for some of the settings/adjustments, but that does not mean using a lot of material.
If I'm printing a gray scale its .3" high by 6" long. For a pet memorial with a photo of a cat I used a 1.5" square from the photo. This contained most of the face and some of the body. One 12"x12" tile can hold up to 64 of these small squares. If you add labels under them, describing the settings, 56. I only engraved the full photo after I liked my settings.
To me buying two tiles, for 100+ test images, is just part of the "school fees". When I have a job, I work on it until I'm satisfied. Each one goes faster and easier. (I do try to have one good test image before taking a job using a new substrate.)
From: Cody (BOBTNAILER) [#30]
1 Jul 2005
To: Ken D. (KDEVORY) [#29] 1 Jul 2005
That makes very good sense.
Do you find that your setting change when you change picture sizes?
I have.
For example, I'll engrave a 2" x 4" acrylic paperweight at 100% speed and 80% power. The picture is actually about 1.5" x 3"
For the same photo on a 5" x 7" acrylic block, I use 100% speed and 60% power. Any more power than that, and the picture looks "washed out". This pic will actually be about 4" x 6".
I attended one of the PhotoGrav seminars in Vegas this year, but didn't learn enough to move me forward. I would LOVE to get some good hands-on training from someone who knows how to do this stuff, AND (just as importantly) knows how to relate it to me.
EDITED: 1 Jul 2005 by BOBTNAILER
From: Ken D. (KDEVORY) [#31]
1 Jul 2005
To: Cody (BOBTNAILER) [#30] 1 Jul 2005
No, I don't change any settings.
Its the same material, same photo, same dpi...
That said sometimes you need to compensate for variation in material. Harvey's numbers: double the power, 20% darker image; worked on one piece that was giving me problems, but I already had the base settings worked out.
Only difference is engraving the whole picture vs. a smaller, but representative, part of it.
If you change the engraved resolution the speed/power will also change.
If you change the magnification level additional photo manipulation may be required to optimize clarity of detail. (This is part of getting a feel for it.)
I am attaching a test pattern I've used on occasion. Engrave at a dpi that matches the image. Change the dpi to scale, don't resample. I'll print it at various speed/power levels, at each dpi, to help get a feel for a new material. Again it's small so it doesn't use a lot of material. I then use a 12x or a 30x magnifier to view the results. Its interesting how much detail you can't get.
From: Cody (BOBTNAILER) [#32]
1 Jul 2005
To: Ken D. (KDEVORY) [#31] 1 Jul 2005
Very interesting...
I just tried one at 600 dpi, and another at 300 dpi. The 300 dpi image lost a little bit of detail, but not much.
Something else that I may have to play with is my scanner settings for dpi. I hadn't even thought about that until now, but it will probably make some difference, too.
Do you scan at 300 dpi when you engrave at 300 dpi?
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