I'm sorry all of you laser people, there is no comparison between laser engraving glass and sandblasting. Laser on glass shatters the edges and besides you can't get any depth to the cut. Photo resist is the best way and when all is compared, it is the least expensive.
I do an awful lot of crystal and glass, the cost of photo resist is approximately $0.06 per square inch. On an average toasting glass that means you might be looking at $0.50. All other costs are labor which you would have in setting up your machine so they are a wash. I charge $20-30.00 a pair for blasting crystal toasting glasses which total actual time takes 15 minutes start to finish.
Yes there is some learning curve but that is in anything we do in this industry. As far as the curves on the glass the orange is a way but here is another that I use on a lot of pieces. By the way I only do this for pieces that I will always be doing again.
1-Take masking tape and put it across the area that you want to engrave.
2- Turn the glass upside down so that you are using the straight edge of the top of the glass for your alignment.
3- Draw as many lines as you need for what you are going to engrave on the glass making them parallel with the top of the glass. I use a vertical height gauge modified to hold a wet erase marker.
4- Make sure you mark the center of all of the lines.
5- Peel of the masking tape from the glass and apply it to a flat piece of paper. You might have to make cuts in this to make it lay flat, just as you would to put a mask on the glass itself.
6- Take this and scan it into whatever graphics program you are using (I use Corel) and trace the lines so that you have a vector setup for your glass.
7- Now save the vector lines as a blank template for the glass or vase so that you can always import it in the future.
8- Type your text and select the lines you want it on and fit text to path. The mask will look crazy, put it will make your lines exactly straight and easier to put on the curved surface.
Sorry for the length of this just got carried away. Hope it might help
Have A Great Day!
Bill Meyer
Ginny's Gems
www.ginnysgems.com |