As a retired pro photog, I picked this up quickly. But I really appreciate the ease of your explanations and instruction. Bravo! And thanks for sharing, ya'll.
Hi there - thanks for the feedback...appreciated - try this file for the dither test - I have a feeling I have gone through setting up the file in another video - tinyurl.com/mrcraftsmithslatedither254
Thank you for tuning in - make sure you also check out my latest video which is an update to photo engraving on slate - it dives a bit deeper to help explain some of the limitations we have using diode lasers 🙂
Darren, this is exactly the video I wished I would have watched from Day 1. I recently purchased my very first laser (the Roly Lasermatic 20w) and tried my hand at lasering a photo onto a slate coaster tonight. It did not turn out great, but I'm looking forward to trying your great tricks for my next coaster burn tomorrow night. Thank you so much! ~Dale.
Thanks Dale - the Roly Lasermatic looks like a pretty capable machine - I haven't been able to move up to the 20w lasers yet - but is in the goals list for this year - enjoy :)
I'm not tied to this brand, but the LaserMatic is quickly growing into being one of the most sought after laser for home use. They have a 30 watt and are coming out with a new 40 watt soon. Amazing customer support too. It's very common to get a reply from the CEO when you have a question. Thanks again for your great videos, Darren!
Good Morning Darren, I just finished watching your video and as always it was excellent. I’ve been struggling engraving some photos on slate coasters. This info will definitely help me, thank you!.
Hey there Robert - appreciate the Superthanks - glad it was helpful for you - stick at it - the learning curve can be challenging but the reward of learning a new skill is worth it
so glad to see a Laser diode vid Well you hit the nail on the head. by saying do a material test. every time i get lazy i get poor results, so i cant stress enough, DO the tests.
Fantastic! Thanks so much for this. I was having so many problems engraving photos and I think I can apply these techniques to other materials as well. Thanks again.
Thanks for your comment - glad you found it helpful, I will get around to performing the same tests on wood and white tile for comparison in the coming weeks
This was most informative! Thank you. It made some sense about the dynamic range. How would I get a 0-100 white to black scale that I can try this on my laser? I am sure each laser will have a different range.
That was awesome, Darren! I haven't tried photos on slate yet, but I've done some on ply that have been only so-so. I'm looking forward to trying these tips and to trying some photos on slate. Excellent explanations of your process; keep up the good work!
Hi there Beverly - Thank you - I appreciate you watching - I haven't tried photos on ply as yet - but am going to give it a go - best of luck with your slate tiles :)
Thank you Darren, to me this makes perfect sense so I can use this procedure to define my images before I engrave. TBH this feels natural simpler than a lot of other threads I have followed over the last couple of years. I consider myself a novice as I don't get enough time with my laser. I have subscribed.
Thanks for watching - glad it made sense for you. Like yourself, I am very much a novice, I'm in the position currently that I can give it more of my time, so happy to share my findings as I learn myself :)
I am very pleased with all the videos you have made thus far. Your tutorials are clear and easy to follow. I know my way around photoshop a little (very little) and the way you went into the program and explained what you were doing was very easy for me to follow. I was amazed by the improvement. Having programs and knowing how to use them properly really makes a difference. I look forward to seeing more videos from you, keep up the great work. Thanks for sharing 😊
Thank you Ashra - I'm pleased it made sense. I learn new stuff every day, and I'm just wanting to share what I learn, so I appreciate your support, thank you for tuning in :)
Hi Darren There are two groups of engraving materials that you can work with. One is organic materials such as leather wood and card and these do have a colour range from very dark bown to very light brown (degrees of scorching). The second group is mineral materials that are what I call binary materials. They only produce one colour if you mechanically scratch them or hit them with a laser beam. Slate is one such material. When you fire the laser at it, because it is a silica material , it becomes a little volcano of pale grey glass. When you understand a bit more about how your diode laser works you will discover that the PWM burn dots get bigger as you increase the %power. and also the glass turns a bit yellower. The test pattern you are using from Lightburn is confusing you because there is no grayscale available on slate This pattern is really for organic materials. The the imagR result you get is a dithered image. Image R provides you with a DPI test that much better allows you to choose the best resolution for your images. The lack of dynamic range you see in the imagR slate you created is becuse your grey dots are too big for the resolution you chose.. To get the best image you need to make one grey dot the same size as one white pixel. Its really as simple as that and there is tool in imagerR helps you with that task. The size of your dot detrmines the resolution you can work at so the less power the better because the dots are smaller. see ruclips.net/video/cUlJ4Cy9IsE/видео.html Best wishes
Thanks for your comment on this - I understand what you are saying, and perhaps my explanation is a little off (relying on my photography background too much) - while technically not a grayscale, there is the appearance of light to dark (grayscale of sorts) within the dither pattern based on the distribution of the dots. With more testing based on a dot grid pattern created in Adobe Illustrator (0.1 x 0.1 mm dot size) I have found some interesting results. I have adjusted power to the minimum to get a consistent pattern from the test and have found that I get seperation on the y-axis but very limited on the x-axis with a 0 degree scan, however when I flip this to a 90 degree scan I'm getting a better "resolution" with more even seperation on both axis'. More testing to do I guess. Again thank you for your feedback it has encouraged me to dig a little deeper.
@@mrcraftsmith Hi Darren You may wish to check out your dots with a magnifier for the solution. Most diode lasers start life as a rectangular semiconductor chip and the beam has to be shaped by optical elements within the head. This results in an elliptical beam shape meaning its kerf in X is different to the kerf in Y when you try to cut with it. The most difficult pattern to recreate is dithered mid grey which I created in Photoshop . Its basically a 254ppi chequer board pattern.
Yes I did examine the dots under a loupe that clearly showed the elliptical shape of the dot when using the 0 degree scan, however with the 90 degree scan the dots took on more of a rectangular shape - I’ll have to see if I can take a photo - as would be interested to get your thoughts
Very interesting approach. I have hardly any knowledge of photo adjusting etc. I just adjusted the gamma and contrast. Getting similar results but this is definitely a more scientific approach to the problem 😅 Nice work!
Thank you for your comments. I had seen a bunch of comments in groups that where doing just that, adjusting gamma and contrast, I figured there must be a way to measure the limitation of the laser and my logical brain likes to know the why and how 😃
You're welcome Sputnik, and yes you picked me up on a misquote, however I didn't say who says "the proof is in the pudding" maybe they are not as intelligent as you ;) :D
Great tutorial. I assume you are inverting your gradient test before running it. My main question is your spreadsheet with the dynamic range, are those some arbitrary numbers or are those set numbers we should use and just apply as you did (where the white stops showing a difference when burned on the slate)?
I know this is an old video, but I have a question, the gradient scale you burned onto the tile, is that a file you created or one you downloaded? If it is downloadable, where can I find it. I'm not very well versed in photoshop so I have no clue where to start to create it.
Great Videos! Yes videos I spent most of yesterday afternoon watching your others. I hoped I help covering part of the cost of the imar software. If you are so inclined can you please provide a link to it? I would rather own it then lease it. Thanks again.
Again thank you Ed - I hope you got something out of my other videos as well - as for pricing on Imagr - it is a subscription model as with most software these days - so if you feel you will get the benefit from it then for sure it is a good program - I didn't renew my subscription as my work tends to be more design based than image engraving - here is the link to the website showing pricing www.imag-r.com/pricing
Very cool and useful tips. I appreciate you explaining it like your talking to a toddler because I have dabbled with polarr but I'm not too great at editing photos. Would you mind uploading your dynamic range test file somewhere for us?
I've had loads of problems engraving slate unless it's straight black/white vector images. I've tried and failed many times with image engraving. Being a photographer like yourself, my slates looked washed out and basically only good for the bin. I'm going to try this out and (fingers crossed) it helps. Subbed and liked
Nice work mate. Quick question. Did you paint the slate. Or was it just a normal black slate. And also what do I use to seal it. Thanks keep up the good work
Thanks for watching - the tile was not painted but did have a light coat of satin varnish - I spray the tile before I engrave - just personal preference
Great video I am using a AlgoLaser Delta 22w laser and understood I should be using mm/ second however yo are using mm/minute I am very new to this I am a photographer so I understand the dynamic rage so any advice would be grate thank you Mark
Hi Mark - I guess the common thread I have seen is mm/min for diode generally as they are slower than CO2 - but use what you are comfortable with and just remember to convert if required
Darren, I just found you on RUclips tonight. I have watched a lot of people doing laser burning on RUclips, but some just seem to relate to me better than others. You, Sir, are one of those that “click” maybe it is the photography background. Can you tell me where you got the grayscale file you had in photoshop? I don’t see why your method ( which is the best I have seen) can not be applied to most other mediums I can laser!
Hey Phillip - thanks for taking the time to give me your feedback, very much appreciated - the grayscale range was created by myself in Photoshop. Yep I have used this method for NWT (Norton White Tile) as well
Hi William - thanks for watching :) - I created the greyscale myself in photoshop - I just adujsted the colour in HSB settings "B" for black and change the percentage - hope that helps - I can do a really quick video if that helps?
Great explanation Darren, love these tutorials. Thanks for putting them together. I am new to the laser hobby world. Having a diode laser myself I am watching loads of videos at present. Question. Where are you finding the slate coasters in Australia? I am in FNQ. Cheers. Robert.
Hey there Robert - thanks for tuning in - I ended up getting the coasters at Rinkit - just google them and should come up - I got square and round ones - works out about $1 each
Thank you for watching - you’re absolutely welcome and I’m glad you got something out of it - I’m in a time poor situation at present but I will be doing similar testing on wood and white tile - hoping to record the Norton White Tile video today fingers crossed
Thank you for watching - you’re absolutely welcome and I’m glad you got something out of it - I’m in a time poor situation at present but I will be doing similar testing on wood and white tile - hoping to record the Norton White Tile video today fingers crossed
Well, its an eye opening video!! Nice approach. But can i ask something? For ppl like me, that are not photographers, is there a away to do what you do on a free platform or program like Gimp?
Thanks for the feedback - my understanding is that Gimp has similar layer functionality as Photoshop so you should be able to do so, however I have never used Gimp, so I am not 100% sure. Sorry I couldn't be more helpful. Imagr now has similar functionality and you can get a free trial to see if it of value to you.
@@mrcraftsmith we thank you m8,cause you give us an other point of view. You see ,there are ppl out there,like me ,that have no clue about photography in general. My background is from a designer's point of view ,since is am a civil engineer. So its nice to see your approach. Thanks for your time :)
it should do yes - however because with NWT the laser produces black rather than white the blackpoint would be the adjustment required not the white point :)
could you do a video on how to create that graytscale chart, and exactly how you IMAG-r processed it and loaded it into lightburn? mine keeps going wonky
how do you mean "going wonky" so I better understand your problem? I have stopped using IMAG-r and I believe it has now incorporated the levels function
Sorry to sound thick Is it the 10w laser Do I need to alter every photo in gimp before adding to image r or once done can yiu just use the settings automatically or do yiu need to do this process every time
Hey Steven - yes it's a 10w laser - as far as processing - that will be independent based on the photo you are wanting to engrave, however the "dynamic range" that your laser will be able to distinguish should not change, the only variables will be the image and the material you are engraving
@@mrcraftsmith thanks I will watch the video again tonight and see what happens Just spent 6 hrs trying yesterday with lightburn but a better burn with image r
Is there a way to change the dynamic range without photoshop? Enjoyed your presentation Just got the end of your video and you suggest gimp as a free option Yeah gave you a thumbs up
Gday Dave - thanks for watching - I haven't personally used Gimp - but functionality wise I believe it is similar - the other option would be Imag-r - now has introduced levels adjustment as per this video :)
great videos chap just wondering what settings to use with my foxalien laser with 5.5w output using lightburn to get the best results and also what scale would you recommend ie. greyscale etc. sorry also the slate will be coated with a matt varnish first
Hey there Mick - thanks for watching - I can’t really answer your question regarding settings for your particular laser - you will need to do some material tests as shown in the video - in your case if you use the 7x7 grid that I have shown you might need to run 2 coasters - at least then you will have a better understanding of your laser - and once you have the ideal engrave setting do the greyscale and I’m sure you will see similar results - when photo engraving it uses a dither pattern which is a bunch of dots and the density of the dots determines the perceived greyscale - you will just have to runs the tests to find out the best results for your laser - and yes I clear coat the coaster before engraving - hope that helps
Hi Adam - I believe you can do a similar effect directly in imagr software - the other alternative would be Gimp which is open source - but I have never used that program so I couldn't direct you with that one
Hi Daren, thank you very much for your video, it was a great help!!! However, I have a problem with the engraving time: for a 60x40mm photo I have a huge engraving time with the "pass-through" option -> 40 minutes estimated at a speed of 5000mm/min but in reality for the engraving to finish it takes 5 times longer i.e. 2h30... Whereas if I burn the same photo from ImagR but without pass-through it only takes 8 minutes...(but not the same result ofc) Is it normal to have such a long burning time for such a small image size? I can't even imagine if I burned a 300x200mm photo, it would take me a whole day... Cheers!
@@mrcraftsmith Just to piggyback on to this reply, I noticed after watching this video (Thanks a million by the way, hugely helpful) that even the free online version of ImagR has levels adjustment too. Worth noting. Also just curious if your laser is the 10w or 20w version? Thanks so much for this video. Incredibly helpful
Aside from the fact that I am aching to see the pic of the "Tazzy Devil" and that you admit to "just being lazy" ' which cracked me up hahah, great video Darren. I haven´t tried your techniques yet but will give it a bash at some point. You got a sub and like from me. Cheers dude! (I want to see your Tazzy Devil pic please :) )
Gday Carole - thanks for tuning in - I’ll have to go through the archives and find the Tassie Devil pics - I remember them being a bit of a noisy bunch but pretty cute all the same - thanks for the sub and like 👍
Struggling with the white test. I made the same test pattern in Photoshop from black to white/0 to 100 and for some reason my laser is engraving it all white. Any idea what I'm doing wrong? This is a great video and everything has been a game changer but I can't find my white balance. Any help would be great!
Hey Antony - great question and thanks for watching - I have done a video addressing engraving on wood - ruclips.net/video/kWGfLmt6jpk/видео.html - definitely worth watching - in my opinion at this point I have more work to do to get better results on wood - so keep an eye out in the coming weeks for an update on this 🙂
@@mrcraftsmith In the video, you where on photoshop and you said add a layer, and then adjust the output level to accommodate the lasers capabilities, down from 255 to about 128 i think it was, when i added a layer there was nothing in it, no image at all, but i think i have managed to do it on the original image layer no need to add a layer, going to try the engrave later
How do you do the greyscale in photoshop? Or is there a file you can share? I can't remember if I've seen this concept here or somewhere else,, but with the laser it makes perfect scents. What I mean all grayscale for laser are 100 to 15 percent thanks. For video
Is the slate pretreated? I did a power scale on sanded then clear coated tile, using lightburn power scale generator for the first time, and had some strange outcomes. I like the old way of making my own power scale with shape properties.
I'm sure there are, however I have not had to do any research around that topic as I have had Photoshop for years. Imag-R now has a levels adjustment function, GIMP is an open source program that has similar functionality to Photoshop, you will just need to do further research yourself on those options, good luck :)
Hi. Is it possible to upload the test file for the range of white that the laser is capable of printing? I loved the video but didn’t spot how you created it.
Hi Richard - if you check out my other videos I explain how to create one - I am away on holidays without a computer so I can look when I get back the end of January
Sorry about the delay - my best suggestion is to have a go at making one yourself - otherwise you should be able to use this file - drive.google.com/file/d/1qal-eg1MIKSei1JHdN-U2CqRBTV2Oqem/view?usp=drive_link
@@mrcraftsmith I can't tell you how much I was struggling with this issue. After watcvhing your video, I reopened one of the photos I used for a slate coaster in Paint Shop Pro and made the max and min output changes that my earlier tests showed were the limits of my machine. The results between the new and old coasters are like night and day!
Probably the best and definitely the most helpful explanation of the black art of laser engraving on slate.
Thank you.
Hey there Chris, really appreciate the feedback, glad you found it helpful
Was struggling with slate until I watched your video. You explained everything very well. Thank you for an awesome instructional!!!
You're welcome Chris - I'm glad you found it helpful 👍
Thanks a lot for this information. It was a very detailed insight that every ingraver has their own settings to dile in for best results.
Nothing beats testing yourself but is good to have a guide as to what to look for
If only all the videos on engraving were this good!👍
Well thank you - I appreciate your comment :)
Thank you for the very exhaustive explanation of how to do this. Can't wait to apply this. Look forward to more that you offer. Great JOB!!!
this is so OP I can't believe it, thank you very much for sharing that info!!
thanks for watching and I'm glad you found it helpful :)
Absolutely mind-blowing difference. Thank you for sharing your laboratory work with us.
Thanks Deon - glad you enjoyed the content
Thank you very much for taking the time to experiment, use your resources, film and edit this production.
Hey Richard - hanks for watching - I appreciate the feedback - thank you 😊
The Best Video Ever to show and explain Engraving on Salte Tile, Thanks a lot
Glad you found it helpful Sarmad - thanks for watching 🙂
Brilliant a really helpful video for someone like me who is starting out with their first laser and looking to engrave on tile.
Glad you found it helpful :)
Wow, such excellent descriptions of what you did and why you did it! Thanks from a new laser owner who is in the very early learning process.
Hey there JF - thanks for watching- glad you found it helpful
As a retired pro photog, I picked this up quickly. But I really appreciate the ease of your explanations and instruction. Bravo! And thanks for sharing, ya'll.
Thanks for tuning in Julia - having a photography background helps for sure, happy to be sharing as I learn myself 🙂
Same. Retired Combat Photog. Great explanation!
Just noticed that you can change the levels in ImagR as well
Yes that feature was added after I did this video 😀
Hi. Best instructional video ever. But please can you explain how you setup to print the dynamic range. Thank you
Hi there - thanks for the feedback...appreciated - try this file for the dither test - I have a feeling I have gone through setting up the file in another video - tinyurl.com/mrcraftsmithslatedither254
FANTASTIC I may have to watch this a few times over for it to sink in, it will set my photo engraving on a another level THANK YOU.
Thank you for tuning in - make sure you also check out my latest video which is an update to photo engraving on slate - it dives a bit deeper to help explain some of the limitations we have using diode lasers 🙂
@@mrcraftsmith Thank you I definitely will. and thank you again for helping me understand more about process for photo engraving.
Been struggling with this on the xtool M1 pro and now you sorted it . Great video thankyou
Hi Richard, glad it was helpful :)
Darren, this is exactly the video I wished I would have watched from Day 1. I recently purchased my very first laser (the Roly Lasermatic 20w) and tried my hand at lasering a photo onto a slate coaster tonight. It did not turn out great, but I'm looking forward to trying your great tricks for my next coaster burn tomorrow night. Thank you so much! ~Dale.
Thanks Dale - the Roly Lasermatic looks like a pretty capable machine - I haven't been able to move up to the 20w lasers yet - but is in the goals list for this year - enjoy :)
I'm not tied to this brand, but the LaserMatic is quickly growing into being one of the most sought after laser for home use. They have a 30 watt and are coming out with a new 40 watt soon. Amazing customer support too. It's very common to get a reply from the CEO when you have a question. Thanks again for your great videos, Darren!
Good Morning Darren, I just finished watching your video and as always it was excellent. I’ve been struggling engraving some photos on slate coasters. This info will definitely help me, thank you!.
Well it's 10pm here Dave - and I'm about ready to hit the sack :) - glad you found it worth the watch
Thanks! this worked a treat and has lifted my expectations. only had the Atomstack A5 for a week and was starting to lose faith.
Hey there Robert - appreciate the Superthanks - glad it was helpful for you - stick at it - the learning curve can be challenging but the reward of learning a new skill is worth it
Good job! Thank you! I'm on my way now with the slates I received from an old building.
Thanks Jean-Luc - I want to get hold of some larger tiles to do some bigger work - have fun 🙂
so glad to see a Laser diode vid
Well you hit the nail on the head. by saying do a material test.
every time i get lazy i get poor results, so i cant stress enough, DO the tests.
100% 😀 - thanks for tuning in
Fantastic! Thanks so much for this. I was having so many problems engraving photos and I think I can apply these techniques to other materials as well. Thanks again.
Thanks for the feedback Todd - glad you found it helpful
Thank you so much! You are ther first I have found to go into such detail. This is such a help.
Glad you found it helpful Aaron 🙂
Super video. Great way to tune setting for all projects on all material. Worth the time to perform. Thank you!
Thanks for your comment - glad you found it helpful, I will get around to performing the same tests on wood and white tile for comparison in the coming weeks
Wow, I assume we need a Levels Function :)
well it works for me, I'm sure you can achieve the same results with the tools within Imag-r - I am just 15 years more familiar with photoshop :)
@@mrcraftsmith we will add the levels within the next update. I tested your way and got awesome results.
@@ImagR-Laser I saw your posts in the Facebook group - they look great
This was most informative! Thank you. It made some sense about the dynamic range.
How would I get a 0-100 white to black scale that I can try this on my laser? I am sure each laser will have a different range.
That was awesome, Darren! I haven't tried photos on slate yet, but I've done some on ply that have been only so-so. I'm looking forward to trying these tips and to trying some photos on slate. Excellent explanations of your process; keep up the good work!
Hi there Beverly - Thank you - I appreciate you watching - I haven't tried photos on ply as yet - but am going to give it a go - best of luck with your slate tiles :)
Another great tutorial. Thank you so much for making these.
Thanks Brian - happy it was helpful to you 😀
Thank you Darren, to me this makes perfect sense so I can use this procedure to define my images before I engrave. TBH this feels natural simpler than a lot of other threads I have followed over the last couple of years. I consider myself a novice as I don't get enough time with my laser. I have subscribed.
Thanks for watching - glad it made sense for you. Like yourself, I am very much a novice, I'm in the position currently that I can give it more of my time, so happy to share my findings as I learn myself :)
Can I get the photoshop file for the gradient test from you?
Awesome. That helped me a lot. Thank you for the great video and detailed explanation.
Glad it helped! :)
"The difference is just chalk and cheese" definetly gonna nick that phrase
Haha - no worries Theodore 👍
I am very pleased with all the videos you have made thus far. Your tutorials are clear and easy to follow. I know my way around photoshop a little (very little) and the way you went into the program and explained what you were doing was very easy for me to follow. I was amazed by the improvement. Having programs and knowing how to use them properly really makes a difference. I look forward to seeing more videos from you, keep up the great work. Thanks for sharing 😊
Thank you Ashra - I'm pleased it made sense. I learn new stuff every day, and I'm just wanting to share what I learn, so I appreciate your support, thank you for tuning in :)
Hi Darren
There are two groups of engraving materials that you can work with. One is organic materials such as leather wood and card and these do have a colour range from very dark bown to very light brown (degrees of scorching). The second group is mineral materials that are what I call binary materials. They only produce one colour if you mechanically scratch them or hit them with a laser beam. Slate is one such material. When you fire the laser at it, because it is a silica material , it becomes a little volcano of pale grey glass. When you understand a bit more about how your diode laser works you will discover that the PWM burn dots get bigger as you increase the %power. and also the glass turns a bit yellower. The test pattern you are using from Lightburn is confusing you because there is no grayscale available on slate This pattern is really for organic materials. The the imagR result you get is a dithered image. Image R provides you with a DPI test that much better allows you to choose the best resolution for your images. The lack of dynamic range you see in the imagR slate you created is becuse your grey dots are too big for the resolution you chose.. To get the best image you need to make one grey dot the same size as one white pixel. Its really as simple as that and there is tool in imagerR helps you with that task. The size of your dot detrmines the resolution you can work at so the less power the better because the dots are smaller. see ruclips.net/video/cUlJ4Cy9IsE/видео.html
Best wishes
Thanks for your comment on this - I understand what you are saying, and perhaps my explanation is a little off (relying on my photography background too much) - while technically not a grayscale, there is the appearance of light to dark (grayscale of sorts) within the dither pattern based on the distribution of the dots. With more testing based on a dot grid pattern created in Adobe Illustrator (0.1 x 0.1 mm dot size) I have found some interesting results. I have adjusted power to the minimum to get a consistent pattern from the test and have found that I get seperation on the y-axis but very limited on the x-axis with a 0 degree scan, however when I flip this to a 90 degree scan I'm getting a better "resolution" with more even seperation on both axis'. More testing to do I guess. Again thank you for your feedback it has encouraged me to dig a little deeper.
@@mrcraftsmith
Hi Darren
You may wish to check out your dots with a magnifier for the solution. Most diode lasers start life as a rectangular semiconductor chip and the beam has to be shaped by optical elements within the head. This results in an elliptical beam shape meaning its kerf in X is different to the kerf in Y when you try to cut with it. The most difficult pattern to recreate is dithered mid grey which I created in Photoshop . Its basically a 254ppi chequer board pattern.
Yes I did examine the dots under a loupe that clearly showed the elliptical shape of the dot when using the 0 degree scan, however with the 90 degree scan the dots took on more of a rectangular shape - I’ll have to see if I can take a photo - as would be interested to get your thoughts
Very interesting approach. I have hardly any knowledge of photo adjusting etc. I just adjusted the gamma and contrast. Getting similar results but this is definitely a more scientific approach to the problem 😅 Nice work!
Thank you for your comments. I had seen a bunch of comments in groups that where doing just that, adjusting gamma and contrast, I figured there must be a way to measure the limitation of the laser and my logical brain likes to know the why and how 😃
No Darren. The "proof of the pudding is in the eating" , is the correct quote! Good info otherwise thank you! Very Good.
You're welcome Sputnik, and yes you picked me up on a misquote, however I didn't say who says "the proof is in the pudding" maybe they are not as intelligent as you ;) :D
Great tutorial. I assume you are inverting your gradient test before running it. My main question is your spreadsheet with the dynamic range, are those some arbitrary numbers or are those set numbers we should use and just apply as you did (where the white stops showing a difference when burned on the slate)?
I know this is an old video, but I have a question, the gradient scale you burned onto the tile, is that a file you created or one you downloaded? If it is downloadable, where can I find it. I'm not very well versed in photoshop so I have no clue where to start to create it.
you could try this one - tinyurl.com/mrcraftsmithslatedither254
Great Videos! Yes videos I spent most of yesterday afternoon watching your others. I hoped I help covering part of the cost of the imar software. If you are so inclined can you please provide a link to it? I would rather own it then lease it. Thanks again.
Again thank you Ed - I hope you got something out of my other videos as well - as for pricing on Imagr - it is a subscription model as with most software these days - so if you feel you will get the benefit from it then for sure it is a good program - I didn't renew my subscription as my work tends to be more design based than image engraving - here is the link to the website showing pricing www.imag-r.com/pricing
Incredible video, would the process be the same for black granite? Using an XTool F1 Ultra with a dual 20w Fiber and Diode. Many thanks!
Lucky you Francis with the F1 Ultra :) - yep the process would be the same for black granite
Very cool and useful tips. I appreciate you explaining it like your talking to a toddler because I have dabbled with polarr but I'm not too great at editing photos. Would you mind uploading your dynamic range test file somewhere for us?
Hi Brandon thanks for the feedback - I'm away from my computer for the next week - but when I'm back I'll get something to you
this file should work tinyurl.com/mrcraftsmithslatedither254
I've had loads of problems engraving slate unless it's straight black/white vector images. I've tried and failed many times with image engraving. Being a photographer like yourself, my slates looked washed out and basically only good for the bin. I'm going to try this out and (fingers crossed) it helps. Subbed and liked
Hi Dean - yep vectors are pretty straight forward but mastering photo engraving is an ongoing process for sure 🙂Thanks for the like and sub 👍
Really great video, thanks! Do you coat the finished product with anything?
Hi Peter - thanks for watching - I will precoat with satin finish
@@mrcraftsmith so precoat with satin, and then laser, and then leave the etched area uncoated? Thanks!
@@PeterNLewis yep precoat seems to work better for me - uncoated are post laser is fine
Nice work mate. Quick question. Did you paint the slate. Or was it just a normal black slate. And also what do I use to seal it. Thanks keep up the good work
Thanks for watching - the tile was not painted but did have a light coat of satin varnish - I spray the tile before I engrave - just personal preference
Hi Darren, this is great thanks. Could you explain how to do it with a freeware tool like Gimp?
I'm sorry but I haven't used gimp, however I would assume it has a levels adjustment similar to Photoshop
Great video I am using a AlgoLaser Delta 22w laser and understood I should be using mm/ second however yo are using mm/minute I am very new to this I am a photographer so I understand the dynamic rage so any advice would be grate thank you Mark
Hi Mark - I guess the common thread I have seen is mm/min for diode generally as they are slower than CO2 - but use what you are comfortable with and just remember to convert if required
Do you have the gradient file avail for download? I have been trying to do images on slate for ever and this video is the best showing how to do it
Hi Jim - thanks for reaching out - I think this is the file you are after - let me know - tinyurl.com/digitalbaristagradients
Darren, I just found you on RUclips tonight. I have watched a lot of people doing laser burning on RUclips, but some just seem to relate to me better than others. You, Sir, are one of those that “click” maybe it is the photography background. Can you tell me where you got the grayscale file you had in photoshop? I don’t see why your method ( which is the best I have seen) can not be applied to most other mediums I can laser!
Hey Phillip - thanks for taking the time to give me your feedback, very much appreciated - the grayscale range was created by myself in Photoshop. Yep I have used this method for NWT (Norton White Tile) as well
That was excellent, just wondering where you got your greyscale image for photoshop. Looking forward to more of your videos
Hi William - thanks for watching :) - I created the greyscale myself in photoshop - I just adujsted the colour in HSB settings "B" for black and change the percentage - hope that helps - I can do a really quick video if that helps?
@@mrcraftsmith That would be very helpful
@@mrcraftsmith Yes the vid will help, because I to was wondering where to locate it. TIA
@@ashracampbell-clarke1887 I will post up something in the next couple of days - keep an eye out for it :)
Great explanation Darren, love these tutorials. Thanks for putting them together. I am new to the laser hobby world. Having a diode laser myself I am watching loads of videos at present. Question. Where are you finding the slate coasters in Australia? I am in FNQ. Cheers. Robert.
Hey there Robert - thanks for tuning in - I ended up getting the coasters at Rinkit - just google them and should come up - I got square and round ones - works out about $1 each
Spot on Daz just what the Dr ordered thank you
You’re welcome Tim
Awesome stuff thanks so much , this method should work on wood and maybe other material if yiu do the tests as shown ?
Thank you for watching - you’re absolutely welcome and I’m glad you got something out of it - I’m in a time poor situation at present but I will be doing similar testing on wood and white tile - hoping to record the Norton White Tile video today fingers crossed
Thank you for watching - you’re absolutely welcome and I’m glad you got something out of it - I’m in a time poor situation at present but I will be doing similar testing on wood and white tile - hoping to record the Norton White Tile video today fingers crossed
Well, its an eye opening video!! Nice approach. But can i ask something? For ppl like me, that are not photographers, is there a away to do what you do on a free platform or program like Gimp?
Thanks for the feedback - my understanding is that Gimp has similar layer functionality as Photoshop so you should be able to do so, however I have never used Gimp, so I am not 100% sure. Sorry I couldn't be more helpful. Imagr now has similar functionality and you can get a free trial to see if it of value to you.
@@mrcraftsmith we thank you m8,cause you give us an other point of view. You see ,there are ppl out there,like me ,that have no clue about photography in general. My background is from a designer's point of view ,since is am a civil engineer. So its nice to see your approach. Thanks for your time :)
@@papadopoulosantonis55 you are most welcome 😃
Hi, great video. I don’t subscribe to photoshop and I’m a Mac user - what alternatives are there for adjusting the “output levels”? Thanks.
Imag-r now offers levels adjustment - they offer a free trial
Just installed gimp and that also supports output levels - yet to try it though....@@mrcraftsmith
Wow, that was amazing
Thank you :)
Thanks for the video. Is this 10w laser? Does gimp work for changing the white level?
Yep this was done on the Ortur LM3 10w - as for Gimp I would assume it does but I don't have enough experience with it to be certain
wow'ish how amazaing You explain everything
thank you for tuning in :)
Great videos, how long did this take at these settings.
thanks for watching - from memory about 30 minutes I think
Great video! Will this dithering test patern work for the Norton White Tile Method?
it should do yes - however because with NWT the laser produces black rather than white the blackpoint would be the adjustment required not the white point :)
That’s a great tutorial, thank you
Hey Luke - appreciate you tuning in - glad it was helpful to you.
could you do a video on how to create that graytscale chart, and exactly how you IMAG-r processed it and loaded it into lightburn? mine keeps going wonky
how do you mean "going wonky" so I better understand your problem? I have stopped using IMAG-r and I believe it has now incorporated the levels function
@@mrcraftsmith it’s just never shaded right; either way too dark or way too light,
Thanks thanks thanks!! This video was worth its weight in gold
Glad you found it helpful
Excellent and subed. One question, where did you get that grey scale scale from? I need to do this on my lasers......
I made the file myself in Photoshop - this one might work for you - tinyurl.com/mrcraftsmithdither
Sorry to sound thick
Is it the 10w laser
Do I need to alter every photo in gimp before adding to image r or once done can yiu just use the settings automatically or do yiu need to do this process every time
Hey Steven - yes it's a 10w laser - as far as processing - that will be independent based on the photo you are wanting to engrave, however the "dynamic range" that your laser will be able to distinguish should not change, the only variables will be the image and the material you are engraving
@@mrcraftsmith thanks I will watch the video again tonight and see what happens
Just spent 6 hrs trying yesterday with lightburn but a better burn with image r
Is there a way to change the dynamic range without photoshop?
Enjoyed your presentation
Just got the end of your video and you suggest gimp as a free option
Yeah gave you a thumbs up
Gday Dave - thanks for watching - I haven't personally used Gimp - but functionality wise I believe it is similar - the other option would be Imag-r - now has introduced levels adjustment as per this video :)
@@mrcraftsmith I redid a photo on slate adjusting white balance using Imagr
Chalk and cheese. Thank you
Excellent Dave
great videos chap just wondering what settings to use with my foxalien laser with 5.5w output using lightburn to get the best results and also what scale would you recommend ie. greyscale etc. sorry also the slate will be coated with a matt varnish first
Hey there Mick - thanks for watching - I can’t really answer your question regarding settings for your particular laser - you will need to do some material tests as shown in the video - in your case if you use the 7x7 grid that I have shown you might need to run 2 coasters - at least then you will have a better understanding of your laser - and once you have the ideal engrave setting do the greyscale and I’m sure you will see similar results - when photo engraving it uses a dither pattern which is a bunch of dots and the density of the dots determines the perceived greyscale - you will just have to runs the tests to find out the best results for your laser - and yes I clear coat the coaster before engraving - hope that helps
Hi Darren. Great video. Is there anyway to do this without photoshop?
Hi Adam - I believe you can do a similar effect directly in imagr software - the other alternative would be Gimp which is open source - but I have never used that program so I couldn't direct you with that one
Thanks again Darren.
@@Truthhurts230 - no worries :)
Nice work! Thank you!
You’re welcome Daniel - thanks for watching 🙂
Hi Daren, thank you very much for your video, it was a great help!!! However, I have a problem with the engraving time: for a 60x40mm photo I have a huge engraving time with the "pass-through" option -> 40 minutes estimated at a speed of 5000mm/min but in reality for the engraving to finish it takes 5 times longer i.e. 2h30...
Whereas if I burn the same photo from ImagR but without pass-through it only takes 8 minutes...(but not the same result ofc)
Is it normal to have such a long burning time for such a small image size? I can't even imagine if I burned a 300x200mm photo, it would take me a whole day...
Cheers!
that does sound odd - can you screenshot your settings?
Hi, great video. Do you know if the “levels” adjustment can be done in lightroom classic (or even apple photos)?
in Lightroom you could experiment with Black Levels - but it's just a slider
@@mrcraftsmith Just to piggyback on to this reply, I noticed after watching this video (Thanks a million by the way, hugely helpful) that even the free online version of ImagR has levels adjustment too. Worth noting. Also just curious if your laser is the 10w or 20w version? Thanks so much for this video. Incredibly helpful
Aside from the fact that I am aching to see the pic of the "Tazzy Devil" and that you admit to "just being lazy" ' which cracked me up hahah, great video Darren. I haven´t tried your techniques yet but will give it a bash at some point. You got a sub and like from me. Cheers dude! (I want to see your Tazzy Devil pic please :) )
Gday Carole - thanks for tuning in - I’ll have to go through the archives and find the Tassie Devil pics - I remember them being a bit of a noisy bunch but pretty cute all the same - thanks for the sub and like 👍
This info is pure Gold!
Thanks for watching and happy you got something out of it 🙂
Super helpful!! Thank you!!
Where did you get the color chart?
G'day Scott - I created it in Photoshop
this is such a helpful video !
thanks - glad you found it helpful
lots to learn.
As have we all Merrill 😀
How can I get/create the gradient test?
the gradient was created in Photoshop - if you do not have access to Photoshop to create it - try this file - tinyurl.com/mrcraftsmithslatedither254
13.29.. Did you invert the greyscale before you burnt it, as my one comes out opposite to yours ?
Yes the image is inverted as the laser marks white on slate
this App is a dream, thanks for sharing :)
You're welcome 😊
Thank you , this is amazing
You're welcome Jacque 🙂
Struggling with the white test. I made the same test pattern in Photoshop from black to white/0 to 100 and for some reason my laser is engraving it all white. Any idea what I'm doing wrong? This is a great video and everything has been a game changer but I can't find my white balance. Any help would be great!
Did you do a material test first in Lightburn to find the optimum engrave settings
Hi thanks for such a great tip, do you think this will help on wood?
Hey Antony - great question and thanks for watching - I have done a video addressing engraving on wood - ruclips.net/video/kWGfLmt6jpk/видео.html - definitely worth watching - in my opinion at this point I have more work to do to get better results on wood - so keep an eye out in the coming weeks for an update on this 🙂
@@mrcraftsmith Hi darren will definateley be watching, what version of Photoshop where you using? and do the newer versions have the same tool?
Hi Antony - I’m on the latest version of PS - what tool do you mean?
@@mrcraftsmith In the video, you where on photoshop and you said add a layer, and then adjust the output level to accommodate the lasers capabilities, down from 255 to about 128 i think it was, when i added a layer there was nothing in it, no image at all, but i think i have managed to do it on the original image layer no need to add a layer, going to try the engrave later
How do you do the greyscale in photoshop? Or is there a file you can share? I can't remember if I've seen this concept here or somewhere else,, but with the laser it makes perfect scents. What I mean all grayscale for laser are 100 to 15 percent thanks. For video
Thanks for watching - I’ll put together a quick tutorial in the next couple of days explaining how to do it 🙂
Is the slate pretreated? I did a power scale on sanded then clear coated tile, using lightburn power scale generator for the first time, and had some strange outcomes. I like the old way of making my own power scale with shape properties.
This was really helpful thanks
You’re welcome - thanks for watching
Is this experiment can be apply in wood material.?
Wood reacts differently to slate, however similar principles apply
Gave a like a sub after this. Super helpful!
Hey there Chris - appreciate the support 👍 Glad you found it helpful
How could i get a copy of that gradient test?
I think this is the file you are after - let me know - tinyurl.com/digitalbaristagradients
Chalk and cheese? Love it.
Thank you
Awesome!!! Engineering thanks!!!
Hey there Chuck - thanks for watching
Hello. Please could I ask if there is another photo editing program I could do this on other than photoshop?
I'm sure there are, however I have not had to do any research around that topic as I have had Photoshop for years. Imag-R now has a levels adjustment function, GIMP is an open source program that has similar functionality to Photoshop, you will just need to do further research yourself on those options, good luck :)
I'm unable to find it but did you share somewhere your excel document?
Where can I find the gradient scale?
Man... THANK YOU❤
You're welcome
How can i get a copy of the grayscale image you used?
My first suggestion Lesley would be to ask nicely ;) - in any event try this file tinyurl.com/mrcraftsmithslatedither254
I see a lot of people spraying urethane on the slates before engraving. You don't do that? Is it not necessary?
I probably didn't for this test, but yes I do spray lightly before, it seems to increase the contrast somewhat - thanks for watching
Where could I download that gradient test template?
sorry for the delay Sebi - this might be the file you are after drive.google.com/file/d/1qal-eg1MIKSei1JHdN-U2CqRBTV2Oqem/view?usp=sharing
sorry for the delay Sebi - this might be the file you are after drive.google.com/file/d/1qal-eg1MIKSei1JHdN-U2CqRBTV2Oqem/view?usp=sharing
Hi. Is it possible to upload the test file for the range of white that the laser is capable of printing? I loved the video but didn’t spot how you created it.
Hi Richard - if you check out my other videos I explain how to create one - I am away on holidays without a computer so I can look when I get back the end of January
Where can I get a grayscale chart like that?
Sorry about the delay - my best suggestion is to have a go at making one yourself - otherwise you should be able to use this file - drive.google.com/file/d/1qal-eg1MIKSei1JHdN-U2CqRBTV2Oqem/view?usp=drive_link
Thankyou so helpful
Glad it was helpful!
Thanks!
G’day Sam - thank you 🙏 - hope you found the content helpful
@@mrcraftsmith I can't tell you how much I was struggling with this issue. After watcvhing your video, I reopened one of the photos I used for a slate coaster in Paint Shop Pro and made the max and min output changes that my earlier tests showed were the limits of my machine. The results between the new and old coasters are like night and day!
That’s an awesome outcome 👍