Wow. These are stunning.
Yeah, gorgeous job!
I love these too.
Wow lucymood Fantastic work… love them all !
Are you vectoring your file or is this based off an image? If image, are you using dots or vary power? I have two clients interested in doing their picture on glass so I’m trying to figure out my process.
They are images. I use dots because glass doesn’t respond well to variations in power. It either shows or not. When you are editing an image it is important to have real black and white with few shades of grey in between. The differences in greys can be difficult to differentiate in the etching. Sometimes I will try Posterizing the image to 5 layers max. I suggest playing with the image on used glass or cheap door mirrors in order to get a feel for the finished product. Playing around with LPI can also help. I find that 125 is the highest I’ll go. You can’t see the lines, but it’s easier to see some of the grey contrasts. Have fun!
2 Likes
What do you use to coat your glass and mirrors? Thank you!
No coating. Just the glass. Just take some old glass or broken mirror, a simple image with few variations of grey, and play around with it. I just use etching, not scoring, because I would expect the glass to crack with too high a score setting. Strength settings at 80 - 90 and speed below 1000, but it depends on the image and glass.
3 Likes
Your work is beautiful. I am new to all of this with a laser engraver and all the programs that are used to create photos for engraving/etching. I am reading an looking for suggestions to learn. Thank you for posting your work and settings. I appreciate all of it. Lisa
Love them!!!
Hi! These are gorgeous! I have a drawing I really would love to use this technique on. I’m unfamiliar with posterizing an image. Is this done in Illustrator? If I could do this technique to this picture my son really likes, he would really love it. Just wanted to know what program you used, so I could see if I can figure it out. I’ve engraved on glass spice jars but nothing advanced like your creations.
I do everything on my iPad pro. I have a drawing App called Artstudio Pro which I use for everything non-vector related. It has all sorts of variations and levels that allow for unlimited editing of images. Any image editor would probably work though. Its output is just for engraving. I then export the image to Dropbox and download from there to a different laptop that is dedicated to the Glowforge.
When you are just getting started find some cheap glass and experiment with image settings and Glowforge settings. The plates I use are from a second hand thrift type store and are very cheap for experimenting. And when they work out they are a lot of fun for actual use!
2 Likes
Hi Jules
Any suggestions when I engrave the glass it comes out white but then the glass starts to chip away. I clean out all the chipped glass and I’m left with the engraving but not as much contrast. Followed your settings and used dish soap and without soap.
Thanks! Love your help here you have saved me a few times just in your comments and posts!
There are lots of discussions about engraving glass. Here is a recent thread: Engraving on glass - peeling?
2 Likes
Honestly? I switched to Etching Cream. 
1 Like
Apologies…somehow I missed your post until a year later! Good idea on the thrift store! I will see if any of the programs I have will work or hopefully find something like that for my use.
Such a good tip on the thrift shop; I tend to forget to check those for experimental uses and there is probably a good supply of them. Thank you!
I recently engraved shot glasses. My settings were
Speed:800
FULL POWER
340 Lines
3 passes
I also used painters tape to mask the glass. I heard that was ideal to prevent cracking.
6 Likes
looks great.
I did my glasses with some dishsoap on them. They have been a big hit so far. Both styles.
I did the tall tapered ones, and the Barconic square ones.
Welcome to the forum.
Thanks for sharing your settings and results.