This is a great start, can’t wait to see how it turns out.
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Yes this is a very unexpected outcome as my initial intent was to just dial in contrast settings and get a sense of how good the definition of the file was. It is fun when something totally unexpected and cool happens by accident. I mean, the result makes sense in hind sight but I was stunned to realize that the paper was perforated by thousands of pin holes.
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Maybe try putting bright color or even white card stock behind it and see what backlighting that looks like? Lots of experiments just waiting to happen for showing this fragile piece off. Looks amazing …and I agree…experiments that produce unexpected outcomes are fantastic and fun.
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How neat to have your test piece turn out as an additional artwork! Please post photos of your final display - I’m sure it will be cool!
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It is great when you have Eureka moments.
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Nice! I think the idea of evenly diffused backlighting would rock that, but it stands well on its own.
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I am going to re-cut the first one to a larger size. Hopefully the magic scales well. If you examine the finished item it does not look like paper, but cloth of sorts. Almost like gauze.
I will play with lighting.
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I’d be afraid to breathe around it…very cool effect!
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Hi Jules, I just cut another one, about 9 X 12 inches. The engraved piece is delicate with respect to losing super fine detail if you are rough with it, but still has quite a fibrous toughness from the paper.
I will post a picture of that one in a bit. The larger one turned out nice, but it has lost a bit of the sharpness & crispness. I am going to try one around 6 X 8 size. There is a bit of back flash on the reverse side, but it does not show from the front. I am loathe to put something under it as it is a long print and I do not want a fire
With dark blue backlight… using a patch of colour on my monitor
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Ohh how awesome is that and very unique!!
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Finally a good reason to use the dot style engraving over the vary power. Interesting result.
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I have done only very limited engraving, should play with vary power.
Well with vary power you can get really refined results in paper.
The dot overburn issue gave you really cool results though.
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Wow, I had not bumped into that post! I’m going down that rabbit hole!
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I posted pictures of the finished art at the top of the thread. The Rosewood frame was a pleasure to make, but I did find out from the seller of the wood that the dust is nasty; carcinogenic apparently. But then so are many other forms of sawdust… Rosewood sands very nicely. I have some left to try
engraving on.
Also, I tried out the Trial features to engrave the back. I liked the Text tool a lot, and found a nice clip art of the Eiffel tower too. If the Premium features are not too pricey I think I would subscribe.
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It looks gorgeous! I’m betting it will be well loved 
Her B’day is still a month away, as you can see by the engrave. I just wanted to get this completed and it is done early. I am hopful that she will love it. It looks “store bought” LOL. I am thinking of other things to make for birthday gifts. Sometimes homemade is kind of cheesy, but the laser engraves so crisp and sharp. It still impresses me everytime I weed an engrave on Maple.
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@gewubs, would you mind sharing your setting in a “Beyond the Manual” post linked to this one please? This looks like a rather promising technique.
Gotta love fabulous unintended results!
I read through the comments but I may have missed it if anybody suggested this already.
For a backlight - you can find “cheap” used or broken old tablets and phones on ebay that you can hack apart. Behind the screen will be a light element (sometimes a bar, sometimes many little LEDS) and several layers of fresnel lenses. You could take out that portion and keep the light on with some tinkering.
Alternatively - there are backlit photo frames out there… on second thought, that might be easier. 
Really awesome though, I love it and I’m gonna steal it! 
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