A frosted mark on clear glass reads as light. That flips the logic of an ordinary photo.
Reviewed by the Vextrify team, tested in our own laser workshops · Updated · How we test
Try Vextrify freeThe engraved area turns frosted and white. Where the picture should look bright, the glass must be engraved; where it should look dark, it stays clear. That is the reverse of burning a photo into wood, so the file is usually a negative. Glass is also usually engraved as a negative or from the back, depending on the object.
Photo Studio has a clear glass profile and a frosted glass profile among its 12 material profiles, and both invert by default. Each sets starting brightness, contrast and gamma and suggests a dithering method. Use the live preview and the ten dithering methods plus grayscale to compare. If a file looks wrong on the glass, the Invert control flips it.
A frosted mark on glass is a texture, so soft mid-tones turn into a grey haze that lacks edge. Give the subject strong contours, remove a distracting background, and avoid large flat grey areas. Closed shadows in the source become solid patches, and dot gain spreads the mark, so check the preview before engraving.
Glass cannot be undone. Engrave a material test grid on scrap glass of the same type, choose the best field, and engrave a small version of the photo before the customer piece. No settings are given here because they depend on your machine, and a laser that can mark glass at all depends on your setup.
Usually yes. The engraved area is a frosted white mark, so bright parts of the picture are the parts you engrave. Vextrify's clear and frosted glass profiles both invert by default.
Glass is often engraved from the back, depending on the object. Test on scrap to see how the mark looks from the viewing side.
Soft mid-tones become a hazy texture on glass. Strengthen the contours, calm the background and check the preview. For other flat results see the muddy-photo page.