Question: How do you fit a 4-foot-wide mural into a2-foot-wide laser engraver? Sounds like a trick question, doesn’t it, but it really isn’t. Creating a mural forlaser engraving is really just a process

As we discuss the process, you will find that the more challengingarea will be in the art preparation and the easy part will be in actually doing the laser engraving. There are several key componentsto consider when starting on a large mural project. The media that you will be engraving on is a good place to start. Wood,acrylic, ceramic tile and granite tiles are all excellent media types to consider for big projects. Out of these for materials I would saythat ceramic tile coated with CerMark and black granite tiles are the most popular. Each of these materials gives a rich look andachieves excellent resolution for clarity and detail. Tiles sizes for mural projects range in size from 4, 6 and up to 12 inch squares.

The image to be engraved also plays a key role in the preparationfor a mural project. A typical image for stretching to several feet in width should be large in dimensional size and large inDPI. If you have worked with larger images previously, you know that if an image is large in dimension and DPI it will be large inmemory size as well. It is common to resample images up 40 Mb or more for a 4-foot-wide project.

To maintain pixel integrity of large images, all sizing and DPIchanges to an image should be done in Photo Paint or Photoshop using the Resample Tool. Stretching an image in CorelDraw bygrabbing one of the corners and dragging it to make the image larger on the page will lead to a lot of wasted time and materialtrying to achieve adequate engraving quality.

A TIGER SIZED MURAL

The project that we will use to illustrate the mural process willbe to engrave an image of a tiger to create a 24 inch x 24 inch project made of 12 inch square granite tiles. The image of thetiger has been resampled to 24 x 24 inches with a DPI of 250.

The image was then processed in PhotoGrav software toenhance the detail and improve the engraving quality. PhotoGrav adds edge enhancement and has powerful halftone generatorsthat create a realistic-looking engraving with some real pop.

The processed image from PhotoGrav is now imported intoCorelDraw and will need to be cut up into four 12x12 images. Like most projects in CorelDraw, there are several ways to slicethe image up but the method I like to use starts with the Graph Paper tool.

The Graph Tool is an easy way to cut a large mural image into smaller sections for engraving.

The Graph Paper tool can be found on the fly out for thePolygon tool on the tool bar. After selecting the Graph Paper tool, set the Columns and Rows to a value of 2. This will create a graph of four squares. Size the graph to match your mural size of 24 x 24 inches.

Now select the processed image andgo to Effects > Power Clip > Place in Container. The Place in Container feature willbring up a large arrow. Click the large arrow and it will automatically put theprocessed image into each of the 4 squares of the graph paper.

The final step to the process is to goto Arrange > Ungroup All. After clicking on ungroup all, you will find that theengraving image is in four 12 x 12 inch pieces. The outline on the outside of eachsquare is easily removed by right clicking on the X at the top of your color palette.

Each piece of 12x12 engraving imagecan be moved to the top left of your page in CorelDraw. Engrave one of the fourpieces of the engraving image at a time.

The Bronze CerMark Tile Marking Solution creates excellent detail on white ceramic tile.

ADDING COLOR FOR PIZZAZZ

Granite is a great material for creatinglarge murals. The smooth black stone is polished and provides excellent engravingcontrast. Adding color to stone creates even more pop to the engraving detailsfrom the laser. Color fills for stone materials should be specially formulated andbe UV stable for outdoor durability.

Applying the color is simple andrequires flooding the area of the engraving. The color fill product will soak into thestone after only a few seconds. Wipe off any excess color-fill material before itdries and you are done. The effect is outstanding and adds a professional look toyour engraved mural.

Outdoor memorial murals can be made with Black CerMarkTile Marking Solution on white tile from a home center.

MAKING MURALS

How do you get more interest in muralprojects? Make a sample for your showroom or post some photos on your website.Customers appreciate seeing a sample to get their wheels turning. Take the time tolearn the process of preparing artwork for murals, and in no time it will become assimple as any other laser engraving project.