While tile can be difficult to engrave because of the lack of definition when engraved, we found some tiles that created interesting effects with the laser. Terracotta tile created a rich, brown engraving, while some Italian marble and porcelain tiles created a nice, understated engraving.
Buy some tiles from a home supply store, and see which ones work best for you!
Materials:
tile (terracotta, porcelain, marble, mosaic). The tile we used for the samples is from Home Depot's flooring department
TerraCotta (Saltillo Tile)
Mosaic Tile Porcelain (Daltile - Mardi Gras)
Italian Marble (Rosa Perlino)
grout
Files: Right click the file below and choose "Save target as." Open the file in CorelDraw 8 or later.
Setting up your files
When you open the file in CorelDRAW, you will see three different sizes of boxed displays. This is to show the options for setting up your page depending on the size of tile you have bought. For example you can do 4 pieces at a time each tile piece being 4 x 4, or you can do one piece at a time 6 x 6 or two 12 x 12 pieces.
2)
Set up your page to the size or pieces of tile you will be working with. Next, create a box to the size of your tile.
3)
Choose your graphics and place them in the boxes you have created. All files are Raster. Set your "printer" settings at the appropriate settings for page size, click on Raster only and we did our pieces on a 35 watt system with a Speed of 10% to 15% and Power to 100%. The settings will vary for Speed and Power depending on the wattage of the machine and how dark or light you want your images to appear on the tile.
4)
Depending on how you are utilizing your tile whether its for a floor or wall or simply something artistic will be how you put all your pieces together. You may want to visit your local home improvement store for floors and walls.
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