[SEL] New pages/brass plates

[Dave Otto]

Jerry Evans wrote;

> Hi Dave,
>          Thanks for the comments. I looked at your tag - really nice.
>          Your method is very similar to how I produce my artwork. The main
> difference is that I first edit the bitmap to end up with a clean black
> and
> white copy. I then use a CAS programme to "vectorise" or "trace" it and
> give me lines instead of pixels. I them take this into my CAD programme
> and
> enlarge it many times. The imperfections are then very noticeable. I then
> redraw the whole thing (using it as you describe as a drawing board) over
> this vectorised image and smooth everything out. Finally I reduce it to
> actual size and this is what I use to make my etching mask.
>          The etching process is easy and no secrets - it is the same
> process used to produce printed circuit boards using Ferric Chloride. The
> masking system I use is also readily available but not normally used for
> this process and normally used in a different industry. I just developed a
> way to use it for this application and would rather not make it public
> knowledge.
>          I will in due course write a page about making these tags.
> 
> 

Hi Jerry 

Thanks for the information and the complement on my Falk tag. Fortunately on
both of the tags I have done, I had access to a nice original tag. I just
put these on a flat bed scanner and scanned then at the highest resolution
possible then saved it as a Tiff file. I'm able to import the tiff directly
into AutoCAD. The high resolution tiff gives you the ability to zoom into
parts of a letter with incredible detail.  The picture file I use for the
Falk tag was 60 megabytes. The picture is never vectorised, it is on a
separate drawing layer and only used as a template to create the vector
data. 

Keep up the great work,

Dave



Dave Otto
Boise, Id
USA
Dotto at velocitus.net
http://community.webshots.com/user/otto1960