Rockwerks Lapidary Forum

A freind of mine has a graphics business and he recently got a laser setup. We wre experimenting with it on stones and cabs. Here is a picture of my grand daughter on a common river rock.

My question is: Does anyone think this a very marketable type of item? We have tried it on a slab of polished Obsidian with not so good results, but with further work we think it will work. He also has some coloring that he can make a colored image on white or clear, but this is still in development.
Bob

Bob,

That's really interesting. If it can be done cheaply enough to make a profit I think it would sell.

Find a rock the process works best on & rock-n-roll!

You can print on rocks??!! COOL!! I think it looks cool. I can't answer your question because I have the business sense of a squirrel but I say GO for it!!

What if you printed on the back side of a clear agate and viewed the pic through the stone? It might print better on the back if you don't take it to full polish??

Good luck!!

[font=Comic Sans MS]Is this an etching or a deposition process? It reminds me of cameo. The detail is quite good, almost photographic. I can imagine a booth at a show, where you produce these to order while the customer waits. I can also imagine producing them with standard images for sale as souvenir worry stones or business promotions. If the process is applicable to glass, there are also possibilities in glass art and small window and mirror panes. Even custom ceramic tile. The final determinant of marketability is, as Steve mentions, the cost versus price balance. Remember, these are vanity items and are bought with discretionary purchasing power. [/font]

This is a process where the image is etched into the rock, glass, ceramic, whatever. I doubt whether there is much limitation in the receptpor material. This particular image wasn't that good because I scanned the photo and sent it to him electronically. If I had taken it in high resolution it would have beem much better. There is some time consuming effort to isolate the image to be etched but I'm not sure how much, nor am I sure how long the etching process takes. I had him use a polished Obsidian surface and a sanded Obsidian piece. Neither worked as good as this, but it was a matter of having a better detailed image and adjustment of the power levels. Both he and I are in the early learning stages at this point.
Bob

My husband tried to sell something where photos were applied to plates, did not go over very big because people had trouble selecting photos.

A friend etched petroglyphs onto rocks and tried to sell them, sold a few but not enough to be worth the trouble. But it was to a general market.

If you advertised on places us rock nuts frequent, it could do all right. I'd like a thing like that. Target rock people, not the rest of the world.

I've seen this done with wood and other materials but not on rock. I think its a good idea. Where you might be able to really make a good dollar is putting logos on them. We get tons of mail from companies trying to sell us everything from pens to bowling balls with our logo on them. What do you think the price point would be for putting someones picture on a rock?

That is a cool idea Bob. I saw a business card made from a sheet of wood veneer, clear coated. Maybe a rock business card?
Dan

Thanks for all of the input and ideas. In tests so far black agate (onyx) works the best. Obsidian has minute fractures where the laser impacts the surface; probably heat fractures. I cabbed a rounded square about 16mm on a side and had my friend do an image of my youngest grand daughter and it came out fairly well given the fact that she has black hair. This size is about the minimum size to be seen well for a pendant. The concept is to etch images from the customer's digital (or scanned) photograph on a cab for setting as a ring or pendant. Obviously these are custom pieces not mass produced. No prices have been established as yet until the material and process is fully refined.
Bob

Ack! Goofed my last reply and lost it.

Bob, I just wanted to tell you that I think this could be very marketable. My first thoughts after seeing this were 'memory jewels.' I think of all the people out there with vials of their loved ones ashes hanging around their neck - which kind of creeps me out though I can appreciate the sentiment behind it. I also think of the glass artist out there who make glass cabochons with the ashes of a loved one sealed inside. Now imagine combining the glass cabochons with a photographic image of the loved one on the front of the stone - talk about fully customized memory jewelry. I think that this could be a very marketable idea in this specialized market. Of course the key to success would be in marketing the idea ... but this is such a specialized market that the competition would not be as great as it would be in a more general market, which is a plus.

I personally find this idea inspiring. I can think of a few people whom I would like to provide a memory pendant for (sans the ashes, even). Do you have any idea what it might cost to get you to etch some pendant sized cabochons with a photographic image for me? Are you far enough along in the process to be able to calculate the cost of custom work in this regard yet? I would love to know more.

Thanks for the inspiration!
Delia Stone
Unique jewelry and tutorials
www.DeliaStone.com