When it comes to awards and gifts, nothing quite compares to glass and crystal. If you take a look at some of the products that major suppliers of glass and crystal are offering, you will no doubt agree that the pieces available today are stunning. Many of them are indeed works of art and even the more simple designs have great aesthetic appeal. And most award and gift buyers will agree. There is no question that these are items that will be displayed in a home or office.
Glass and crystal products can be personalized using several different techniques, including mechanical engraving, laser engraving and sandblasting. Each of these marking methods has advantages and disadvantages, but most experts in this area say that sandblasting, more commonly referred to as “sandcarving” in this industry, is by far the preferred method for the most professional results.
Sandcarving involves using compressed air to force a stream of abrasive through a nozzle and onto the glass to etch or carve a design. Versatility and superior end results are the primary reasons for choosing this marking method for personalizing glass products.
With sandcarving, you can achieve just about any look you want on any type of glass or crystal, whether it’s lightly frosted images on jade glass or deeply etched designs on optical crystal. Sandcarving results in very smooth, crisp lines as it does not fracture the glass like other engraving methods, which can result in chips or cracks on the edge of etched lines. You can also create three-dimensional effects by carving in stages, with each stage becoming progressively deeper. With an appropriate stencil, you can even reproduce a realistic halftone image into glass, such as the face of a person or pet or a photo of a building.
Sandcarving is also a very versatile process. It works well on all types of glass, but you are not restricted to personalizing just glass with your equipment. You can virtually sandcarve on any hard surface, including metal, granite, tile and stones. Generally speaking, if a photo resist stencil can be applied to the material, you can sandcarve it.
