⬆️ Click to enlarge.
Welcome to October! And welcome to a sneak peak of our latest keepsake personalization option…laser engraving and gilding of our Crystal Clear Resin Keepsakes. Keepsake Floral has offered glass engraving for years, which can be displayed on any of our keepsakes, really. The addition of the beautiful professional engraving on our resin keepsake selections certainly sets Keepsake’s resin art apart from hobbyists working from their homes.
Keepsake Floral has partnered with a local laser engraving artist whose company will transpose the artwork selected by our clients onto their original resin castings. As we do for our current glass etching, the artists at Keepsake Floral provide a large selection of monogram designs, font choices and combinations for our clients to select their personalized message, date, and family and married names. Simple line artwork can also be transposed into a laser engraving on resin as well.
The engraving process itself is fascinating to watch. All driven by a computerized system, it requires precision placement of the resin item and an exact calibration of laser beam pressure to ensure a consistent and quality result. The engraving artist lines up the artwork in her specialized software program, lines up the resin piece perfectly within the high tech engraving “printer,” checks, double checks and takes precise measurements before beginning the laser engraving process.
The laser beam can be visibly seen during the process, and, like a beam of fire, “burns” the surface of the smooth resin, leaving behind a textured surface which becomes the actual engraved surface. The lens through which the laser beam shines is calibrated and focused depending on the pressure needed to create the etched surface. Watching the laser etching process is like watching something out of a sci fi movie!
Depending on how large or complex the artwork design is, the laser engraving process itself can take from just a few minutes to as many as 30. The engraving artist monitors the engraving process itself from start to finish, and reviews the engraving before removing it from the “printer,” providing the opportunity for another pass by the focused laser beam if necessary.
The laser engraving itself may be the ultimate finish selected by our client for the engraving, leaving behind a softly frosted white-ish image. But Keepsake Floral also offers either gold or silver gilding of the engraved artwork once the resin piece returns to the Keepsake Design Studio. For those engravings requiring a gold or silver finish, Keepsake artists specially treat the engraved surface with a sizing and carefully apply either a gold or silver leaf paint to achieve the gold or silver tone to the etching artwork.
The gilded finish option is one that does provide a beautiful elegance but requires a steady hand and significant time to apply correctly. The resin surface is unique in regard to its ability to accept the gold and silver sizing and leaf painting. Unlike glass, the resin product itself has a bit of tackiness and stickiness to it for a period of time post pouring, which allows the adhesive of the color treatment on only the engraved surfaced but with careful application, will not adhere immediately to the slick non-engraved surface surrounding the actual artwork.
The laser engraving of our beautiful resin floral designs creates a unique design dichotomy. It’s a wonderful design upgrade where modern high tech meets significant, personal and important flowers to create a beautiful piece of artwork to be cherished for decades.
Keepsake Floral, Inc.
311 Circle Drive
Maitland, FL 32751
800-616-KEEP (5337)
Local: 407-898-5992
Fax: 407-898-8656
Our administrative office is open Monday-Thursday: 9am-3pm EST and Friday: 9am-Noon EST. The office is closed most major holidays.
Please call prior to dropping off or picking up floral arrangements.