Laser materials · Glass
Laser engraving glass
Glass engraves to a frosted, sandblasted look that makes wine glasses, beer mugs, bottles and mirrors into personalised gifts. How you do it depends entirely on your laser type.
Which laser engraves glass?
| Laser | How it works on glass |
|---|---|
| CO₂ | Engraves glass directly, creating a frosted mark by micro-fracturing the surface |
| UV | Marks glass directly with fine, cool marks and very little chipping |
| Blue diode | Light passes through clear glass. Coat the surface with black paint or marking spray first, engrave, then wash the coating off |
| Fiber / infrared | Not suitable for clear glass |
Stopping chips and rough patches
Glass engraving works by cracking the surface on a tiny scale, so heat is the enemy. Lay a damp paper towel over the area on a CO₂ laser: it absorbs heat and gives a smoother, more even frost. Use lower power and moderate speed, and avoid large solid fills; outlines, lettering and lighter dithered images look better and chip less than big filled areas.
Test on a cheap glass first. Glass types vary (soda-lime, borosilicate, lead crystal), and some chip far more easily than others.
Mirrors
Mirrors are usually engraved from the back, removing the painted backing so light shines through the design. Mirror the artwork so it reads correctly from the front, and test the power carefully: you want to remove the paint without frosting the glass.
Bottles, glasses and tumblers
Round items need a rotary attachment. Set the rotary diameter to the part of the glass that sits on the rollers, and remember that most wine glasses and many tumblers are tapered. The tumbler wrap generator makes designs at the exact circumference, warps them for tapered shapes and has a rotary setup test that tells you the number to enter.
Photos on glass
Photos can work on glass with a fine dither and modest power, but the frosted mark is white, so the image reads like a negative on dark backgrounds and a positive on light ones. Prepare the photo in Photo Engrave, test small, and keep areas of solid white to a minimum.
Crystal
3D images inside crystal blocks are made by a different process, subsurface engraving with a dedicated laser, not by surface engraving. The Crystal 3D studio in the app makes point-cloud files for those machines.
Safety
Glass can crack or shatter if overheated. Wear eye protection when handling engraved glass, wash pieces before use, and avoid engraving the rim where lips touch.
Settings
Starting values for glass on each laser type are on the xTool settings page and the other brand pages. Run a test card on a spare glass of the same type.
xTool is a trademark of its owner. Laser Generator Studio is an independent product and is not affiliated with or endorsed by it.