LRS Laser Inscribed Shields

Today in Myths, Legends and Tales from the road we get an insider look at how Long Ride Shields, our sponsor, makes their Laser Etched Shields.  Join us, for a look into what is happening in the LRS shop when you order one of their amazing creations.

To start this project, the Laser guru himself, James receives artwork that will be etched.  Some artwork proves to be challenging, as each image must first be converted to black and white.  The more colorful the image, the more difficult it is to preserve the quality during the conversion process.  Below you see the converted image from a color photo.  This process typically takes between 15 and 30 minutes, depending on editing that takes place to preserve the images quality.

Initial Bitmap imaging.  Not ready for Laser Etching.

James uses Adobe Photoshop and Adobe Illustrator to convert and preserve images which will eventually be etched.  In our example image you can see that the initial bit map conversion is grainy and has several major coloring issues that would make a laser etching looked sloppy or blemished.



This is the cleaned up image after conversion.  James spent some time to eliminate the sandy background and recolor the gun so that it would show more clearly on a shields surface.

When the image is converted and James think it will make another awesome LRS design he runs a quick test on some scrap material in the shop.  Once etched on the scrap material he can more accurately judge how the image needs to be modified.  In some cases, James can get an image just right on the first try.  Some prove to take a little more editing.  There are also several other programs and tricks he can use to clean up images that are not properly etching.

The photo to the right is James initial run of the design.  The etching went perfectly and you can see how it looks on a dark tint material.

If you're interested in getting your new LRS Shield Laser Etched with your own design, please give James a call at (775) 331-3789.  He can print almost any design on any of our shields.  Please email your designs to James at LongRideShields@gmail.com

See you on the road, be safe and ride hard!
-The LRS Team

 Some of LRS's other creations-