Christmas 2005 we signed off on the release build of CGS x3. It was
undeniably the most user focused release of CGS ever (there are absolutely no
metrics to back that up, it's just true.). The User Experience Team at Corel
began a tradition of toasting to a release's success with some tasty wine. The
tradition has entered its Second Iteration with our Painter X celebration.
A plaque that displays the wine labels from these celebrations pasted into
wine-label-shaped recesses under a CGS X3 Wordmark with a brief description of the
occasion seemed like a cool plan. I launched DRAW.
Recreating the label
shapes
I started by changing the units to millimeters, to allow easier (for me)
precision in recreating the wine label shapes. I measured the labels dimensions
and created objects in CGS. One of the labels was rectangular and relatively
simple (1995 Castello di Ama Chianti Classico if your keeping score). It was
98mm x 118mm. I added .5mm to each dimension to give me some room for
error, it turns out 1mm would have been better. I placed a rectangle on the
page, I used the width and height controls on the property bar to set the
dimensions. Then I chose black to set maximum depth on the engraver. I also
removed the outline which I'm told by Tony S. tells the engraver to try to cut
right through the media.
The second label (2002 Caymus Vineyards Special Selection) was trickier, it
tapered down its length and had scallops in the upper corners. I started with a
rectangle using the process for Label #1. I converted the rectangle to a curve
(CTRL-Q) then opened the Fillet/Scallop/Chamfer docker (Window Menu then Dockers
then Fillet/Scallop/Chamfer). I chose 'Scallop' as the Operation and set the
Radius to 8mm as measured from the wine label. I selected both the top two
nodes with the Shape tool 
Then I hit Apply.
Now to take care of the taper. I measured the label; there was a 2.5mm taper
on both sides of the label along its entire height. I drew two 2.5mm squares
and placed them inside the lower corners of the label. I used the shape tool to
move each of the lower nodes of the label from the outside of the small squares
to the inside. In the image below, the left node has been moved and the right
has not. After both were tapered the squares were deleted.
Setting the recess detailing
I thought it might be nice to have the labels recessed in steps. I
selected the tapered label and hit CTRL-F9 for the Contour docker. I selected
a 1 step contour to the outside of 2.54 mm (the default) and applied it.
The lighter the color, the less deep the engraving. So, I broke apart the
object by selecting the black section and hit CTRL-K to separate the two objects
from each other (contour objects are treated as one, so that the contour can be
edited later). I changed the outer object to a lighter grey than the label. I
repeated this process for the first wine label as well.
Laying it all out
Finally I brought in the CorelDRAW Graphics Suite X3 Wordmark and created
some description text. I added a frame around the outside and changed the page
size to 'legal' to fit the elements properly and without crowding (I checked
that I had space on the wood!). I then did some layout work; changed levels of
grey, tweaked a little, added a border, and removed all the outlines (CTRL-A to
select all and Right Mouse Click on the 
in the color palette).
Finally I added an outline to the outside of the page so that the engraver will
try and cut the material there. Scott suggested I might want to print the layout to see if the labels fit properly. Good point, hadn't thought of that, paper's cheaper.
Burn that thing
After checking with Tony S, the resident expert on such things, it
was engraving time. The Engraver is an Epilog Mini 24x12 on loan from Epilog.
The machine is being used to both test output and to allow our product team to
better understand the needs of the engraver workflow.
I found it necessary to rotate the artwork in CGS as there was no landscape
versus portrait settings in the driver. I select the Epilog from the printer
list and clicked properties. I brought in a small 1/2 inch cherry board from an
old wood-working project that would fit the bill here. I changed the piece size
in the driver to the 9x23 inches of the wood. I also changed the speed lower and
power higher. Cherry is hard, tweaking these settings would allow good depth to
be reached in the material. There is a guide sheet that comes with the engraver
to give suggested settings dependent on material. I also checked the Auto Focus
on, this instructs the engraver to adjust the height of the laser with respect
to the material before starting.
I placed the material in the engraver and engraved a couple test patches on
the piece at 20% size along one end edge of the wood to check depths. The
second try looked good.
Then I looked for a good section of the wood with nice grain and no defects
for the final version. Along one edge and 4 inches from the left was an ideal
starting point. I entered Print Preview from the print dialog and changed the x
and y co-ordinates to 4" and -0.125" respectively.
The print took 2 hours 17 minutes and 51 seconds. There is a lot of burn
residue on the surface and the final cut didn't go all the way through the
cherry.
The finishing
I trimmed the piece with a miter saw (I have an awesome miter saw), washed
the residue off and used a 320 sand paper to smooth the surface. Finally I
vacuumed the dust away with the Shop-Vac. Looks great so far! Next time I'll
sand the piece before the engraving.
Then glued in the wine labels. It would have been smart to cut out a thin
wood cut-out in the shape of the label to fit into the recesses to allow
clamping of the label down on the glue. I tried to improvise and ended up
frantically tamping the labels down with one of those white erasers. It worked,
but it was far from a relaxing experience.
Finally, Voila! I like it.
cheers.