Mother's Day Gift Idea #4: Photo Engraved Metal Card

So, you’re searching for the perfect Mother’s Day gift, right? How about something a bit more unique than your typical gift card. This one’s priceless, literally (and figuratively in fact). Imagine giving mum a sleek metal card with a sweet photo of you both engraved on it.

But, here’s the twist: thanks to my hubby for the idea of a gift that keeps on giving, this card holds a secret surprise– a QR code that leads to a heartfelt video message just for her.

So, where do you start? I would normally say get your engraving machine and the metal cards but the truth is, if the surprise element is a compilation of greetings ie. grandkids message to Nan, then focus on planning that, first.

Whilst I let that thought sit on your mind, here’s the rest of the personalisation process involved in this Mother’s Day gift project. 

My personalisation tool for photo engraving on metal is the Xtool F1 laser machine.

Here are the materials used in this project:

• Coloured aluminum metal cards. For my own Mother’s Day gift, I opted for the black metal card. However, for demonstration purposes, I'll be using the purple metal card.
• Card holder. The simplest presentation option is a small envelope, similar to how you would present a gift card. In this project, I used a laser cutting machine to create a wooden gift card packaging.

Now, let’s personalise your Mother’s Day gift metal card:

1. LAUNCH THE XTOOL CREATIVE DESIGN APP AND ENSURE THE XTOOL F1 LASER IS POWERED ON AND CONNECTED TO YOUR LAPTOP/COMPUTER.

2. UPLOAD THE PHOTO TO THE XTOOL CREATIVE DESIGN APP. 

For this project, I converted a coloured photo to black and white (mono) before uploading it to the app. And, no photo editing software was used.

3. ADJUST THE PHOTO SIZE AND CONFIGURE THE ENGRAVING SETTINGS WITHIN THE APP.

• I utilised both sides of the metal card: one for the photo and the other for the QR code. 
• The link (ie. video message) must be prepared prior to generating a QR code. In the Xtool design app, entering plain text (without a link) automatically directs to a Google search.

Helpful links:

• To learn more about parameters (Dot Duration, Power, DPI), check this link from the Xtool website.
• To understand the different Bitmap Mode options, check this link from the Xtool website.

4. BEGIN THE LASER ENGRAVING PROCESS.

• The IR laser preheating is activated. To learn how to preheat the Infrared on the Xtool F1 laser, please visit this link.
• Consider using the enclosure while the engraving process is underway. Although optional, it can help reduce fumes and minimise the risk of laser radiation.

5. Once the engraving is complete, carefully take  the metal card off the Xtool F1 base plate. Then, use a tissue lightly dampened with alcohol to gently wipe off any residue from the metal card.

In less than half an hour, here’s the photo engraved metal card:

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So, in this project, I basically spent a few days trying out different photo engraving settings—like, over 25 attempts. Uh-oh! The thing is, the idea of writing this blog post was the push I needed to give photo engraving on metal a shot. Now, I'm committed to refining and discovering reliable settings that can ideally work with different types of photos. And, I'm also thinking about familiarising myself with the photo editing software to level up my skills. 🙂