Black anodized aluminum dog tags are one of my favorite blanks. You can put a photo or a vector design on them very easily, and the results look outstanding.
The tricky part is the shape. A photo is square and a dog tag isn't, so in this guide I show you how to draw a mask with the pen tool in xTool Studio so the photo follows the curved edges of the tag, plus the photo settings that work on these thicker coated tags.
Jump to: The tags · Placement and focus · Preparing the photo · Drawing the mask · Material and Auto adjust · Settings · Frame and engrave
1. The tags
I bought these from Amazon, and you can get them in packs of all sizes. You'll find them on AliExpress and Temu too.
One thing to know: these have a thick black coating. My standard black business card settings don't work on them, which is why they get their own settings below.
2. Placement and focus
You can just lay the tag on the bed. As usual, I used a jig, in this case my Self-Centering Jig. It holds the tag in the same position over and over, and you can lock it in place and rotate it however you want. If you make a lot of tags, I also make a Dog Tag Engraving Jig. Both are made for the xTool F1, F2 and F1 Lite.
I always focus manually before I start. Turn the knob on the side of the laser head until the blue and red dots join together. For me that meant turning it counterclockwise.
Then in xTool Studio, click New project in the top right. It connects to the machine and takes a snapshot of the bed, so you can see the tag on screen.
3. Prepare the photo
- Click Import and bring in your photo.
- Remove the background. There are free background removers online, or you can use the cutout feature in Studio. Sometimes the manual cutout does the job with a click. When it doesn't, AI cutout does a good job, but it costs credits. Click Confirm when you're happy.
- Position the photo over the tag and make the head as big as you can. Some of it will hang off the edges of the tag. That's fine, the mask takes care of it.
4. Draw a mask that matches the tag
You could use a simple circle mask, but I wanted the photo to follow the outline of the tag exactly, even over the hole at the top. So I drew the shape myself with the pen tool. Move your photo to one side first so you can see the tag, and zoom in.
- On the left, click the Vector pen tool (the shortcut is P). I changed the layer color first so the line was easier to see.
- Start on the straight edge on the right. Click once where the edge starts to curve and let go.
- Move down to where the bottom curve starts, keeping the line straight, and single left click.
- For the curve, go to the middle of the bottom edge, then left click and drag to the left. A handle comes out and bends the line. Get it roughly like the curve of the tag and release.
- Carry on to the point on the other side. As you get close, a guide line shows you where to click. Left click there.
- Go up the other straight side (without holding the mouse button) and click where the top curve starts.
- Do the same click and drag in the middle of the top edge, then join it back to your first point.
Don't worry if it doesn't look great yet. To tidy it up, click the point in the middle of a curve and drag its handle. Because you placed it in the middle, you only need to make the handle horizontal. Use the grid behind to check it looks right. It doesn't have to be perfect.
If you click in the wrong place and add an extra point by accident, press Ctrl+Z to undo it.
- Click Done.
- Untick the aspect ratio lock and stretch the shape so it sits right up to the edge of the tag. It keeps its shape as you resize it.
Now drag the photo back over the shape and position it where you want it. I made mine a little bigger. Drag a box around the photo and the shape, right-click and choose Create mask. The photo now has the exact shape of the tag.
5. Pick a material, then Auto adjust
Click the material box in the top right and open xTool's material library. I picked 1/64" (0.2 mm) Black Metal Business Card and clicked Apply. I didn't pick it for the settings. I picked it so Studio knows we're engraving a black metal, which matters for the next step.
Select the photo, click Adjust in the top toolbar and then Auto adjust on the left. Because Studio knows it's a dark metal, it adjusts the contrast and inverts the photo, which is what you want on a dark surface. Simple as that.
6. Photo settings for black dog tags
Studio fills in its default settings for that material, but they probably won't work here because of the thick coating on these tags. I set up my own photo preset instead:
| Setting | Value |
|---|---|
| Laser type | Infrared light |
| Dot duration | 335 µs |
| Power | 59% |
| DPI | 505 |
| Passes | 1 |
| Bitmap mode | Jarvis |
| Engraving mode | Bi-directional |
Tags vary, so run a test on a spare one if yours are from a different seller. For text and vector designs on dog tags, and my other tested values, have a look at my free Laser Settings Library and the xTool F2 settings page.
7. Frame and engrave
- Click the three dots next to the framing button in the bottom right.
- Select Outline so the frame follows the shape of the tag.
- Set the light power to 10. On a dark material the light is hard to see otherwise.
- Click Framing and check the outline sits inside the tag and doesn't touch the jig.
- Click Process. Mine estimated 2 minutes 1 second. Click Start and wait for the beep.
I engrave with the lid up for recording, with safety glasses on. Keep yours closed. Make sure your extraction is running too, because this makes very fine particles.
The result was brilliant. It followed the contour around the bottom curve perfectly, and the photo itself looked amazing. You can do this with any image.
Over to you
Give it a go and let me know how you get on in the comments on the video.
