The rapid advancement of technology in the laser industry has opened doors of opportunity for many users. The continuous development of laser cutting and engraving machines has gradually improved the quality and quantity of engraving products on the market today.
In fact, many people have created additional revenue streams by launching laser engraving businesses. This relatively new field already exists, and engraving companies have emerged from garage workshops, family craft rooms, mom-and-pop shops, and even industrial environments.
When you think about it, some of the products you use every day have passed the workbench of a laser engraving machine or cutting machine. Products such as cutting boards, coffee cups and home decoration have all encountered laser engraving machines or cutting machines in the production process.
If you are looking for a business that is easy to learn, quick to learn and can make a reasonable profit in the long term, then you should consider starting a laser engraving business. Anyone who owns a CO2 laser engraving machine, works hard to learn the necessary skills and has the correct professional ethics can make a lot of money from laser engraving.
If you manage to capture the imagination of consumers, your small business will continue to grow and grow.
So, what’s laser engraving and cutting?
Laser cutting machines use powerful ultra-thin laser beams to etch, engrave or cut materials. You can use a focused laser beam to burn, melt or evaporate images or letters into various objects to create designs and patterns. This is an automated non-contact manufacturing process based on heat, so it is accurate and low risk. These machines allow you to create complex parts with or without custom-designed tools.
This process is applicable to a variety of businesses, including sculpture, fashion, art and handicrafts, and merchandise. We will dive into the product options available to you later.
Laser engraving businesses can be very lucrative, provided you’re willing to work hard and go through the due process. Just like any business, the laser engraving industry isn’t giving money away. You need to conduct market research, find out what’s in demand in your area and work hard to create a brand that connects with your target market.
Luckily, there are plenty of reasons why laser engraved products are great to make and sell, the first being the low overheads associated with laser works. Laser engraving machines are the biggest investment, and with changes in the market recently, you can get high-powered Monport CO2 laser machines for a fraction of the cost they once were. You’ll need to spend a little on equipment, building a website and getting your name out there, but this doesn’t have to be expensive at all.
Many people think of trophies and gifts when they think of laser marking or engraving, and while they can be money makers, you’re better off thinking bigger if profit margins are a priority. Getting bulk orders from corporate or industrial laser engraving clients is where the big bucks are, which we’ll discuss in detail later on.
Profits: The beauty of a laser engraver is that you take a bland or ordinary object and turn it into something bespoke. Personalization is one of the biggest consumer trends right now, and laser engravers can tap directly into this. What’s more, you work with simple materials like acrylic but transform it into something special, which people are willing to pay a premium for.
Speed: One of the reasons profit margins can be so high for a laser engraver is that you can create customized products at speed. Laser technology lets you add a design to a surface in a few seconds, which is much faster than any traditional hand-engraver would be able to achieve.
Accuracy: Laser technology is special because it’s so accurate. The smaller the laser beam, the more detailed and crisp your designs will be, and the more you can charge per unit.
Eco-friendly: There are no chemical elements in your laser engraver, and it doesn’t use finite resources such as ink. Provided you take good care of your machine, it’ll last years and doesn’t require much maintenance.
Overheads: The laser engraving machine is a one-off cost and only a small investment that you can quickly recoup once you’re up and running. They don’t usually require much in the way of parts replacement and can last for years. You can quickly break even as a laser engraver, which is one of the reasons it’s such an attractive prospect.
Convenience: Not only should your Monport CO2 laser machine come with a detailed manual, but the best manufacturers ensure they have top-level support and curate online support communities so you can get the answer to any questions you might have.
A laser cutting business is a versatile prospect due to individuals and small companies now having access to the latest technology. Laser cutters were previously only available as large-scale industrial tools to etch, engrave or cut various materials. However, the demand for small laser cutting machines that fit inside your home has increased in recent years.
Low Cost
As a start-up, the initial costs of setting up your laser cutting business are low compared to many other enterprises. The market isn’t saturated, so there’s plenty of demand and you should easily win customers once you’ve carved a niche for yourself.
As with any industry, success is down to hard work and careful planning — but it’s much easier when you choose a smart, relevant industry. A laser cutting business also competes with the 3D printing industry, but it’s easier, more affordable and just as accurate.
No Previous Experience Required
If you’re a creative type, you might produce your own products and designs from scratch. That said, you don’t need an artistic bone in your body to start a laser cutting business. You can rely entirely on software and premade designs to create trendy objects. For the lowest start-up costs, you could focus solely on engraving existing objects for business or personal use.
Adaptable
The bonus of running a laser engraving, cutting and etching business is how easy it is to adapt to changing trends and an ever-evolving marketplace.
Laser Cutting and Sustainability
If starting your own laser cutting company doesn’t sound enticing enough already, it has a high potential to tap into the fastest-growing consumer trend: sustainability. When you communicate your commitment to cutting waste and taking care of the environment using content marketing, you’ll automatically align with many modern consumers’ ethics.
People who run their business from home have an excellent starting point for explaining how they protect the environment. Your carbon footprint is already much lower than anyone running a business from an office.
Capture data that reflects your low impact on the environment and use is in your marketing strategy. You can even etch reusable metal coffee cups, custom reusable drinking straws or any other eco-friendly product currently in high demand.
As a small business owner, you have a unique ability to communicate your brand values to buyers. When customers feel morally aligned with a company, they’re much more likely to make an initial purchase and keep buying.
Excellent Materials for Laser Cutting
Acrylic:
It’s one of the best materials to use if you run a laser cutting business. Laser cutting leaves a flawless finish with polished edges. Some plastics that you might expect would react the same as acrylic, such as Lexan, are dangerous. That’s why you must never rely on guesswork to know which materials work with a laser cutting machine — it isn’t always obvious.
Hardwoods:
Cherry, peach, and other hardwoods can be cut very well with a Monport CO2 laser machine.
Paper:
Card stock and paper cut speedily with a nice clean finish. Greeting cards or gift wrap made from recycled paper are great ideas for a laser cutting business.
Leather:
Lasers love leather. What typically takes hours to cut by hand can be done in just minutes with a laser. Just be warned; it can get stinky! If you’re thinking about starting up a premium laser cutting business, leather is a great choice. We’ll discuss the best industries to get into in more detail later on.
Cardboard:
It does cut, but it’s also a fire hazard, so never leave the laser cutting machine unsupervised while it cuts cardboard.
Many types of wood: Most types of wood work well with laser cutting machines. However, you should avoid resinous or oily wood because it has the potential to combust.
Depron foam:
Although it’s essential that you continuously monitor depron foam, it cuts smoothly and safely. It’s an excellent choice for laser cutters because you can make toys, model aircraft and 3D architectural models.
We’ll go into detail about which industries have the highest potential for making money after the step-by-step walkthrough of starting a laser engraving business. Below is a list of some of the most popular laser engraving business ideas:
Monport owns a series of mid-range CO2 laser engraving machines for engraving purposes, having a power range of 60-80W and are known for their efficient engraving speed and powerful cutting ability.
Hope that your Monport CO2 laser engraving machine can make your small business more handy!
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Laser material processing started a change in industry. It brings quantitative improvements, such as the improvement of production speed, and quality improvements, such as the possibility of creating high value-added customized products, even on a small scale. The packaging industry immediately recognized that the use of lasers can provide unlimited possibilities for innovation.
Packaging is a basic aspect of most manufacturing industries, and laser technology occupies a strong position in this growing market. Laser strengthens and improves the characteristics of packaging materials to help them better perform their expected functions.
First, it has the function of protection. Packaging must protect the product from external factors. As far as food is concerned, it can prevent deterioration and ensure the integrity of products.
Secondly, it has aesthetic function. Packaging must persuade consumers to choose specific products on supermarket shelves. In the increasingly rich world of consumer goods, packaging may sometimes be the only unique factor of products.
Third, it has the function of information. Important information such as composition, expiration date, production batch or bar code must be visible on the product.
Last but not least, it has practical functions. The packaging must make the product easy to handle and use. Thanks to laser cutting, the packaging design can facilitate the use of the product itself. Easy to open packaging, such as food bags or easy to cut packaging, such as yogurt cans, are two examples of such packaging. Functional fast packaging with innovative technology is now easier than ever with laser technology.
Packaging Materials |
Description |
Paper |
Packaging paper, honeycomb paper, paper bag paper, desiccant packaging paper, honeycomb paperboard, kraft paper industrial paperboard, honeycomb paper core; |
Plastic |
PP packaging belt, PET packaging belt, tear film, winding film, sealing tape, heat shrinkable film, plastic film and hollow plate; |
Composite flexible |
Flexible packaging, aluminized film, iron core wire, aluminum foil composite film, vacuum aluminized paper, composite film, composite paper, BOPP; |
Metal |
Tinplate aluminum foil, barrel hoop, steel strip, packaging buckle, Blister aluminum, PTP aluminum foil, aluminum plate and steel buckle; |
Ceramic |
Ceramic bottles, ceramic cylinders, ceramic jars, ceramic pots; Glass packaging materials: glass bottles, glass cans and glass boxes; |
Wood |
Packaging made of wood products and man-made wood plates (such as plywood and fiberboard), such as wooden boxes, barrels, wooden boxes, wooden plywood, fiberboard boxes, plywood boxes and wooden pallets; |
Bronzing materials |
Bronzing materials, laser film, electrochemical aluminum bronzing paper, bronzing film, bronzing film, bronzing foil, bronzing foil and color foil; |
Auxiliary materials |
Bottle cap glove machine, mold, gasket, handle, gasket nozzle, sealing cap and packaging film. |
Laser has been widely used in packaging production, Because with the traditional mechanical method compared with (such as blades and punches), laser has superior effect, higher flexibility and lower cost. One reason is that non-contact laser tools will not wear over time. This eliminates the downtime of tool replacement and provides highly consistent results over time. In addition, in the field of flexible packaging, laser processing can be refined It is very difficult to control the notch depth and micro perforation size in machining. It also does not exert any force on the plastic film that may deform or tear it. In addition, laser processing leaves a very clean processing edge. Cutting debris can cause problems because it can attach to other parts of the machine and affect its efficiency. Laser processing also provides operational flexibility. The processing parameters can be changed by software to make it easy to switch between work or dynamic personalized packaging. In addition, these changes do not incur any tooling or setup costs.
Finally, the laser conversion speed is fast. It can run at the speed of the web processing equipment used in modern production lines, which usually runs at a speed of hundreds of meters per minute.
Laser based manufacturing is very flexible and can be tested in a variety of applications. Lasers, especially CO2 lasers, can achieve the highest efficiency level when dealing with the most commonly used packaging materials, such as:
Compared with traditional methods, the basic advantage of laser engraving is that it can achieve very high processing speed and high precision. But the advantage is more than that. Laser technology not only allows manufacturers to improve processing efficiency parameters, but also can perform processing types that cannot be completed by traditional methods.
As the amount of waste around the world increases year by year, keeping food fresher longer is a key priority for many food manufacturers. Improved air packaging (MAP) technology uses laser perforation to adjust the level of oxygen, carbon dioxide, nitrogen and other gases in the packaging, maintain the freshness of fruits and vegetables in the packaging and prolong their shelf life. In turn, this gives consumers more time to enjoy fresh food and finally reduces waste.
Food labeling legislation has become more and more strict, and the food industry is facing the pressure of labeling batch number, batch number and "latest date" on products. This information must be updated frequently when applied to each packing box. Lasers are now a popular choice for food packaging companies for many reasons, including the diversity of materials they can mark and the longer life of inscriptions compared with other inkjet printing methods.
The outstanding characteristics of laser cutting are high quality and flexibility. In production, precision is the most important standard. The non-contact laser cutting process is fast and accurate, and can produce perfect cutting effect. The material is evaporated, which means there is no debris, reducing the steps of cleaning.
The most common packaging in the printing and packaging industry is corrugated box. Corrugated boxes can be divided into two categories: sales packaging and transportation packaging. Sales packaging is generally inner packaging, which is used to meet consumers in the sales process, such as color box, white box, gift box, etc. Transportation packaging is an outer packaging, which is mainly used to facilitate storage and transportation, such as cartons, corrugated cartons, etc.
Laser engraving machine realizes engraving by spot engraving on the material surface, which has inherent advantages in gray performance. Therefore, in the carving design, the gray appearance form is very popular to reduce the coloring process and reduce the cost; On the one hand, it enriches the engraving performance and improves the graphic level. At the same time, the cost of CO2 laser engraving printing plate on paper packaging materials is very low, which is only one quarter of that of resin plate, so CO2 laser engraving plate is a common corrugated paper packaging printing method in today's packaging industry.
Looking at all kinds of gift packaging, people are dazzled. In many cases, the significance of packaging has gone beyond the product itself. When more people choose gifts, they will choose packaging that looks unique and high-end. For women's cosmetics packaging, creative and exquisite packaging is more popular. At this time, the design of the packaging box is particularly important. The laser engraving machine of the packaging gift box can carve any pattern, which makes your packaging exquisite and unique. At the same time, the production cost is low and the efficiency is high! The attraction of hollowed out carton packaging is the intricate and exquisite pattern carving realized by laser hollowed out cutting machine. The carton with relatively simple shape and printing greatly improves the appearance of the carton and makes it more attractive by using smart design and ingenious laser cutting technology.
Card stock is a very general and popular material, which can be used for laser cutting and engraving. This sample project features card stock that we carve and cut to create custom product packaging.
By adjusting the speed, power and frequency settings of the laser, the operator can etch text, cut shapes, and even create perfect perforation lines for folding and assembly.
Blow we have made an experiment for laser cutting packing box with our Monport 80w CO2 Laser Engraving & Cutting Machine:
Download the above graphic and import it into your graphics software. Adjust as needed.
Send the vector diagram to RD-Works which connected with the CO2 laser engraver, and then set the correct parameters for your machine wattage.
Remove the cutting parts from the workbench, then fold and assemble the paper boxes. Use glue on the inside flap.
You can make one yourself with Monport laser engraving machine, and consider adding laser cutting card stock packaging to your product lineup!
This engraved wood gift box can be used as storage space for cards, photos, letters, souvenirs, trinkets and souvenirs. You also can put it in your wedding souvenir box and add the lyrics of your first song to the back of the lid.
As people increasingly tend to use more environmentally friendly paper and plastic alternatives, laser engraved canvas bags are becoming a popular laser application. Canvas is not only durable and versatile, it is also a fully customizable environmentally friendly material. These reusable canvas bags are cute and stylish, making them a great gift for any shopping lover!
Your packaging is one of your first opportunities to show consumers the full content of your brand. Use professional laser cutting packaging to create the first impression. Details are important. When consumers know that you are not careful about the packaging, they are unlikely to trust your product enough to give it a try. Exquisite brands and well-executed packaging allow your products to shine even in the most crowded markets. Packaging play an indispensable role in the success of your business.
So, after reading this article after reading this article, do you know the multiple uses of CO2 laser engraving machines in the packaging industry? If you have any questions, or if you are in the packaging industry, you are already using a laser engraving machine to work for you, welcome to share your story and leave a message below.
]]>The laser engraving machine only needs to input the graphics and size to be cut into the computer, and the laser engraving machine will cut the entire material into the finished product you need according to the data on your computer. No tools or molds are needed. At the same time, it can save you a lot of investment in human resources. Therefore, laser engraving machines are also widely used in the leather industry.
The leather industry uses laser engraving machines to break the problems of slow speed of traditional manual and electric shears, difficulty in typesetting, low efficiency and serious waste of materials. The characteristics of fast speed and simple operation have brought great benefits to the development of the leather industry.
The application of laser engraving on leather is also called laser drilling, which is mainly used for shoe uppers, handbags, leather gloves, luggage and so on. The laser engraving machine has many advantages over traditional cutting methods: the edges of the leather cut by it are not yellowed, and the edges or curled automatically, no deformation, no hardening, consistent and accurate size; it can cut any complex shapes; high efficiency , Low-cost computer design graphics, can cut lace of any shape; processing does not have mechanical pressure on the work piece; safe operation, simple maintenance, etc. Due to the combination of laser and computer technology, users only need to design a pattern on the computer, and they can output and change the engraving pattern at any time, realizing the idea of designing and producing products. It can be said that the emergence of laser engraving machines has greatly promoted the development of the leather industry.
Laser engraving machine process requirements: the surface of the hook line will not be yellow, the background color of the material will be carved, the cutting edge of the leather will not be black, and the engraving must be clear. Laser engraving machine is suitable for engraving materials: synthetic leather, PU leather, PVC artificial leather, leather wool, semi-finished products, various leather fabrics, etc.
First choose a piece of leather that appeals to you in color and texture. Of course, its size should match the size of the processing table of the CO2 laser engraving machine. The image size you choose should be the same as the wallet size to achieve the best results. Usually, customers like to design their own styles, such as names, wedding dates or some beautiful patterns. The actual engraving effect of the laser machine depends on the type of leather used and the response of the laser beam to the corresponding material.
There are several options in the four main types of leather, including dyed leather, vegetable tanned leather, and distressed textured leather:
Suede is another soft leather material. Although it is not as durable as the leather mentioned above, it can also be laser engraved and cut.
Based on this, you should learn to use laser machine software to draw the design, and then print it on the wallet. This requires you to be proficient in operating the software and control system of the laser engraving machine.
After confirming the image, input it into the graphics software through the computer connected to the CO2 laser machine. Or, even if you are a beginner, you can directly design special images using software that is easy to learn and operate. At Monport laser, we provide free training for each customer to learn how to use the software and how to operate the entire laser processing.
Laser engraving machine engraving speed: It depends on the size of the figure. The drawing speed of small patterns is relatively fast, the speed is 300~500mm/s, the engraving power is around 30~40%; The leather cutting is a little slower, the speed is 30mm/s, and the relative power is around 35-55%, and the general leather can be cut through.
MACHINE: MONPORT 80W Co2 Laser Engraving & Cutting Machine
MATERIAL: One piece of recycled leather
PARAMETER SETTINGS:
Since there is an exhaust fan to remove dust to the outside, the entire engraving process will be clean and tidy. The smoke generated by the laser engraving work will be exhausted through the exhaust fan and will not affect the environment of your workshop. Similarly, you don't need to spend too much time waiting for the engraving result, you can complete the work in just a few minutes.
Laser engraved leather wallet is a popular laser engraved craft. If you want to start a laser engraving business, you can engrave or create many types of materials and products with a laser cutting machine. The earlier you invest, the better.
It's surprising to see many new technologies are revolutionizing old-fashioned crafts like leather carving. Laser engraving not only demonstrates a new way of doing things, it also eliminates the old problems associated with the use of hand tools, which are error-prone, damage leather parts, and have limited types of designs that can be recreated.
Whether you want to produce a large number of leather products or just a one-time design, laser engraving can provide a more reliable and faster alternative than traditional leather engraving methods. If you are in the leather manufacturing industrial, laser engraving machine is actually an effective way to stay competitive.
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