Money Making with Laser Engravers

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Laser Engraving: “The Cutting Edge on Making Money”

In previous articles we’ve discussed how laser engraving can be a “treasure trove” of untapped revenue for your business. In this day and age laser engraving is everywhere; from the ADA cutout signage in commercial and government buildings to consumer barcodes to even personalization marks, logos, and names on specialized or high quality personal items.

What many companies selling laser engravers and related equipment fail to make clear is that the degree, to which your business succeeds as an engraver, is still up to “you”! Salespeople and companies who promise you “pie in the sky” guaranteed success if you just buy from them are doing you a disservice. Here at Jorlink (or at any other company for that matter), all we honestly can do is give you our best opinion based on years of experience and steer you to the most suitable piece(s) of equipment we can. This is, of course, after spending time getting to know you; your expectations; and learning as much as we can about your potential market.

There are some hard fast rules to look for whether you buy from us at or someone else. Some rules that should make good common sense to you whether you’re a novice at the business or are looking to replace or upgrade existing equipment.

Service – The first rule is always service. The kind of service you get from your distributor is as important, if not more so, than the actual brand of machine. There will always be a cheaper price somewhere else; but at what cost? Support is probably the key to your chances for success; and we at Jorlink want to become not only your supplier but a contributor to your success story through expert advice from people who know the industry.

Size Matters – This is certainly one place that size truly does matter. For a beginning business you should buy a machine with at least 25-30 watts of power with air assist. Lasers with less than 25 watts may work as a second or backup machine, but for the novice, I’d suggest 25-30 watts as a minimum. Why air assist? First of all, what is air assist? The air assist attachment sends a constant stream of compressed air across the surface where you’re engraving at the burn-point minimizing flare and producing a deep and clean engraving or cutting. Though jobs like rubber stamps, wood engraving, and cutting jobs can be done without it; after you see a demonstration with and without you’ll know why it’s a must!

The size of the engraving bed you buy is one decision that comes down to your application requirement (as well as your pocketbook in some cases). Bigger is definitely better but also more expensive. A bed of at least 12” X 24” or more will rarely require you to turn away work (and, of course works great for all smaller jobs as well). There are new “table top” machines that offer table sizes such as 12" x 16" and 12" x 18"; however, these are mainly geared towards the ad specialty or smaller marking industry.  It’s definitely worthwhile to investigate more flexible machines such as the ones that offer a front\rear door capability for larger items like baseball bats, boat oars, cabinets, etc.

Don’t Overlook a Market

You’re the only one who can truly say that a certain market is good for you but don’t be so quick to stay with the status quo. Doing things “the way they’ve always been done” will probably not get your new engraving business top the top of its game. Whether you start off engraving little league trophies or luxury plaques for yachts always look at the bottom line and always realize one important rule: the more you do; the better you will get at doing it! If you follow three simple rules on every job you’ll build a reputation that will guarantee success:

1. Quality

This applies to both materials and workmanship. That extra 10 minutes spent to get the look “just right” may mean the difference between 15 future orders and a client looking for a new engraver.

2. On-Time Delivery

The date promised is the only date that matters; not the day after, and certainly not the next week. You run your business on a schedule; so does everyone else.

3. Getting It Right the First Time, Every Time

When you order supplies you know exactly what you’re looking for when you cut open the box. Your customers will be no exception. Though they may call in rush orders, send unreadable faxes with long lists of names or try to describe things over the phone that don’t even begin to match what they really want; it’s the success of your business to decipher their code and return to them a “perfect” product. In fact, it’s even better to exceed their expectations.

Places to Start

Though no one but you can guarantee your success here are a few market ideas you may have not thought of in planning your laser engraving venture:               • Acrylic Awards and Mementos: Clients love acrylic because it’s elegant, not too expensive and engraved logos look great in it. From your point of view, it’s fast, easy to engrave, carries a high profit margin and because it’s so difficult to do well on a rotary machine, your competition is greatly reduced.                

• Barcode Labels: As we’ve mentioned in earlier articles barcode labeling is here to stay. Whether it’s the Department of Defense’s Data-Matrix or industry’s new move to mark tools and other valuables with barcodes using a chemical like TherMark or CerMark. With this process each time a tool is “checked out” to a worker, the barcode on the tool and a barcode on the worker’s ID badge are scanned so the company knows who has that tool.

• Employee of the Month Awards: A great many companies have realized that salary is not always the most important factor to an employee’s happiness. People like to be recognized for their efforts. A pat on the back goes a long way and recognizing one or more “Employees of the Month” can make a world of difference. Your number of employee of the month awards is only limited by the number of companies in your area.                

• Labels, decals, control panels, legends: Industry many times needs these products in small quantities and that’s where your laser really pays off. It means maximum return on your investment. It can also open doors to your selling screen printed labels and decals when larger quantities are needed.                

• Multiple Language Products: Being a global society many corporations have satellite operations overseas. The ability to engrave awards and other products in other languages opens an interesting door. Even though you may hardly speak a word in any other language, engraving the awards is simple. Have your client obtain the exact text and layout from their foreign office in Word for Windows or Word Perfect and E-mail it to you. Then import the text into EngraveLab or CorelDRAW, adjust the size and spacing accordingly and engrave it.

• Plastic Signs: Industry as well as smaller businesses uses a lot of plastic signage; door signs, wall signs, safety and informational signs, tags for lockers and equipment. All of these are fast and easy jobs for a laser and afford high profit margins and lots of repeat business.

• Rubber Stamps: Return address stamps and deposit stamps only scratch the surface of the number of rubber stamps many companies use. Stamps can easily be made in all sizes, even with logos and photographs, and can be made with any 30 watt laser with the proper software.

• Safety: Most companies not only stress safety, they reward it with plaques, acrylics, key chains and of course, cash. This can be a perfect market for you. Remind employers that if they give them an engraved gift, it will stay around for a lifetime. That means their logo will be displayed with pride for as long as the employee lives. And many of these corporate oriented awards will remain in the workplace—in the person’s office or work area—functioning as an inducement to others.

• Stainless Steel: Industry uses a lot of stainless steel. Rotary engraving a stainless steel plate, label or control panel is very expensive, time consuming and often doesn’t do a great job anyway. These extra hard metals are almost impossible to engrave using conventional engravers. With a laser however, and a product like TherMark, permanently marking stainless is a walk in the park. It brings lots of smiles, top dollar and vastly superior results. TherMark will also mark some other metals and alloys such as Chrome (tools), pewter and some raw steels.

The important thing is to not rule out any new market. The entire world is changing. Be willing to at least hear-out your customers’ requests and then run them against the bottom line. With the versatility of laser engraving equipment available today; the sky is truly the limit!