LASER ENGRAVING AND COLOR LASER ENGRAVING

Laser engraving is one of the best ways to brand keychains, metal flasks, engraved notebooks, metal items, and metal pens... In this blog you will learn more about engraving as a branding method, as well as about color laser engraving.

Laser is one of the most popular machines in the graphic industry and provides the ability to create a product with unique branding. Laser branding gives your favorite promotional item a long-lasting appearance and enables the creation of long-term quality.

MATERIALS SUITABLE FOR LASER MARKING AND ENGRAVING:

• Stainless steel
• Aluminum
• Anodized aluminum
• Reinforced metals
• Alloy steel
• High-speed steel

• Titanium, titanium alloys
• Carbides
• Brass
• Copper
• Precious metals (e.g. silver, gold)
• Coated metals

WHAT DOES LASER AND LASER ENGRAVING PROVIDE?

Laser engraving is a high-quality method for:

• Direct product marking and direct transfer of visual design onto promotional items without increasing consumable costs such as toners, chemicals, pastes, or sprays.
• Eliminating the need for handling and disposal of expensive materials as well as the creation of low-quality and harmful waste.
• No need for preparatory or post-processing steps.
• Tool wear is eliminated; the laser itself has a long lifespan.

 

ADVANTAGES OF LASER ENGRAVING

Your product will gain a special and more luxurious touch, which through its long-lasting quality can create in your partner’s eyes the feeling that it is a very valuable promotional or business gift.

 

Engraving can be performed on items such as:

- metal ballpoint pens

- metal flasks

- metal business card holders

- metal plates

- metal keychains

- metal hooks

- metal identification tags

- metal lighters

- metal wine sets

- engraving on knives and cutlery

WHAT DOES LASER ENGRAVING ALLOW?

• All designs can be created via laser, with proper vector preparation (.ai or .pdf, and even .eps files).
• Font sizes as small as one point are possible, enabling high-quality readability.
• Send us your vector logo, possible barcode, branding logo, as well as serial numbers, and we will easily perform the branding.
• Even photographs can be engraved within a certain timeframe.

Laser engraving, as already mentioned, delivers the best results on metal surfaces, especially on products or packaging made of very strong metals or alloys. In industry, laser engraving is mainly used for branding, marking values on tools, and labeling serial numbers or barcodes on metal packaging. Laser engraving on metal is permanent, indelible, and can only be damaged by friction or scratching.

 

Color laser engraving is a marking process that uses a MOPA fiber laser source to apply color onto metal surfaces such as stainless steel, titanium, etc. MOPA refers to a configuration consisting of a master laser (or seed laser) and an optical amplifier to increase output power. A special case is the master oscillator power amplifier fiber system (MOFA). In other cases, MOPA may consist of a solid-state seed laser and a gain amplifier, or a tunable external-cavity diode laser and a semiconductor optical amplifier.

 

Color laser marking or color laser engraving, as it is known, is a process of adding color to the marked object. “Marking” is a more appropriate term because engraving removes part of the material surface, creating a cavity, while marking only “stains” the surface. However, you can first laser engrave a piece and then apply color marking afterward.

 

The use of color laser marking or engraving allows you to expand your capabilities and provide more versatility in your product offering, as well as attractive features for your customers. Color laser engraving can basically be divided into two subtypes: color laser engraving on metal and color laser marking on plastic.