Email or call for a custom quote on your job - please include artwork files if possible.
Definitions:
Laser engrave - depth, typical on custom laser engraved wood
Laser etch - no depth - think custom laser etched metal
Laser cut - cut all the way through, laser cut out shapes, laser die cutting
How does the process work to get something custom laser cut?
- Get a quote - we charge based on run time, so we price out each job (email or call for quote)
- Send us your artwork, quantity needed and material (our address)
- Let us know if you need us to supply raw materials or if you will be sending them to us
- Once you have your quote and decide to move forward, we create an order, send you a digital mockup
- You approve mockup or make changes, we custom laser cut the parts and you can pick them up in our Denver, CO facility (in Broomfield, just north of Denver) or we can ship them to you. Our address for pickup or shipping items is here.
Accepted file types for custom laser engraving and cutting
Vector art is always preferred! We use CorelDRAW in our environment.
You can submit your files in the below file types for custom laser cutting. These should be vector based files and ready to laser cut.
- CorelDRAW (CDR)
- EPS
- AI (adobe illustrator)
- AVG
- DWG (AutoCAD version 2004 or earlier work best)
- DXF (AutoCAD version 2004 or earlier work best)
You can send files in the below file types for custom laser engraving. These file types work well for photographs, images or clipart. In general, the higher the resolution (or larger the file) the better the quality the artwork will be and the better resulting laser engraving we can achieve.
- PNG
- TIFF
- JPG
Text should be converted to curves (CorelDRAW), or converted to outlines (Adobe Illustrator).
Have a file type not listed here? We can probably use it, just email it to us and we'll let you know. Or, you can try and Export to a file type listed above.
Custom Laser Cutting
- When laser cutting, we follow the vector lines in the file. The laser beam cuts at the center of this line.
- In CorelDRAW, make your lines that need to be cut "Hairlines". In Adobe Illustrator, make them 0.003 inches wide
- Make these lines RGB RED
- The largest area we can laser cut in our bed with 1 or 2 day turn around is 18x24". We can go as large is 48x48" cutting area with longer lead times.
- If you have exact specifications and small tolerances, you may want to adjust for the kerf (the thickness of the laser beam as it cuts), which is about 0.0015" on each side (laser beam thickness is about 0.003"). So, if you want your square to be exactly 5.0", you would want to size it in the file at 5.0015". These numbers are approximate and can change based on material and thickness of the material.
Custom Laser Engraving
- When laser engraving, we raster engrave the image or artwork you provided. For grayscale, we usually laser half tone, or in lots of little dots. We can also laser error diffusion for different results. For instance, 50% black will be engraved at roughly half the power as 100% black, and at 50% filled in.
- We also use other methods of dithering, Floyd-Steinberg and Stucki, depending on the application.
- We can laser around a cylinder piece, just submit a mockup of how you want the final piece to look when submitting your art
- If you have a specific depth you need your part engraved or cut, please let us know. We will do our best to get close, however we cannot guarantee exact depth matches. We can adjust the depth by adjusting the power and speed of the laser, but cannot promise an exact match.
