New to the group and looking for advice.

[Robert Tepper]

Hello all,

MY name is Robert. I have been in the rubber stamp and engraving business for 34 years.
I currently have a Dahlgren system 300, which is a 20 x 24" table. It works great but is old.

I do a tremendous amount of art stamps. I have 3 large 15 x 24" vulcanizers.

I am ready to purchase my first laser and I am leaning towards the Trotec 300.

I want to cut rubber on cushion that has been previously vulcanized. I also see this machine as being an exceptionally valuable tool for many aspects of my business.

Any recomendations would be greatly appreciated. I am leaning towards Trotec over Epilog.

Thank you,
Robert Tepper
American Art Stamp/Western Engraving/Gourmet Rubber Stamps

[Dan Hintz]

If you want speed, then I definitely suggest the Trotec over any others... they're roughly twice as fast for engraving (about the same for vectoring) compared to others on the market, but you pay for that speed with a premium price. But, make sure you can run your stamps at 100% speed with your chosen cartridge's power, else you're throwing money away on speed you won't be able to use.

[Robert Tepper]

Thank you for the reply. Most of my rubber stamps are done on the vulcanizers. I am looking for a versatile machine for cutting, engraving and just having a new useful tool. I do plan on using it for custom stamps.

Robert

[Richard Rumancik]

Robert, I assume that if you are vulcanizing rubber you are used to having the smell of burning tires in your shop. Lasering rubber can be nasty - some people won't make stamps because of it - but if you have the ventilation already to handle the smell then you are in a good position, since you have the volume of business to make a laser practicable. Many people try to laser stamps one or two at a time and there is no money in doing that.

It would be worthwhile for you to get a demo of whatever you are thinking about buying.

[Bill Cunningham]

If your doing a lot of art stamps, and multiples of the same stamp, vulcanizing is the way to go.. You will find that stamps cut on the laser, particularly ones with a lot of blank space, may not cut deep enough to prevent the base of the stamp from inking as well, not to mention the time it will take to laser the large ones.. If I'm doing a repetitive run I always use the vulcanizer with a matrix from a 11pt mag cut. Much much faster.. One off Custom stamps with a lot of detail can be done easier than the old way, as long as the customer is willing to pay the price for a custom art stamp, considering your competing with China. The customer seems to think a 4" x 4" artstamp made in North America, should also sell for 10 bucks..