Engraving Cards & Invitations on a quality wood

[Clyde Baumwell]

I have been engraving and cutting biz cards and invites on 1/32" Birch Plywood. I have a wedding invitation job to do and I am no longer satisfied with the quality of the engraved image. The quality is probably the same as before, but I have decided to raise my own standards. Does anyone have a suggestion for a different veneer and where they get it? I can't use alder because they break in the mail, so flexibility is an issue.

[George M. Perzel]

Hi Clyde;
There are a couple of ways to skin this cat. I never liked engraving on birch-tends to be a yellowish brown rather than a clean dark print.
Assuming you want to keep them thin, I suggest alder or cherry veneer on top of the birch. No big deal to spray the ply and back of veneer with HD spray adhesive (3M type 77-and no, I don't own the company). Wait 30 secs and put them together-add a bit of weight for a few hours, but probably ok to use immediately. the other way is to just use veneer and cross laminate a few layers-making your own plywood. Another way is to use solid, thicker woods, like 1/8" cherry or maple.
Best Regards,
George
Laserarts

[Dan Hintz]

I'm with George on the suggestion of a Cherry veneer... makes for a very nice look.

[Joe Hillmann]

For extra strength has anyone tried paper backed veneers? Just one layer of it should be able to survive being mailed, plus it is fairly cheap to get a roll and practice if it doesn't work then you are only out about $20 and if it does work it is probably cheaper than the 1/32 ply you have been using.

[Dee Gallo]

+1 for cherry - I've used thin cherry many times and it never fails to look good. Walnut also works well, but not as crisp in contrast. The solid 1/8" is very stable especially in small sizes.

[Ray Mighells]

check my listing on Friends of the Creek. Photos at the link to my Picture Trail albums

[Chuck Stone]

wish we had nice stuff locally..
ask for veneer around here and they
steer you to the contact paper aisle..

[George M. Perzel]

Chuck;
Tons of it for sale on Ebay at very reasonable prices.(No, I don't own or work for Ebay, etc.)
Best Regards,
George
Laserarts

[Chuck Stone]

Yeah.. I can find it. (are you sure you don't own Ebay?)
but I like to buy local if I can. Things tend to look different
in online photos compared to seeing them in person.
I usually get 4'x8' sheets at the lumber yard, but they only
carry mahogany unless you special order something. Then they
try to sell you stains to make it look like something else.

[Clyde Baumwell]

Thanks all for your suggestions. I have cherry veneer and it engraves nicely, but I find that it chars/burns pretty badly when cutting though I have unsuccessfully played with the settings to try and minimize the char. I like the paper backed veneer idea.

[Mike Null]

I did a job last year using an exotic veneer imported from South America that was bonded to what looked like a luan mahogany backing. It was about .030" thick. My customer cut it to size (about 6" x 11") and we used two full sheets for the job. We ordered the material from St. Charles Hardwoods here in MO and it took about 3 weeks to get.

[George Brown]

I laser cut cherry often (about 3/16 to 1/4 inch thick) and the cut is a nice rich brown color, no charring or burning.

[Dee Gallo]

I laser cut cherry often (about 3/16 to 1/4 inch thick) and the cut is a nice rich brown color, no charring or burning.

George,

I think it would be very helpful to Clyde and everyone else if you shared your settings for no-char cutting of cherry! This is one of those topics that come up often.

cheers, dee

[Keith Outten]

Dee,

I think the amount of charring when cutting wood is based on the power of your laser engraver. When I used to make wooden business cards with my 35 watt Epilog the edges were charred pretty bad. The last time I cut wooden cards with the 60 watt Xenetech at CNU the edges were a rich brown color, no charring or burning as George described.

I haven't had a need to make any wooden cards in awhile but I expect the new Trotec 80 watt will do a good job. All my business cards for Northwind Associates these days are made from clear cast acrylic.
.

[Dee Gallo]

Dee,

I think the amount of charring when cutting wood is based on the power of your laser engraver. When I used to make wooden business cards with my 35 watt Epilog the edges were charred pretty bad. The last time I cut wooden cards with the 60 watt Xenetech at CNU the edges were a rich brown color, no charring or burning as George described.

I haven't had a need to make any wooden cards in awhile but I expect the new Trotec 80 watt will do a good job. All my business cards for Northwind Associates these days are made from clear cast acrylic.
.

Thanks, Keith... all the more evidence I need to justify buying another laser! hahaha I must say that Trotec looks might enticing.

[George Brown]

Sorry, should have posted the settings......

60 watt laser with air assist

Cut .156 thick
power: 50
speed: 5
ppi: 250

Cut .16 thick
power: 55
speed: 5
ppi: 250

Cut .20 thick
power: 95
speed: 5
ppi: 250

[Dee Gallo]

Thanks George, I'll put those settings in my notebook for future reference (when I buy a bigger laser!)