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james burchfield
07-12-2012, 12:56 PM
Looks like colorlaserproduction got bought out and by http://lasermgroup.com/

Mike Null
07-12-2012, 1:41 PM
Judging from their gallery I don't think I'd buy their black for metal regardless of the price. If I shipped that example I doubt I'd see my customer again.

Richard Rumancik
07-12-2012, 1:51 PM
I wanted to think it was just bad photography and poor resolution of the pics. But looking at the gold-colored metal part (brass?) there is a lot of fading and many dropouts so it just looks like it did not adhere well. They really need to get some better quality pictures on the website - these photos are not convincing.

Gary Hair
07-12-2012, 4:09 PM
these photos are not convincing.

Actually they are very convincing - I'm convinced that Cermark works fine for me and I'm not inclined to switch.

Gary Hair
07-12-2012, 4:10 PM
If I shipped that example

Like that would ever happen...

Rodne Gold
07-12-2012, 5:03 PM
I had the same thought - I semi discounted poor photography and thought "Wow , if this is the OPTIMAL one can do with this stuff , imagine what normal will be like!!!" Terrible examples (one assumes that if posted as an example that they have fine tuned and fettled it and it's their best work)

Frank Corker
07-12-2012, 5:38 PM
Example gallery on that site would send me running in the other direction, you would have thought there would be better pictures of their stuff.

AL Ursich
07-12-2012, 11:17 PM
Well, I will admit that you can find pictures of my past projects on both of my sites and YES, sometimes the pictures are not "Perfect".... So the Pot calling the Kettle Black...

I think the thing that stuck out to me looking at all the samples is that the "Pride" in the Product is missing.... Many of the images are not centered on the object... Like a "Rookie" like MYSELF had done the work and was just HAPPY that a image was made....

Then the Webpage Designer picking images that are not 100% GOOD for the site... Almost like it was done by a "Rookie" like myself.... I use Yahoo Business and a Template for my site.... Nothing Fancy..

They are excited about the product but the "A" team did not work on the Samples OR Site....

Just some Observations..... IF they LISTEN then a remake of the Sample Project and Site Pages WITH More Attention to DETAIL, this would reflect much better of the product. With my 20 Watt Laser I am out of the Metal and Tile Marking Game.... Even Brick...

Someday.... When I am not working 7 days a week since January doing Sublimation and CNC...

AL

Mike Null
07-13-2012, 5:51 AM
I believe it's a do it your self site but that doesn't excuse the quality of the product they have photographed. The camera captured what it saw.

Peter Jones
07-15-2012, 1:31 PM
Is there no reasonable alternatives to cermark? I'm shocked by the prices--$75 for 12oz, and $108 for a 1 inch x 50ft of tape. Since this is a hobby, I suppose a 12oz can will last while for me, but still seems very expensive to me.

Gary Hair
07-15-2012, 2:22 PM
Peter,
I can mark at least $5,000 worth of parts with that $100 container of Cermark - does that sound expensive now? As a hobbyist you might want to see if you could have someone spray your parts and mark them yourself. If you were close to me I'd be happy to do that if I could batch yours in with a customer run.

Gary

Scott Shepherd
07-15-2012, 2:34 PM
Peter,
I can mark at least $5,000 worth of parts with that $100 container of Cermark - does that sound expensive now? As a hobbyist you might want to see if you could have someone spray your parts and mark them yourself. If you were close to me I'd be happy to do that if I could batch yours in with a customer run.

Gary

+1 on that!

It's like anything else. If you don't take the risk, you don't get to share in the reward. I see people complain about Sawgrass Ink all the time for dye sublimation. They can't believe that it costs $250 for a set of ink (for the smaller printers). They complain and complain about it. We don't care. That $240 in ink will make us no less than $5000, probably closer to $7500. I think that's a pretty good investment.

I like the price being high because it weeds out all the competition that's not serious about their business.

Rodne Gold
07-16-2012, 1:54 AM
I too think "the real stuff" is the best way to go , we have tried all the "cheap" alternatives , they do work with lots of fiddling and fettling and the risk of ruining something expensive.

Peter Jones
07-17-2012, 2:23 AM
I guess I fall into crowd who complains about expensive consumables, but that's fine, I'm cheap :D

Cermark tape seems like it would be easier to use than the spray, but everyone uses he spray? What's easier for a beginner?

Mike Null
07-17-2012, 6:53 AM
Peter

If you're a beginner with no immediate use for Cermark it is indeed expensive but it stores well and buying bulk is the economical thing to do in the long run. Like the others, I count Cermark as one of my most profitable applications and do a fairly high volume with it.

I started out by marking my own tools with it to experiment.

Gary Hair
07-17-2012, 11:05 AM
I guess I fall into crowd who complains about expensive consumables, but that's fine, I'm cheap :D

Cermark tape seems like it would be easier to use than the spray, but everyone uses he spray? What's easier for a beginner?

Without knowing what laser you have it's hard to tell if tape will even work for you, Ferro recommends 45 watts minimum for tape. The easiest, and best, is to buy bulk, as Mike suggested, and airbrush it on. Spray cans won't get you the thin coating that you need and if they sit on a shelf for too long it will settle and stop spraying. Buy the smallest container you can and thin it between 5:1 and 10:1 and experiment. Make a grid of 1/4" squares and use 100% power and various speeds until you find the sweet spot. Do that test for all of the materials you will use and you'll have no problems marking almost anything.

Gary

Martin Boekers
07-17-2012, 12:52 PM
I have seen this all too often about the pricing of Cermark. Most that use it have had success with it
and as they say $100 of it will last forever. Many don't use it enough to justify buying that quantity.

Maybe Cermark should sell smaller sizes for $25-$30 as an intro kit. Just a thought.

Chuck Stone
07-18-2012, 11:24 AM
I have seen this all too often about the pricing of Cermark. Most that use it have had success with it
and as they say $100 of it will last forever. Many don't use it enough to justify buying that quantity.

Maybe Cermark should sell smaller sizes for $25-$30 as an intro kit. Just a thought.

I'm with you on this one. I don't do enough to justify the cost, so when I need it for a $20 job and
it will cost me $100 to be able to do it, that's not going to work for me. Now, if I used it all the time
and made money with it, that would be a different story.

I bought a spray can that lasted one job and then clogged and the pressure ran down.
I finally donned a face mask, ballistic apron, gloves and such .. took the can to a bench
vise and started slowly sawing into it with a fine blade hacksaw. No pressure in the can,
so I was safe. Cut it open, scooped out the mud and put it in a container with some
denatured alcohol and now I can spray it on when I need it.

Peter Jones
07-18-2012, 12:41 PM
I'm don't have a laser yet, just exploring at this point, but I know I will want to mark metal with it. Thanks for the info, it's helping me figure out what laser I need, and what things cost.

Rodne Gold
07-18-2012, 1:18 PM
You can try the alternatives , lots of discussion on these boards regarding other much cheaper compounds that experimentally minded folk have found that work quite well...
If you are solely marking metal in highish volumes then consider a YAG galvo type machine.

Dan Hintz
09-09-2012, 11:17 AM
You can try the alternatives , lots of discussion on these boards regarding other much cheaper compounds that experimentally minded folk have found that work quite well...
:D Yep... and I'm quite happy with the results. My red formula is working out, even if it has taken a while to make useable (though not perfect... yet). Ironically, however, I have not had a need for it on any orders... go figure ;-)

Bill Cunningham
09-09-2012, 1:13 PM
One spray can of cermark clogged and leaked. (they replaced it n/c) the second can has lasted me 6years todate, I salvaged what I could from the defective can and mixed it with ordinary methyl hydrate and put it on with a 1"wide brush. I also salvage whatever is oversprayed, and I wash off quantity jobs in methyl hydrate and salvage the residue when the methyl hydrate evaporates and put it back in the bottle. those cans have done thousands of dollars worth of work over the last nine years, and I still have lots left..All in All, it probably the lowest cost/highest profit material I use.

John Stevenson
09-09-2012, 4:55 PM
Forgive me but I'm new to this laser lark and this may have been covered before.

Tried engraving direct onto stainless with a 3040 / 40W laser and this is what I got.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/0903/registered_user/lasertest1.jpg

Repeated about 7 times but when scotchbrited it soon removed the etching, top one wasn't touched as a reference.

Ran the same test with the stainless sprayed with some dry moly spray and this is the result.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/0903/registered_user/lasertest2.jpg

All these have been scotchbrited [ is that a word ? ]

Works on steel and stainless, wipes straight off alloy so I suspect that the laser is burning the carbon into the ferrous metals ?

We can buy the dry moly spray in the Uk from RS [ Radiospares] for about £12 per aerosol

Dan Hintz
09-09-2012, 7:05 PM
Yeah, the moly spray has been mentioned in the past... I didn't see as dark of a mark compared to the other options, however.

Mike Null
09-10-2012, 8:04 AM
I can engrave directly on stainless with my 45 watt machine but it is not practical due to the slowness of the operation.