Newbie to Engraving questions

[Dmitry Beker]

Hi All,

I am a retail store owner and have been considering buying a laser engraving machine. From what I've gathered so far. avoiding Chinese-made machines is a good idea. But full disclosure, I am very new to the engraving process and would love to know what machines you would recommend? The product will be retail goods, mostly beveled glass, which I plan to offer for engraving services for. What is the approximate price range for the machines? Does it make more sense to lease or buy? If leasing, do they usually cover maintenance? And finally, what are some suggested machine manufacturers that are worth looking into or that you can recommend?


Also if can you please suggest a few places where we can start comparison shopping process.

Many, many thanks in advance!

[Bert Kemp]

Theres the big 3 Trotec, Epilog, and Universal Laser.Prices start around 10K for entry level desk top and just go up from there.Their expensive to buy and repair. Theres many business owners here that have Chinese machines and are very happy with them. But you can't buy an ebay machine you have to get a decent Chinese machine and they will cost about a third of what one of the big 3 will cost you. Yes engraving is slower then the expensive big 3 but they do a good job, and are easy to work on and repair. Prices go up with bed size and power. Sp you have to know what size materials you'll be working with. You say engraving Glass so if your just engraving and not cutting I guess for glass 30 to 60 watt range would work. If you plan on cutting wood at all you might jump to 80 watts. Over 80 on a glass co2 tube you could loose some engraving as its hard to power down for engraving.
Oh recommendation for around 7K you can get a decent Chinese machine from an American reseller with good support. I would Look at Rabbit Laser USA in Ohio or Boss Laser In FL.

[Keith Downing]

Bert gave a great summary. Depending on your needs and budget, a US machine (Trotec, Epilog, Universal) could be worth the investment. You'd probably be looking at $12-20k for a full size machine once it is all said and done; but it would be faster and could potentially pay for itself faster if you can get enough work for it.

Alternatively, there are a large number of Chinese machines that can do essentially the same quality work, but will be quite a bit slower. They start at around $4,000 (all in) and run up to $10 or 12k. So you have to decide what is most important to you, and how much you can afford to invest or finance now.

+1 for both Rabbit and Boss being good US re-sellers for Chinese machines. They give added support, a warranty and peace of mind; at a slight markup. But IMHO it's well worth it if you're going the Chinese route for your first laser.

Also, this question gets asked here about once a week. So if you want more information without waiting for everyone to chime in on this thread, just start reading previous posts on similar subjects. There is a LOT of information here. Welcome to the Creek!

[David Somers]

Dmitry,

Ditto on all the suggestions above. Plus....while you are searching you might look at threads on engraving glass with a laser. Relatively few folks seem to have consistent success with it. There are a lot of variables, and a huge range of outcomes. Dig a bit.

[Jeremy Brown]

I would also recommend contacting the dealers as well and see if they have a demo day or go to a show and bring some samples to do. Recently Trotec came to a conference room at a hotel about an hour away from me for a demo. Like mentioned above, glass can be difficult to get good results. They always look good out of the machine but you can often get flake out and it looses its "frostyiness". Now all 3 brands will engrave glass in the same way, it's more about getting the results you want. make sure you have them try different power/speed/ppi so you can take it home and wash the glass and see how it holds up. You would be investing a lot of money, make sure you do your do diligence.

[Keith Downing]

Also, I missed this in my first post, but it helps a lot if you add your location to your profile. Some reps work only certain regions, trade shows travel the country, etc; and you might have some friends right in your backyard already via SMC.

[Jeff Heinrichs]

Like Dmitry, I'm a total newb to the engraving world. Unlike Dmitry I'm jumping in with both feet and ordering one of the big 3 (Epilog) mainly because I want options. I've worked creatively around technology for the last ~40 years and have really decided to pursue a twilight career for lack of another term to use.

Dmitry - I would definitely say to use the wisdom spread throughout the forums and balance it with what you know about yourself. We don't know you, or your capacity for picking up new technology and mastering it. I have heard that with some off-shore lasers you may be tied to their proprietary software and sometimes a lack of resources to learn how to use, maintain and repair your investment. As some have replied there are some big players in the off-shore brands and I would definitely lean that direction if you are so inclined.

I've obviously jumping in deep all at once, but based on where I'm at financially it's okay and I want a workhorse that I can rely on 5, 10 or maybe even 15 years from now. Once I get a solid foundation under me and if my targeted market is successful, I will definitely be looking towards some less expensive laser options where I would be willing to explore doing more of my own tinkering, etc. My initial pursuits will be in exploring and mastering the vast laser engraving nuances, techniques, and substrates and I don't want to be bogged down with trying to understand if/why an off-shore laser isn't doing what I want, or why the laser isn't working with software X or Y, or how come outputs are not what I was expecting. I'm using my large investment to hopefully lean on the reliability, support and volumes of online resources related to the "nuances, techniques, and substrates" that I will be working with. One thing I've learned while doing my initial research is that every laser is different and the one you buy will change over time as it ages. For me having a brand/machine that so many others have is going to be important for me during the learning process, but that may be different for you or others.

Good luck in whichever choice you make. One things for sure, you will have fun while learning!