Cutting Multiple Sheets of Paper Cardstock

[Keyur Shah]

We are a specialty stationery store and really want to add laser products to our product offerings.

Our customers order in bulk quantities typically (50-250 items at a time). I've timed a typical cut on a card around 2 minutes, and using a flat bed cutter (epilog, trotec), it seems we can only do a very small handful of orders per day on a single machine. Economically, it doesn't seem to add up with the going rates of laser cut invitations and the processing time in the US.

The dream would be a galvo conveyor feed system, but we can't afford that. So for now, testing out cutting multiple sheets at a time.

I tested out cutting multiple sheets with a epilog showroom and it actually was able to cut through 6-8 sheets at a time with decent results. But this was only with simple shapes like squares and circles. Once it got more complex, there was a lot of burning on most of the sheets.

I'm wondering if there are any ideas for obtaining higher output.

Thanks.

[Scott Shepherd]

Yes, run nitrogen for your air assist.

[Jiten Patel]

You can't run multiple sheets at a time without residual smoke damage between the sheets - depends on the finish of the stock and the quality you would be happy sending out to your client. Cheap Chinese laser-cut invites are cheap because they use sub-par stock and they don't care about charring. We would not accept anything that had charring as our clients demand nothing but the best and that is what we provide. Ultimately you need to charge what the product is worth and not what other vendors who buy from China sell them for (usually $2-5 each). We would never produce anything for that cost and quite frankly we don't want to either.

[Darren Wilson]

Hello Keyur,

Google MY-C6060M or SCM2000... quite affordable and make short work of even the most intricate of laced cards. File that took over 4 minutes on my Epilog, was cut in just over 30s on this type of machine.

[Jiten Patel]

Hi Darren,

Do you have either of these machines?

We were looking at getting the SCM2000 but got quotes around $48k which I thought was a lot for a Chinese machine?

[Darren Wilson]

Hi Darren,

Do you have either of these machines?

We were looking at getting the SCM2000 but got quotes around $48k which I thought was a lot for a Chinese machine?


Hello Jiten,
I don't have one, but have been in contact with both manufactures/sellers and considering purchasing one. Price does seem high especially for an asian machine, however considering units use US/Western Scan head (CTI) and Laser source (Coherent J2 250w) its better than half cost of a western made unit with same components. You can spec with Asian Scan head for less.

I am planning a visit to CN in new year to vist a few vendors, and get hands on.

[chris szlachetka]

I can't remember how many sheets we were cutting in a single pass, but it was enough to complete a big job fast. To help with laser char between each layer, I made a fixture out of 2 pcs of wood to compress the paper & card stock. I'll look around for that fixture and post a pic if I find it. Worked great

[Keyur Shah]

I can't remember how many sheets we were cutting in a single pass, but it was enough to complete a big job fast. To help with laser char between each layer, I made a fixture out of 2 pcs of wood to compress the paper & card stock. I'll look around for that fixture and post a pic if I find it. Worked great

thanks for that. if you can share that, would be wonderful. in my mind, i thought if you can get it tight enough and remove the heat quickly enough from spreading, it could work. it's cool that you got it to work!! do you have any photos of the inside sheets you cut?

[Keyur Shah]

thanks for that recommendation, i'll look into it


Hello Keyur,

Google MY-C6060M or SCM2000... quite affordable and make short work of even the most intricate of laced cards. File that took over 4 minutes on my Epilog, was cut in just over 30s on this type of machine.

[Keyur Shah]

i'll look into the nitrogen recommendation. thanks!


Yes, run nitrogen for your air assist.

[Keyur Shah]

from my research in the forums, i know you're the paper master! thanks for your input. i see so many companies making it in the US at a low cost, i don't know how they afford to do it.


You can't run multiple sheets at a time without residual smoke damage between the sheets - depends on the finish of the stock and the quality you would be happy sending out to your client. Cheap Chinese laser-cut invites are cheap because they use sub-par stock and they don't care about charring. We would not accept anything that had charring as our clients demand nothing but the best and that is what we provide. Ultimately you need to charge what the product is worth and not what other vendors who buy from China sell them for (usually $2-5 each). We would never produce anything for that cost and quite frankly we don't want to either.

[Darren Wilson]

Here is link to my file being cut (only one of) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pA1AP0FrOq4
(hope this doesn't break the rules...)
I was cutting 2 up from a sheet in 8m40s, this machine is doing one in 11s. Edge quality looks pretty damn good, not charring etc...
If you are churning out 2 laced cards every 30-40 seconds, I think you can do alright $$ wise. Just have to ensure you have the orders to justify the investment.

[Darren Wilson]

pic from my Epilog
396761

[Bob Davis - Sturgis SD]

This topic really has my attention as we cut a lot of leatherette and engrave / cut a lot of matboard. Be interested in your further research.

Watching the videos I suspect there are some safety issues to address and exhaust issues? Not sure where that smoke is going.

Bob