Business cards on a Laser

[Bob Kline]

Has anybody done this and, if so, what material works best?
Thanks

[Joe Pelonio]

I've done them (rastor and vector cut) on regular card stock, magnetic (lasermag), and various wood veneers. The woodworking guy two doors down gets them from me regularly.

[George M. Perzel]

Hi Bob;
I've found that 1/16" alder works best. Lee Valley has thin veneer-level precut stock which is economical but a bit too thin for me. Also had good luck with mahoghany and butternut-bandsaw and drum sand.
George

[Dave Fifield]

Hi Bob, lots of business cards are made on our lasers all the time. There are quite a few previous threads on this - you should do a search on the forum.

Personally, I like making my own three-ply. I use two light colored thin veneers (maple) for the outside and a thicker dark veneer (walnut) for the inner layer. I glue up sheets of this using my veneer press. I just got a vacuum press recently and will give this a try soon.

Thin ply is much stronger than the equivalent thickness of solid wood. Cards made with this homemade ply are likely to survive much longer.

I set the laser speed/power to raster right through the thinner maple layer so that the dark inner layer is exposed. This gives very good contrast and is extremely pleasing on the eye.

Dave F.

[Mike Moffitt]

Dave,
I'd like to try this method. I haven't worked much with veneers...can you tell me, if I don't have a press, what's the best method for glueing them together and what type of glue do I use? Also, what thickness of veneers are you using?

Thanks for your help!

Mike

[Dave Fifield]

Mike, you'll have to construct a press of some sort to make the 3-ply. A couple of sheets of 3/4" ply with a 1/8" newspaper pad and some wax paper will do. You can use ordinary clamps around the perimeter and a couple of really heavy weights in the middle. You should be able to make letter size pieces of 3-ply like this.

Glue - I use ordinary Titebond III - you have to spread it thin and even using a glue roller. White glue is fine too. Don't use contact cement - it never really hardens and will move over time/temperature.

Veneers - I use veneers that vary between about 1/28" and 1/40". I try to use thinner stuff for the outside layers and thicker (1/28") for the inner layer. Make sure the layers have the grain running orthogonal to each other for best strength.

Hope this helps.

Cheers,
Dave F.

[Keith Outten]

Bob,

I make my business cards from 1/8" clear cast acrylic sheet. Acrylic is really cheap, looks fantastic and requires no finish to be applied.

I have made wooden cards and they look great but are more work or more expensive if you purchase the stock from a laser supply company. I also tried the annodized aluminum cards, although expensive they are excellent cards.

.

[Rodne Gold]

Rowmark flexibrass (various colours) works real well for this , thin enough to keep quite a few in a card holder/pocket for yourself and thin enough for your customer to put in a rolodex or whatever they keep cards in. Engrave and die cut
Like this
http://www.tokerbros.co.za/new%20pics/promo%203.jpg
Its great to make acrylic etc , but these are generally bulky and are never put in card files and so forth.

[Drew Tomchick]

Bob,

I make my business cards from 1/8" clear cast acrylic sheet. Acrylic is really cheap, looks fantastic and requires no finish to be applied.

I have made wooden cards and they look great but are more work or more expensive if you purchase the stock from a laser supply company. I also tried the annodized aluminum cards, although expensive they are excellent cards.

.

I have never considered this before, but now you have me thinking. Our business specializes in custom anodizing and laser engraving for cosmetic purposes. Do you buy sheets of Aluminum and cut them yourself or buy precut cards? Are the edges rounded to prevent sharp edges?
We have all the equipment to turn raw sheets into incredible looking cards that would really stand out.

[Keith Outten]

Drew,

I purchased about twenty of the anodized business cards ready to engrave from LaserBits. The corners were rounded and both sides were engraveable. These are a bit expensive but very fancy, most of the people that I made these for ended up using them as a desk ornament.

Sheets to cards would take a really good cutter but would be worth the investment if you have the material on hand. Large plaques are also something to think about.

[Dave Jones]

Chewbarka (Frank Ricci) sells the business card sized anodized aluminum blanks for pretty cheap in quantity. (around 50 cents each)

[Drew Tomchick]

Drew,

I purchased about twenty of the anodized business cards ready to engrave from LaserBits. The corners were rounded and both sides were engraveable. These are a bit expensive but very fancy, most of the people that I made these for ended up using them as a desk ornament.

Sheets to cards would take a really good cutter but would be worth the investment if you have the material on hand. Large plaques are also something to think about.

Hi Keith,
We have some CNC mills that would make cutting the cards pretty simple. I was thinking of using them to give to dealers we meet at events. They would also work really well as sample cards to show the different types of anodizing we are capable of. We can do some incredible things, but pictures just don't quite capture it the way being able to hold it does.

[Keith Outten]

Hi Keith,
We have some CNC mills that would make cutting the cards pretty simple. I was thinking of using them to give to dealers we meet at events. They would also work really well as sample cards to show the different types of anodizing we are capable of. We can do some incredible things, but pictures just don't quite capture it the way being able to hold it does.

Drew,

I agree, I have never seen a picture of an engraving project that would do the job justice. Had I not witnessed an Epilog demonstration at a woodworking show and seen the machine running I would never have even considered purchasing an engraver. The quality is just awesome.

The sheets you produce, are they thick?

[Drew Tomchick]

Drew,

I agree, I have never seen a picture of an engraving project that would do the job justice. Had I not witnessed an Epilog demonstration at a woodworking show and seen the machine running I would never have even considered purchasing an engraver. The quality is just awesome.

The sheets you produce, are they thick?

We don't normally work with sheets, but with the equipment we have, sheets wouldn't present much trouble. I talked to our machinist today and was told we could get 1/32" sheets, and maybe 1/16" sheets. I have him checking our supplier to see whats available.
Here is a few pics of what our machine are usually turning out

http://images.andale.com/f2/129/124/7558542/1145569734262_CobaltDM5Frame.jpg

http://images.andale.com/f2/129/124/7558542/1144022824089_ShockerWaveDust.jpg

http://images.andale.com/f2/129/124/7558542/1085554601111_AkearaFadevVoodooRight.jpg

[Dave Jones]

Paintball guns?

[Keith Outten]

Dave,

I am shamelessly off-topic but I lived in Oswego for two years...worked at Nine Mile 2.

30 below and snowing :)

Drew,

Very nice pieces, you guys must have a very nice shop.

[Dave Jones]

I've only been to Oswego once, but lots of my mail goes there since people confuse that with "Owego", where I live. :)

[Keith Outten]

I've only been to Oswego once, but lots of my mail goes there since people confuse that with "Owego", where I live. :)

Duly noted :)

Sorry for the mistake and I am sure that it happens often LOL.

[Dave Jones]

Happens all the time. My favorite was when I told somebody that I was from Owego and he said "Oh, I didn't know the 'S' was silent". :)

[Ray Mighells]

I'm a little late on this, but I'm doing business cards on Black Walnut, Hard Maple, Ash, Black Cherry and Brazilian Cherry. I use stock just under 1/8" thick.