I've read many of the posts and conversations on laser engraving in this forum. It has been quite helpful. I own an art and event gallery as well as a retail store. One of my best selling items is driftwood that has quotes engraved into the driftwood. The driftwood is usually between 6" - 12" long and the quotes are burnt into the driftwood at a of maximum 1/16". This is all that I will be using the engraver for. I've done some research and it seems the trotec, universal and epilog laser engravers have the best reviews. Here are some questions I have:
1. Is the speed of the engraver based on the watts? What is the minimum watt system you would recommend for what I am doing?
2. Which of the engravers have built in job control software? Or which is easiest to use? As mentioned above I have not doing complicated cuts, only engraving of words into driftwood.
3. I want an engraver that has a decent size surface area. Will I be able to make a templete to put on the bed of the engraver so I can engrave more than 1 piece of wood at a time?
4. I live in the SF Bay area. Are there any expos or engraving places you know of in this area?
5. I am interested in purchasing a used engraver. Does this site or what would be the best site to purchase a good used engraver?
Thank you in advance for your feedback.