Thursday, 04 Jun 2015 22:06 GMT

Laser Cutting Technologies

Brendan Perring asks: “How is the evolution of laser cutting technologies opening up new product and revenue generating opportunities for sign-makers?”

A machine for every use

At Grafityp, we have supplied LaserPro machines manufactured by GCC, for many years. A massive collection of models from desktop to large format are available. The range offers many different power options and collections that are labelled engravers, cutters or markers. However, this doesn’t mean for instance that an engraver will not cut; it means that each range is more comfortably designed for that particular process. 

For sign-makers, a laser cutter could open up many product opportunities. They will cut many different types of material including paper and card, vinyl, acrylic, wood, leather, and more for all kinds of uses. They will also cut stencils, control panels, models, packaging, prototypes, acrylic lettering, and giftware. Certain models have the capability to cut metal too. A laser cutter provides the opportunity to create extra revenue, whilst incorporating sign making necessities.

They will cut many different types of material including paper and card, vinyl, acrylic, wood, leather and more for all kinds of uses”


The lasers specifically labelled ‘cutters’ offered by Grafityp consist of the X252, X380, MG380 Hybrid, X500II, FMC-270 and the T500. Across this range the X252 would be a great entry level machine whilst the MG380 Hybrid has dual laser tubes enabling the high quality of RF driven laser tubes whilst taking advantage of low per-wattage cost of DC excited CO² laser tube to deliver a clear cutting edge on thick materials. The FMC-270 is a great choice for high output. Housed in its own cabinet this compact size production unit is a cutting specialist engineered for performance with excellent output quality and will cut through metal sheet easily and efficiently.

Our website gives more detailed information on all of the LaserPro products or to see them first hand, we have a dedicated LaserPro showroom at our premises in Tamworth which we would encourage anyone to visit. Simply give us a call to make arrangements for this.

Economical  solutions


Lucy Hall, marketing manager, Trotec Laser



A broad spectrum of new opportunities are now available to sign-makers thanks to the evolution of laser technology. A wide range of materials can be processed on one machine, including acrylic, multi-layered laminates, wood, paper and stone without the need to change cutters or tools. One off designs are no longer economically disadvantageous to produce, as settings can be changed at the touch of a button, creating the option to offer a bespoke service.

Developments in technology allow a consistent level of quality to be maintained even when cutting and engraving on a large bed size, where the laser head is working at a distance from the power source.

The first cut remains identical to the last. The recent launch of Trotec’s wide-format, heavy duty SP1500 laser cutter in the UK, provides sign-makers with the opportunity to process much larger, bulkier pieces of material in one job. At 400w and with a bed size of 1500 x 1250mm, this model is designed to be able to hold a full standard size sheet of acrylic. The heavy load table also offers users the option to diversify into, amongst other industries, the stone signage market, offering the unique opportunity to process material weighing up to 50kg.

The ability to earn higher profit margins is also a factor compared to traditional cutting techniques ”



The ability to earn higher profit margins is also a factor compared to traditional cutting techniques. Reduced labour costs, non-contact and evaporation of material when cutting, reducing excess residue, all contribute to a cleaner, faster, more economical solution. Trotec customers in particular benefit from ‘InPack Technology’ which protects the laser’s vital components, dramatically reducing the cleaning process.

With users looking to expand and evolve their product ranges, the development of dual power sources, incorporating both CO2 and fiber lasers, is an important element. Trotec’s patented flexx range of lasers particularly suits this requirement with both laser sources combined within one machine. This allows the user to alternate between CO2 and fiber in one job, alleviating the necessity to manually change power sources. It ensures precise, continuous ‘speedy’ engraving on multiple materials, including metal, is executed in one pass without any distortion or misalignment within the design.

A change of pace



CaptionChris Jacobs, managing director, HPC Laser


Laser technology is constantly evolving, mainly due to its variety of applications. This development has impacted sign making in many ways, the main and most obvious change has been the reduction in price of CNC laser cutters. As the price of laser cutters and engravers has fallen they have become more accessible to smaller sign-makers allowing them to offer fast delivery, which until recently has been restricted to large established companies, thus bringing diversity to the industry.

A laser cutter is a very versatile piece of equipment, which is very easy to use, this has allowed sign-makers to develop and expand into a range of products such as: metal marking, point of sale and engraving. This in part exploits another great advantage of the laser cutter software such as, the repeatability of jobs.

Studies show the main contributing factor to sales are services offered, delivery and not just price, to this end a laser cutter is a boon. As new easier to use and more universal software has been introduced sign-makers have been able to use the designs of the customer on their machines creating a very personal service.

There is significant change to laser marking coming in the near future as HPC Laser are soon to offer a range of Galvo head lasers. Galvo head lasers allow sign-makers to create very decorative signs that would previously take hours in minutes. They can engrave designs ten times faster than a standard laser cutter.  We are the only company in the UK to offer one of these machines for well under £10,000. They can mark onto metal and non-metallic items.

A laser cutter is a very versatile piece of equipment, which is very easy to use, this has allowed sign-makers to develop and expand into a range of products ”


Additionally, HPC Laser will soon be the first in the UK to offer 220 Watt laser tubes for under £4000. This high powered tube would bring the benefit of greater cutting speed and power to the sign making businesses especially on thicker products and would also help to keep the price of lower wattage CO2 laser tubes making an 80 Watt laser tube similar in price to a set of ink cartridges, so with running costs of around 40 pence per hour and only a standard 240 plug required, why not?

A commonly over looked aspect of laser cutter development is the software; we have kept our software adaptable so that it will be able to accept files from most drawing packages for instance, coral, illustrator, Auto-CAD and sign making packages therefore, allowing sign-makers to invest in a machine long term and utilise a variety of drawing packages without the worries of compatibility issues and software updates.

With development in laser technology not slowing it’s safe to say that there will be many more innovations to help your business expand in the future.

An eye for design


Robert Wallace, director, Laser Engraving and Design



At Laser Engraving we like to think that there isn’t much that we cannot engrave and we therefore relish every new challenge. We specialise in engraving and have lasers that are specifically for that purpose. We also offer a design service and can cut certain things such as gaskets, labels, wood and acrylics but we can’t cut metal of any sort as that takes a different type of laser, our machines are generally around about 100W, whereas for cutting metals you’re talking about 6kW. We have both Fibre and CO2 lasers allowing us the flexibility to cover most requirements.

I bought my first laser in 2002, which has had a replacement tube, but still does a sterling job. It’s the backbone for the finer engraving that we’ve been doing ever since we started. We’ve just invested in a brand new machine which is bigger and more powerful and allows us a much wider range of both cutting and engraving. The CO2 machines are Austrian and therefore the more expensive of the range, but give a much higher quality engraving and precision cutting than a lot of the cheaper machines now coming in from China.

I have a strong design engineering background, and can therefore offer a bespoke design service ”



My business is very diverse and as such we were able to survive and even prosper during the recession, I have even engraved oranges with logos for a business who wanted to hand them out at a conference. Another company we work with specialises in making awards for the music industry. We’ve engraved bottles of whiskey, done labels for boat companies, etched parts for the motor industry, designed and made acrylic source holders for the nuclear business and even helped conceive the layout and produced all the labelling and instrument panel engraving for a private home build aeroplane.

As all engraving and cutting is done with a beam of light, it doesn’t stress the part as no clamping or holding down of the part is required. This means we can cut delicate gaskets or engrave awkward shaped machined parts. With in-house design we can make our own holding and location jigs for repeatability.

I have a strong design engineering back-ground, and can therefore offer a bespoke design service which is something my customers both old and new really appreciate. Other ordinary engraving companies cannot generally supply this service and I think that is why we are now entering our 14th year of trading.

Your text here...