laser

A Wedding gift to stand the test of time

October 12, 2011 by Alan R Leave a Comment

Your wedding is a special day. You plan for months if not years to make that day one to remember forever. Often, the whole day is filled with action and you are the start attraction. Well-wishers will bring gifts, but you often will not notice. Days or weeks later, you will open the gifts, write your Thank You notes, and begin your married life. What gifts did you receive? Can you remember a year from now? Two? Ten? What makes a wedding gift stand the test of time?

According to Nina Callaway on About.com, a great gift idea is a nice bottle of wine with instructions for the couple to open it on their tenth anniversary. That day, you will look back fondly and remember the special friend that gave you that amazing gift. Handwritten notes may get lost, tags will come off, those special instructions could be lost. What better way to ensure your instructions stay with the gift than to etch them on the bottle.

So, what makes a wedding gift stand the test of time? A thoughtful, useful, elegant gift that is chosen from the heart. Toasters are fine and that new stand mixer would be great, but a personalized bottle of wine for the happy couple to enjoy for years to come, that is a gift you remember.

Laser Engraving – Embossing seals

September 30, 2011 by Alan R Leave a Comment

Laser etchers are versatile tools. Among the many things a laser can create, embossing seals may be some of the most useful. Often these seals are created using Delrin (or acetal).

Delrin is an engineered thermoplastic with a variety of uses. Often, it is the material of choice for embossing seals. The seal designer typically creates the seal digitally in two parts, a positive and negative, but can also consist of only a positive or negative. Once the design is created, the material is loaded into a laser and the laser burns away the material to create the die. Delrin is a very good choice for the die material as it is very strong, is highly abrasion resistant, and absorbs little or no water. It can be worked easily, such as with a laser, and is used in a variety of products.

There are many jobs and careers that require embossed seals; Notary Public, Architect, Professional Engineer, etc. These roles are usually tied to state or federal licensing or certification. To ensure the documents created by these professional are authentic, an embossing seal is typically used. These seals usually consist of a positive and negative die that, when used together, result in a nice raised pattern or seal in the paper or other material. When used, the seals provide physical proof, along with the signature of the professional, that the particular document was reviewed, created, or endorsed by a licensed, certified, or registered professional.

Notary Seal - Alabama - Acorn Sales

Seals differ in the information they convey. Some seals convey information about the professional such as license numbers, the state where the license is valid, the licensees name, etc and varies from state to state and the purpose of the seal. There are variations in the seals even from the same state, but there are guidelines for the minimum information on the seal. For example, this notary seal for Alabama lists the state, the name of the licensee, registration number, and when the license expires.

Embossing seals have many other uses as well. You may see an embossed sticker on an award or on a corporate document. You may receive a hand made card with a design embossed on the paper to give it that unique touch. You may decide to have a custom seal created just for your business, to add that little special touch that will set you apart from your competition.

What ideas could you come up with for an embossing seal?

How could an embossing seal add to the professional image of your company?

Laser Etching and Fashion Week

September 17, 2011 by Alan R Leave a Comment

Fashion week is the ultimate springboard for aspiring designers and a showcase for established brands. They are held in cities all over the world to let the fashion industry know what is “in” or “out” for the coming season. Invitations are sent out to buyers and celebrities from a wide variety of companies, all vying for attention. With a deluge of invitations, it is often the most unique that gets remembered. This year, according to the Wall Street Journal, that prize goes to Frye.

In an effort to stand out, Frye had their invitations laser etched. The invitations were made from 3/8 inch thick maple-wood blocks in Pennsylvania and enclosed in a cotton sack with a hand stitched label. According to an article from the Wall Street Journal, Jamie Laycock, the creative director of Frye, said “we really wanted something that would catch people’s attention and represent the company’s core equities of being handcrafted.”

These invitations were an important part of the marketing plan that Frye put in place to build buzz around the opening of their new store. The attention to detail, from the custom laser etching, to the cotton sack and hand stitched label, shows a growing trend in companies to design unique products and marketing material. Companies are realizing that items which are not unique and new are failing to gain consumer attention.

In business, gaining consumer attention is a major focus in many areas, including sales. It is often said that it takes seven exposures to a product or service before a consumer makes a purchase. Most customers are deluged with products and information that often look the same so when they are presented with something new and unique, they take notice. If the item or information is interesting enough to keep their attention, that attention will often lead to a sale.

How can laser etching help your business? Do you need a custom designed laser etched postcard to send to your VIP customers? Do you need unique store fixtures and signs to show customers that your business is relevant and worthy of attention? How would your potential customers react if your business card was embossed (with a custom laser engraved embossing die), had laser cut areas or custom cut borders, or a stamp from a custom made laser etched ink stamp? What if your business card around if it was unique, different, and attention grabbing? Would that business card help keep your business in a top-of-mind position to a customer?

Remember, it often takes seven exposures to a product or service before a consumer makes a purchase. If your company pops into the customers mind when they need something, you are one step closer to making a sale. So, how can laser etching help your business?

Getting “Ruby” back

September 10, 2011 by Alan R Leave a Comment

Pet tags are a vital part of every animals ensemble. The well dressed pet goes nowhere without identification. In many areas, it is dictated by law that animals (cats, dogs, etc) have vaccine identification on their collars when they are not confined. If your “Ruby” gets lost, whoever finds the poor, lost, and scared critter can contact the veterinarian listed on the tag to inform them of the lost pet. So, is that the best we can do for our pets?

Better identification for pets

Laser etching is very flexible and precise. A skilled designer can utilize the entire surface of the tag to add information and decoration that “Ruby” would be proud to wear. This information can include the obvious; pet name, owner contact info, etc but can also include a notice that the pet has health problems, needing medicine daily. The extra information that a laser etcher can add can also provide valuable information, such as ID numbers and websites, that direct anyone who finds “Ruby” to pet location companies that help recover lost pets. Engraved tags using other methods are very limited in the designs they offer.

Mechanical engravers

Ruby (yes, she is a goat.... a Tennessee Fainting goat. What kind of animal did you expect)

Many people are familiar with mechanical engraving; you may have a special piece of jewelry with a special message engraved in it, you may have pet tags that are mechanically engraved or embossed. One main limitation to mechanical engravers is the lack of flexibility in the design; they can only do certain sized letters, in certain fonts, with certain spacing, etc. Often, that method is inexpensive but more often, it is the only choice. A mechanically engraved tag is better than no tag, but there are much better solutions, one of those better solutions being laser etched tags.

For all of us who enjoy our animals and want to keep them safe, we need to have identification on them at all times. The more information we provide, the better chances we have of their safe return. If you found a lost “Ruby”, wouldn’t it be easier to return the critter if you found had a tag with the pets name, owners name, contact info, PetAmberAlert Member number, etc? Would you be more willing to work harder to return the pet if it was easier to do?

Helping the visually impaired with signs

September 7, 2011 by Alan R Leave a Comment

Photo : Christophe MOUSTIER

A laser etcher is a very versatile tool, allowing a skilled designer to create useful, beautiful objects. One way of doing that is to create signs. Signs can take many forms from the plain, mass produced designs we see almost every day to the unique, custom creations that add beauty and functionality to the space they are added to. They may have many features but the most important feature of a sign is to convey information. Most often, signs convey that information visually, but for the visually impaired, that way is braille.

What is Braille?

Braille is a pattern of raised bumps or dots that help the visually impaired gather information. Using braille, people can read books, understand signs, and even write letters using braille (with the help of a braille typewriter). There have been many technological improvements, such as talking clocks, audiobooks, etc, that help visually impaired people communicate, but braille is most often used on static objects to provide directions, convey warnings, and inform the reader. There are a variety of methods to create braille writing and one of those is using a laser etcher.

Signs your way

Laser etchers are often utilized to create custom and semi-custom signs. Many of the signs are used in places and situations where communication with the visually impaired is useful if not vital (think bathrooms). The flexibility of a laser etcher means that the sign can be designed to be both visually appealing and useful to the visually impaired.

To accomplish this the designer uses the laser to burn holes through the material, often acrylic, and then small spheres of acrylic are inserted into the holes. When done properly, the acrylic spheres extend through the front of the object just the right amount, within the specifications of the braille system. By utilizing this technique, the creative laser designer can add tremendous value to a large number and variety of projects. How could the addition of braille improve a project or idea or yours?