[jtinker]

Good day, I am newly registered but i skulk around here and the signs101 forum from time to time. I recently started an invitation company and everything is going well but people kept asking me for laser cut invitations. I spent the past 30 days doing some research on the machines and companies and there is really just a lot of noise in the market. So i thought I would come here to get the opinion of someone that knows more about it that I do at the moment.

But first; the most I will be cutting is card stock and the like, no acrylic no wood or anything like that.

I have been looking at a couple types of lasers.
c02 Marking Lasers and the conventional c02 CnC lasers.

From what I can see, you get a lot of speed with the marking lasers but a much smaller work area and much higher price tag. It would be nice but i couldn't spare the extra money at this stage of the business so I wrote that one off. Unless somebody has a supplier for one of these machines with adequate hardware and not too murderous of a price.

Then I came into the CNC lasers. My first instinct was to look on amazon and eBay but i quickly found out that those lasers are absolute rubbish for the most part.
My budget went fro $500 to about $5000 - 6000 when I realized that I did want any headache with my after sale support or the overall operation of the machine.

I looked at a couple DIY lasers including the: Fabool C02 laser and the Blacktooth laser kit from buildyourowncnc
The black tooth looks like a pretty impressive machine in terms of speed and accuracy but I am not really one for building things. But with a $1800 , 20" x 24 working area

The fabool is a japanese made machine that seems all good on the surface but I noticed that in their promotional video for the machine there was some jitter on the lines. I am not entirely sure if that was from the material it was cutting, or just the laser not being able to complete it properly. It came in second with a price tag of about $2700 , 20" x 17" working area

Then I came across some chinese brands, Bodor and Thunder Laser. I have been in contact with both of them and tried to get some answers. The thunder laser is definitely more appealing to me than the bodor laser. What are your thoughts on these companies.

Next I went over to the american built brands, Trotech: out of budget, Universal: out of budget, Epilog: out of budget, Boss laser. has a decent line up but the working areas are so so so so so tiny. Getting any kind of work done on them will be a nightmare. Unless their imp speeds are just amazing.

My last option would have been going down to light object and purchasing parts while I get assistance from an engineer

This is what I have come up with, I am looking forward to any assistance with making this decision. Thank you guys and gals in advance

[wmgeorge]

I can answer with two more brands LightObject out in Sacramento and Rabbit Laser USA over in Ohio. Both can supply you with first rate machines and support. As you have discovered the eBay machines are very poor and very poor support. Some who have experience have done direct import.... but No support and no parts in USA. You want fast and accurate, power not so important for card and paper stock, but who knows where your business will take you?? Do not build your own, unless you have nothing else to do.... if you design, cut and sell that is where you money is at. At one time I was going to build my own, but did the numbers and IF you want to have a hobby that's fine, or would you rather make money?

[Storen]

A couple of years ago I also researched for a laser to be used primarily for cutting paper and card stock and went over a lot of brands, configurations, prices and samples. What I found is that the average laser machines aren’t really suitable for cutting thin and delicate materials such paper. They would burn the edges and leave dark residue (carbon dust) which could spread easy when touched with fingers and make the product appear very messy.

The bottom line is - if you want precise, clean cuts you will need a special configuration, optimized for cutting paper and it would be significantly more expensive than an average cutter for wood or acrylic. Think 12K and above.

[wmgeorge]

Really $12,000 USD? I have about $3000 USD plus the chiller invested in my new LightObject 40 watt machine. Unlike the K40's or eBay junk this is a precision machine. Not only can I cut 6 mm acrylic and 8 mm plywood I just did this 50 mm square paper cutout. Do you see burnt edges? I did not. Cut at 500 mm/Sec with about 8 watts of power.

[endurance_robots]

Always a pleasure to help.

http://endurancelasers.com/

you may email me [email protected]

so I can help you with making the right choice

[endurance_robots]

Always a pleasure to help.

http://endurancelasers.com/

you may email me [email protected]

so I can help you with making the right choice

[ArgusLaser]

A good laser cut invitation card design will be much more complicate than the designs in your picture. And once you use your present 40watts laser machine to make the laser cut invitation cards, you will find how poor speed and quality it is.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XcXc77Id0UY&t=47s
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uJKdw0EIHxI
Check these two videos, you will find the difference

[engraving_hub]

Buy the biggest one you can afford. I have purchased 4 lasers because the other 3 were not big enough.


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[RoyceSkylar]

I am also like the brand of LightObject in Sacramento. I have a 100W CO2 Laser cutting machine on this brand. I have been using 7 months ago this machine, there is no single problems found. Now the machine is working very nice. I have been impressed with the capabilities of the laser and how nicely it cuts and engraves.

[cinematic2]

I am also like the brand of LightObject in Sacramento. I have a 100W CO2 Laser cutting machine on this brand. I have been using 7 months ago this machine, there is no single problems found. Now the machine is working very nice. I have been impressed with the capabilities of the laser and how nicely it cuts and engraves.

Royce, good marketing job.