Our laser cutting specialists here at Vector & Raster Laser have worked across a wide range of different projects, all including unique designs and materials selections. Over the years, we’ve budgeted for projects of all scopes and sizes, from limited range jewellery production using laser marked metal, to bulk order traffolyte labels for commercial purposes (i.e. industrial signage, staff nametags, test and tag labels, etc.).
Being a materials supplier ourselves, our laser cutting team is also adept at providing cost estimations based on the materials that our clients are after, and the volume of designs they’d like us to produce. Using this knowledge, we have at times advised clients to swap out one material for another – just to make sure that their project stays cost-effective, and that their end products are still fit for their intended purpose without sacrificing on quality.
If you’re looking to map out a potentially bulk order laser cutting project yourself but aren’t too sure what materials would be the best fit for your products and budget, then you’re definitely not alone, in fact this is a conversation we have on a regular basis. So to provide a little extra clarity, our team at Vector & Raster Laser Services have prepared their definitive list of the best affordable laser cutting materials for bulk order projects.
Key benefits of securing wholesale laser cutting supplies
Economical laser cutting solutions don’t have to skimp on the quality of materials. That’s why we offer wholesale laser cutting supplies to our customers and clients here at Vector & Raster: so you can enjoy competitive price rates on commercial-grade laser cutting materials.
Another key benefit of using wholesale laser cutting supplies is that we can better guarantee optimal results in our laser cutting studio if we know we’re working with quality materials. Being able to retain greater control over our quality output is definitely a plus for our team here at Vector & Raster, because we can trust our processing methods and machinery will always perform optimally.
Finally, buying wholesale is also just better for the planet. Wholesale packaging means less plastic waste and lower transportation emissions as well as reduced transportation costs. These cost savings will be passed down to you as the consumer, which is yet another reason why wholesale laser cutting supplies are always guaranteed to be cheaper than buying supplies per piece at your local craft store.
And if you’re buying your wholesale laser cutting supplies directly from your laser cutting specialists, that means even FEWER carbon emissions. This is a key advantage to our studio as well, as we pride ourselves on being a sustainable laser service provider.
So to recap, here are the foremost benefits of buying your laser cutting materials wholesale:
- Lower costs across a higher volume of materials
- Reduced plastic packaging and emissions = a greener carbon footprint for your project
- Access to commercial-grade materials through quality suppliers (like us!)
- Improved quality control and assurance with laser cutting methods and machinery
Top 10 bulk laser cutting materials for high volume projects
Now that you know why you should buy bulk laser cutting materials, here’s our recommendations for the top 10 affordable materials (based on cost per unit) for bulk order laser cutting projects.
1. Plywood
Unsurprisingly, plywood tops the list here as one of the most affordable and versatile wood materials we have on offer. Being a composite wood material manufactured in timber mills by using wood plies (i.e. thin slices of wood), plywood can be made at a minimal cost and to varying sizes and thicknesses.
Wood plies can even be produced using specific types of wood to ensure particular wood tones, grains, and textures. This is why you can buy bamboo plywood or even hoop pine plywood, both of which are ideal wood materials to use for furniture and home decor production, amongst other things.
And once again, plywood is impressively versatile, and can be used to produce everything from wooden toys to commercial signage like these laser engraved wooden sandwich boards. If you’re looking to enjoy the warm tones of wood for your bulk order laser cutting project, plywood can deliver on aesthetics and durability whilst still maintaining a cost-effective bottom line.
2. Medium-density fibreboard (MDF)
Like plywood, medium-density fibreboard is another wood composite material, but this time it’s made not with wood plies but rather with wood fibres that are then combined with wax and a resin binder to ensure uniform construction and surfaces. This means you lose a little wood texture with MDF, but also that this wood material is highly suitable for painting and printing.
When it comes to wood laser cutting, MDF is also always guaranteed to produce clean, uniform, and burn-free edges when cutting to any size. The layered construction of MDF and resin binders also makes this material extremely durable, which is why MDF is so often selected for laser cut wood art projects, wooden stencils, wood signage, templates, jigs, and even architectural models – just to name a few.
3. Felt
A staple of laser cut fashion that’s also used for industrial purposes, felt is versatile, lightweight, durable, cost-effective, and boasts a striking visual appeal. Felt is an ideal material for producing custom gaskets and seals, thanks to its unique cellular structure allowing for natural effective insulatory qualities and breathability.
Felt is also a decorative medium for embroidery applique, costume embellishments, and other costume and accessory applications in theatre, alongside being highly popular for producing eye-catching window displays, and timeless art and craft applications.
4. Laminate plastic
Laminate plastics are available in a range of colours, finishes, and thicknesses, making them suitable for a variety of applications, including the production of signage, badges, test and tag labels, nametags, point of sale displays, keychain tags, and much more. Being made by bonding a coloured micro surface layer to a thicker core, laminate plastics also respond very well to laser engraving, with the two-layer composition creating a naturally high-contrast finish.
This makes laminate plastic a popular choice for producing plastic signage and even plastic stencils, with laminate being a great alternative to mylar plastics as well.
5. Acrylic plastic
A fan favourite and known for its variety of colours, finishes, and varying levels of transparency/opacity, acrylic plastic is a go-to material for bulk order laser cutting projects of varying scopes. In fact, our team at Vector & Raster Laser have used acrylic plastic to produce everything from retail signs and displays to plastic labels, plastic ornaments, festive cut-outs, home decor and storage boxes, plastic art, and a truly mindbogglingly long list of other things.
Acrylic laser cutting also delivers highly precise results with clean edges, making acrylic plastics just as suitable for producing consumer goods and even plastic jewellery as it is for creating point of sale displays or industrial signage. The cost per sheet for acrylic plastics also varies depending on the qualities of your acrylics (i.e. colours, sizes, thicknesses, and finishes like glossy, glittery, mirrored, etc.), so you can create stunning acrylic laser cut creations in bulk with some strategic materials spending.
6. Traffolyte plastic
Although traffolyte plastic may not have the name recognition of acrylic, you better believe that traffolyte is actually all around you. Being a hard-wearing, corrosion-resistant plastic, traffolyte is a superb low-cost alternative to powder-coated metals, for signage, which typically has a higher cost per unit.
This durability and affordability makes traffolyte an ideal material for bulk order laser cutting projects with industrial applications. Our laser cutters have filled bulk orders of traffolyte labels, for instance, as a business client of ours wanted to standardise their industrial signage across multiple commercial premises.
Alongside being used for interior labels and signs, traffolyte signage is also commonly used for exterior purposes, with the hard-wearing plastic being a suitable choice for creating larger storefront signage that maintains visibility to passing cars. And like laminate, traffolyte is also layered, which makes traffolyte engraving a pretty satisfying process that produces two-toned results with virtually infinite colour schemes. Whether you’re after red nametags with white lettering or black letters on yellow plastic sheets, traffolyte can do it all.
7. Aluminium
Aluminium is one of the most lightweight and durable metal materials we have on offer here at Vector & Raster. Renowned for its hard-wearing surface and allowance for high contrast laser etching and marking for text, logos, and even barcodes, QR codes, and detailed images, our team of laser cutters have used aluminium to produce a wide range of different products, including labels and tags, custom auto and technological parts, and even switchboard components and electronic device housing (using anodised aluminium).
Some previous bulk order laser cutting projects we’ve completed in the past that include aluminium include aluminium wall panels, display signage, nametags, and even laser etched anodised aluminium tags for industrial purposes.
8. Stainless steel
Renowned for its corrosion-resistance, sleek surfaces, and for producing high-contrast finishes when laser marked, stainless steel is another staple of our bulk order laser cutting projects, with applications ranging from industrial and commercial signage purposes (i.e. labels, control panels, tags, etc.), to home decor and consumer goods (i.e. decals, stencils, fixtures and more.
We’ve provided laser cut stainless steel to a wide variety of business clients, including engineering companies, signage companies, energy plants, machinery manufacturers, and even government and local council offices.
9. 450gsm card stock paper
Believe it or not but paper is actually amongst our favourite laser cutting materials here at Vector & Raster. There’s something so satisfying about creating intricate laser cut designs using paper materials. And the most suitable, cost-effective paper for bulk order laser cutting projects is 450gsm card stock. Being flexible yet durable, card stock is every laser cutter’s dream, boasting endless two-dimensional and even three-dimensional possibilities. We’ve used laser cut cardstock to create so many unique projects, including this window display and other striking paper art projects.
Laser cutting with paper is also more diverse than you might think, with opportunities to create patterns, layered or geometric designs, and even 3D paper creations. For bulk order laser cutting projects, we often use paper to create bespoke packaging for eCommerce and retail businesses, and even to prepare seasonal menus for cafes and restaurants or for weddings and other formal events.
10. Cardboard and boxboard
A little thicker than paper and used for a range of more practical rather than aesthetic applications, cardboard is highly sought after by many of our bulk order clients here at Vector & Raster, but most commonly across business owners that are looking to personalise their product packaging. All of our boxboard materials are also made from 100% post-consumer recycled waste, so alongside keeping your costs low, you can also make sure your project maintains a minimal carbon footprint.
One of our favourite bulk order laser cutting projects actually did involve us preparing 6mm fluted cardboard sheets – but not for industrial purposes! This project saw us bulk laser cutting cardboard for a local school’s science fair
Case studies: Bulk order laser cutting projects across our portfolio
As mentioned throughout this write-up, our laser cutters have managed bulk order laser cutting projects across a range of different industries and markets. Some of the industries that we’ve worked with include:
- Signage companies
- Product manufacturers
- Machinery manufacturers
- Fashion retailers
- Furniture designers
- Event planners
- Independent artists and studios
- Advertising agencies
- Schools and tertiary institutions
If you’re thinking you may benefit from working with us for bulk order laser cutting projects, you might just be right. We’re also always happy to take on projects of all scopes and across a range of applications, so it’s always worth getting in touch to see what we can do for you.
Extra expert tips to help you save on bulk order laser cutting
Alongside ordering these top cost-effective laser cutting materials we’ve recommended up above, our laser cutters also wanted to share these additional tips to help you keep your quotes and project pricing with us as sustainable for you and your business as possible.
Order in standard sheet sizes
All of our laser cutting materials are either available in custom sizing or standard sheet sizes. If you’re looking to produce laser cut custom signs and you’re not fussy about sizing, we advise just opting for standard sizing to save on your materials processing costs.
Nest designs for material efficiency
Think about how you can strategise using a cookie cutter to get as many cookies as possible out of a stretch of dough. That’s basically how nesting your designs works. So simply put, if you are ordering custom sizing, you can still keep your costs low by simply organising your designs across one standard sheet.
Choose local suppliers to reduce shipping
Ding ding ding, it’s us! Being a Melbourne-based laser cutting studio, we can ship anywhere locally or even allow for pick-up options for our hyper local Melbourne customers. Our shipping policy specifies a 3-5 business day delivery window for most orders, but our team can also accommodate different preferred turnaround times.
Work with laser cutters who offer bulk pricing tiers
And yes, it’s us again! We do offer wholesale laser cutting supplies to our commercial and industrial clients as well as customers who are looking to produce projects of a higher volume. So if you want bulk pricing, just let us know, and we can outline your costs per unit clearly in your free quote.
Secure bulk order laser cutting services with Vector & Raster Laser
With these insights on how you can keep your laser cutting for large quantity orders as cost-effective as possible, you can not only enjoy added cost value on your next orders, but on all your orders to come.
And if you are feeling ready to discuss your next laser cutting project, then don’t hesitate to reach out to our team at Vector & Raster Laser Services to discuss any of our materials on offer, or even to receive a free no-obligation quote. We’re always excited to hear about your next unique laser cutting project, no matter the size or scope.
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