When it comes to corporate branding be it for signage or even branded merchandise, you want to invest in quality and longevity. There’s a big difference between merchandise that has a brand sticker slapped onto it vs. one where your logo is etched directly onto the surface of the merchandise.
This in a nutshell, is why laser engraving reigns supreme for all things business branding. Our custom laser engraving services here at Vector & Raster Laser have empowered countless small business owners in elevating their brands, both by investing in presentable merchandise to pass out to prospective customers, and by producing their own laser engraved signs to vamp up their street facade and local foot traffic.
If you’re currently tossing between laser engraving vs. printing for your business branding, then let us illuminate you. Below, we’ll be diving deeper into the main advantages of laser engraving, looking at versatility, durability, and even cost.
Laser engraving vs. printing: key differences to consider
Precision and detail capabilities
Being a non-contact production process, laser engraving technologies are able to produce clean, highly precise and permanent designs at varying scales. You can laser engrave anything from a thimble to wooden barrels.
Alongside being able to produce designs of varying sizes, laser engraving can also work across various levels of intricate detail. If your company logo consists of some detailed shapes like let’s say a galloping horse, your laser engraved designs can clearly spotlight both your brand name and imagery with the utmost precision.
Take a look at this particular wood laser engraving project that saw us bringing a detailed company logo to life. The high-contrast finish of laser engraved wood not only made this design pop, but also brought out all the intricate veining and shaping of the leaves in this logo imagery to create a memorable, striking effect.
By comparison, logos printed on stickers or other adhesives may experience ink smudging and fading over time – so even if your logo and branding is clear and legible fresh off the presses, there’s no guarantee it’ll stay that crisp.
Material compatibility and durability
Laser engraving is renowned for being a versatile design process that’s compatible with a wide variety of materials. With our laser engraving machines, you can etch your branding across many different surfaces, including:
- Wood materials (hard, soft, and composite woods like plywood)
- Metal materials (including chrome, brass, stainless steel, and aluminium)
- Plastics (including acrylic, traffolyte, mylar, and other commercial- and industrial-grade plastics
- Cloth and fabrics (including leather)
- Paper and cardboard
Whilst some printing methods do still allow for wide material compatibility (i.e. UV printing or sublimation printing), these processes simply don’t maintain the same level of durability as laser engraved designs. Even sublimation prints may fade over time, which is why fashion merchandise like branded T-shirts typically only look before a certain amount of washes and sun exposure.
Cost and volume considerations
The versatility of laser engraving works in favour of small business owners looking to invest in branding on a modest budget. There are plenty of materials with a low cost per unit available in our catalogue, which makes them suitable for bulk order projects. By picking a material with a lower cost per unit, you can ensure your business branding project delivers a maximum amount of merchandise or other products without having to sacrifice on the quality of the final results.
Pro tip: have your own materials? Then you can cut out materials costs altogether and just cover the costs of production for your custom laser engraving project. This provides even more control over the budget for your laser engraving project that you might not be able to enjoy across printing projects.
Professional finish and brand perception
Custom prints can all too easily pass the eye, whereas laser engraving is definitely always going to ensnare viewer attention. There’s just something so naturally engaging and beautiful about laser engraved designs. People love to look at how the light catches on the edges and recesses of your designs, and perhaps even enjoy running their fingers over the grooves.
The more eyes are on your designs, the more likely it is that your branding will be memorised. Contrastingly, the two-dimensionality of printed branding may still catch the eye with the right colour profiles, but the poorer durability of these designs means your brand perception will fade over time just as the prints do.
Sustainability, accessibility, and impact
Finally, it can be argued that laser engraving is actually also miles ahead in terms of sustainability than design printing. For starters, laser engraving produces 100% permanent designs, whereas prints can fade over time, requiring reprocessing. With laser engraving, your manufacturing process is just a ‘one and done’, meaning less energy is consumed overall.
Our laser engraving workshop here at Vector & Raster are also designed for sustainability, with our facilities running on 100% renewable energy. For small businesses minding their own carbon footprint, our eco-friendly laser processes will help ensure minimal indirect emissions for your business.
On top of its reduced ecological impact, laser engraving processes are also uber accessible to small business owners as a manufacturing process. Akin to the growing accessibility of 3D printing in empowering businesses to produce their own parts and products, laser engraving puts you in the driver’s seat, allowing for full creative control over your manufacturing project – from materials used to the finalised designs, and even to the volume of your order.
With Vector & Raster Laser, there’s no minimal order for your laser engraving project. We’ll take on projects of any scope or size, because we believe that all Aussie small business owners deserve access to agile manufacturing methods.
Why laser engraving wins out for brand value
Let’s sum up. Here are the main reasons why laser engraving is the manufacturing method of choice for branding projects:
- Delivers permanent brand marking that doesn’t fade, flake, or peel
- Provides a premium, highly presentable finish for both commercial and industrial applications
- Suitable for industrial-grade asset tags, serial numbers, and compliance markings
- Compatible with a wide variety of different materials
Key industries that can benefit from custom laser engraved branding
Whilst custom laser engraving can feasibly provide benefits to small business owners across virtually all industries, these are just a few of the different types of industries that we’ve worked with across our portfolio of laser engraved projects for branding:
- Commercial laser cutters
- Manufacturing
- Engineering and automotive
- Construction
- Corporate gifting
- Signage and signmakers
- Retail fitouts
- Industrial suppliers
Is custom laser engraving the right choice for your business branding?
Whether you’re looking to produce a new batch of branded merchandise for your business or refresh your business signage with a more durable design, you’ll find plenty to love about laser engraving as your selected production process.
If you have any more questions surrounding laser engraving for branding, then don’t hesitate to contact our team at Vector & Raster Laser Services. Inquire now for more information, or to receive a no-obligation quote for your laser project sent directly to your preferred inbox.
Custom laser engraving FAQs
Is laser engraving more durable than printing?
Yes, laser engraving is significantly more durable than printing, as laser engraving produces permanent, recessed marks on material surfaces that are resistant to fading, scratching, and chemical damage. Contrastingly, printed designs sit directly on the surface, which can result in peeling, flaking, or tearing over time.
Does laser engraving fade over time?
No, laser engraving produces permanent, recessed markings, which helps ensure laser engraved designs don’t fade over time.
What materials can be laser engraved?
Laser engraving technologies are compatible with a wide variety of materials, spanning from coated metals, stone, and timber, to plastics, and even leather.
Is laser engraving suitable for industrial branding?
Yes, laser engraving is a popular manufacturing process for industrial-grade branding and brand designs.
How does laser engraving compare to laser cutting?
Whilst laser cutting involves cutting shapes out of different materials, laser engraving instead engraves or etches designs directly onto the surface of that material. Laser cut materials can be engraved using laser engraving technologies.
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