With spring in full swing and plenty of warm weather days here, it’s safe to say that we’re definitely right in the middle of wedding season. And here at Vector & Raster, we absolutely love this time of year. That’s because our laser engraving specialists can typically expect a wide range of different projects coming into our workshop – spanning from wedding invitations to table place cards for wedding receptions.
But some of our favourite projects to receive at this time of year have to be laser engraved signs like this particularly stunning one that we’ll be exploring in today’s blog. And when producing laser engraved signage, no material truly beats the stunning two-toned finish of laser engraved plywood.
- What makes plywood a great material for laser engraving?
- Alternatives to plywood for laser engraving
- Our latest laser engraving plywood project
Stick with us as we unpack the timeless relationship between engraving and plywood materials, sharing why this particular composite wood material is one of the favourites amongst our laser engraving specialists here at Vector & Raster.
What makes plywood a great material for laser engraving?
Available in a wide range of different wood species, colours, and wood grains, plywood is one of the most versatile materials that can be used for machine engraving. You can secure plywood for laser cutting and engraving services at varying levels of thickness, ranging from as thin as 0.8 mm to a whopping 12+ mm.
The consistent surface texture of plywood sheets also makes them perfectly suited for processing through laser cutting and engraving machines. This is because plywood sheets are actually made up of many uniform timber veneers that are then glued together. So (like traffolyte plastic) engraving plywood has the potential to produce high-contrast engraved products, where your laser engraved text and imagery appear in a different tone or shade to the natural colour of your timber.
Being a wood composite material that’s made up of layers of timber sheets, plywood is also quite structurally sound alongside being more lightweight than solid wood materials. This makes plywood a cheaper alternative to solid timber. Most plywood in Australia is also made out of locally grown hoop pine, so laser engraving plywood materials are also available in abundance for our team here at Vector & Raster.
If you’re interested in securing some laser-engraved hoop pine plywood materials from our workshop, you can find more information about our materials specifications here. Our laser specialists will typically recommend particular plywood grades depending on the nature of your engraving project, as the glues used in producing your plywood materials may impact the superficial quality of your final engraved product.
Alternatives to plywood for laser engraving
We do love touching on the fantastic results that accompany laser engraving wood projects. But truth be told, our engraving specialists can make stunning custom engraved signs out of a range of other laser engraving materials.
Here are just some of the other materials that we can use for producing laser engraved products here at Vector & Raster:
- Metals – aluminium and anodised aluminium, stainless steel, brass, copper, chrome
- Plastics – acrylic, traffolyte, mylar plastic, adhesive plastic film
- Solid wood materials – a range of different hard and soft wood materials
- Leather and other natural fabrics
- Paper and cardboard of varying thicknesses
- Stone
- Rubber
Our latest laser engraving plywood project
Now, let’s have a closer look at our most recent laser engraving plywood project. Our client for this project approached us to inquire about producing a laser engraved wooden sign for their wedding venue. The sign needed to bear the text “Will You Marry Me?” in a strong, cursive font so that it could be read from a distance. The client also wanted us to include some clipart and their logo on the sign.
Because we’d be engraving imagery onto the sign, our engraving specialists knew they’d need a material that would produce crisp engraved details. That led us to select this gorgeous sheet of hoop pine plywood.
It’s important to note that pine wood is also very receptive to laser engraving techniques even as a solid wood material and not just as plywood. This is mainly because of pine’s generally soft construction and consistent grain. These natural qualities make pine wood one of the most versatile softwood timbers available on the market today.
Our engraving specialists are no strangers to pine wood, having produced a range of different laser-engraved pine products. That includes these gorgeous laser engraved wooden blocks that were also produced for a client’s wedding.
Back to admiring our laser engraved plywood sign though, you can really see the benefits of pine’s consistent grain and texture in the image above. The cursive lettering has turned out beautifully, and our clients couldn’t be happier with the finished results of this laser engraved plywood project.
Why work with Vector & Raster for your next laser engraving project
With nearly 20 years of experience providing exceptional laser engraving services to both Australian customers and international clients alike, our team at Vector & Raster truly live and breathes all things laser cutting and engraving. We take pride in being able to produce exceptional products for all our clients and are always happy to take on projects of all sizes and scopes, from gorgeous timber wedding favours to wooden Christmas ornaments.
On top of being experts in the laser cutting and engraving field, our team at Vector & Raster are also proud to utilise 100% renewable energy and other eco-friendly processes when managing our workshop and powering our engraving machinery. So you can complete your next laser engraving plywood project with a minimal carbon footprint!
Interested in working with Vector & Raster Laser Services for your next laser engraved plywood project? Then contact our friendly team to receive a free quote on your next laser cutting or engraving project today.
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