Recently, laser engraving as a business has gained popularity. And all thanks to the fact that the technology allows you to make persistent, accurate and detailed high-resolution drawings. It is difficult to achieve such a result in other ways of applying images.
Types of engraving
Before building a business on such a service, you need to understand what laser engraving is. Depending on what type of work you decide to stop at, a certain type of laser machine is selected.
Engraving is raster and vector. In the latter case, the drawing is applied in thin lines, and in the former, a photographic halftone image is obtained. By adjusting the immersion depth of the laser beam, you can add volume to the pattern. The material you can work with is virtually unlimited. It can be plexiglass, metal, plastic, wood, leather, paper, fabric and much more.
Small business use cases
There are a lot of options for using this type of drawing. Depending on the type of machine and the surface being processed, this service can be offered in the following business areas:
- Application of drawings, monograms, emblems, logos on various objects. Mobile phone cases are the most popular.
- Engraving of fabrics and clothes. The most popular direction is drawing a pattern on jeans.
- Production of sealers and seals with a complex pattern.
- Keyboard engraving. This is especially true in cases where the equipment was purchased abroad and it is necessary to apply the Russian layout to the keyboard.
These are not all options for using the technology, but only the most popular ones. If you wish, you can find your niche, where there will be no competition or it will be negligible.
Drawing technology
The principle of the action of the laser beam is to change the structure or color of the material being processed, or to remove its thin upper layer.
Laser beam shaping occurs when light passes through a system of mirrors or a focusing lens and optical fiber, depending on the configuration of the machine. The engraving depth depends on how close the laser is to the material being processed. The closer it is, the stronger the beam, the deeper it penetrates the surface. By the way, a laser pattern can be applied inside the glass due to the fact that the laser beam is refracted inside.
The advantage of the technology is that it is fully automated, therefore, when drawing a picture, errors due to human factor. From here high accuracy and subtlety of the pattern. In addition, the use of the machine allows you to shorten the production process as much as possible. To apply one image, as a rule, it will take no more than 40 minutes. At the same time, it withstands most chemical and physical influences, while maintaining its integrity.
Another plus that laser engraving has is a gentle effect on the material being processed. There is minimal deformation and only at the place of drawing. The non-contact method of its application reduces wear on the machine.
Business Equipment
To apply laser drawings, you will need a special machine. The type and cost of the machine depends on how large your project is. For example, if you are planning to open a business at home, you can buy a small engraving machine for 5 thousand rubles. The payback of such a machine is extremely high due to the low cost. The work is paid for by centimeters of the applied drawing. One centimeter of the sketched area is estimated from 15 rubles. and higher.
For a serious amount of work, it is necessary to purchase full-fledged machines. They are domestic and foreign production. If domestic ones are offered for about $2,000, then imported ones are sold from $4,000 to $30,000. It is often recommended to contact the manufacturer directly and agree with him to rent a unit for $250 per month. If the business is successful, then it can be bought out.
In addition to the machine itself, you need to stock up consumable– laser needles that directly perform engraving. One such consumable, which is enough to complete about 30 drawings, will cost 600 rubles.
In addition to the machine itself, you will need the following equipment:
- scanner;
- a computer;
- high resolution monitor;
- licensed software CorelDraw and Photoshop.
The nuances of starting a business
As already mentioned, at first it is desirable to decide on the type of services provided: on what exactly and for what engraving will be performed. Based on this, the machine is selected. Next, it is worth deciding which type of service will be the main one, and which additional. For example, they usually stop at services such as engraving on rings and wood. Then, as additional work, you can outline the application of images on T-shirts.
Then it is worth deciding on the location of the production. This also largely dictates the selected list of services. So, if you paint on wood or plastic, taking orders on the Internet, the equipment can be placed at home. A complete machine takes up little space. This means that even if you decide to rent a room to open an office for receiving and fulfilling orders, you will not need a lot of money - its area will be minimal. But in this case, you need to look for passable place. For example, at the subway or in a shopping center.
Please note that in this case it is dangerous to take orders for laser engraving on jewelry or glass. In the first case, it is necessary to equip a safe for storing orders. In the second, one must be extremely careful in handling and storing glass objects.
Please note that in order to complete the drawings, you must have at least minimal experience in this matter. Yes, the installation is fully automated, but you need to understand the principle of its operation, be able to prevent breakdowns, and eliminate possible minor malfunctions. To do this, it is advisable to get instructions from the equipment supplier, or find training video tutorials on the Internet.
Legal registration
To conduct a business legally, it must be registered. If you are planning a small extra income at home, then you can not rush with this step. At first, it is worth building up a customer base, and only when the business reaches a certain financial level, it can be formalized legally.
If you are planning your own business right away, you should register with the tax authorities. For this type of activity, such an organizational and legal form as individual entrepreneur. In this case, registration will take about five working days, and the costs will only cover the payment of the state fee. In addition, in future activities, you yourself will be able to maintain accounting records and submit all necessary reports.
For registration, you must specify the OKVED code. You can stop at:
- 21.25 Manufacture of other articles of paper and paperboard
- 25.22 Manufacture of plastic products for packaging goods
- 28.51 Treatment and coating of metals
No licenses are required to conduct such activities, except for licenses to use a special software.
Business advertising
It is quite difficult to start and run such a business without advertising, especially if you decide to go online. The complexity of choosing an advertising strategy is that the business does not have a specific target audience especially if you offer souvenir engraving. But it should not be neglected.
You can use traditional types of advertising: media, leaflets, etc. But today the Internet gives a much greater return for this kind of service. You can get by with a budget option and post ads on free electronic board sites. But the return from there will be appropriate. Much more efficient to give contextual advertising, create a page in social network. It is also possible, if funds allow, to create a website and promote it on requests for a gift theme. Accordingly, it is worth starting an advertising campaign before the holidays.
Stages of starting a business
Summing up, it is worth saying once again about the main stages of opening a business.
- Market analysis in order to study the competitive environment, the types of services in demand, their prices, and the target audience. This will help determine the next step.
- The set of services provided. The decision of the next stage of starting a business will depend on what kind of engraving you will offer, what materials to work with.
- Purchase of equipment. If you open a business at home, then you don’t have to rack your brains over it. You can limit yourself to an engraving machine. For a serious business, you will need to purchase a special installation, as well as related equipment, consumables.
- Register your business if you are serious about working with large clients in large volumes. You can save money by registering an individual entrepreneur.
- Learn how to use a laser machine or find a craftsman who already has similar experience. This will allow you to work without failures and downtime, and, therefore, save time and money.
- Launch an advertising campaign by placing a bet on the Internet. It should be started on the eve of major holidays, when there is a great demand for souvenirs.
Business payback
It is difficult to say when the invested funds will return. Payback depends on many factors. Obviously, an engraving machine worth 5 thousand rubles. will pay off incomparably faster than a $30,000 laser machine. But not only investments affect payback. Much depends on the popularity of the selected services, their cost. It has a huge impact on the formation of the flow of customers advertising campaign. Without it, the business basically has no chance.
But, as a rule, it is believed that laser engraving has a very high payback, due to its wide range of applications. The high cost of the equipment is compensated by the low requirements for the premises. In fact, they do not extend to it at all, and the area for the machine is minimal, which simplifies the start of the business.
In general, the profit for a month of operation of one laser installation can be 20, or even 60 thousand rubles. Its size is affected by the quality of the equipment - the better and more expensive it is, the more productive the work will be. When using imported equipment, the profit can reach 60 thousand rubles, but given its high cost, the payback will be approximately 8 months. Domestic equipment allows you to earn up to 40 thousand per month and at the same time return the invested funds in 5 months. As an option for an inexpensive start, you can buy used equipment. But you can earn no more than 20 thousand rubles on it. per month. Accordingly, its payback will be about six months.
To start your workshop for the manufacture of monuments, you need to complete the following steps:
- Rent a room for an engraving workshop. Optimally suited for such a functional load industrial premises with an area of at least 30 square meters, located on the ground floor. Location on the ground floor will help you to reduce time and human resources, as well as reduce possible risks damage to blanks and finished monuments (very massive) during their transfer and loading into vehicles.
- Buy machine for stone engraving. In order to make an engraving on a stone of a particular breed, you need specialized equipment - preferably the most versatile and unpretentious in operation and maintenance. In addition, the purchased stone engraver should be distinguished by the maximum possible efficiency of work, which determines its high productivity and the number of orders performed per shift, which does not compromise the quality of the engraving.
- The last stage is the acquisition of material for engraving, that is, blanks for monuments. Most rational decision This need is the conclusion of contracts with direct suppliers of stone of various breeds used for the manufacture of monuments and tombstones in your region.
Stone Engraving Machine: A Rational Choice
So, the requirements for engraving equipment potential buyer we have already listed. Let's now look at the options for stone engraving machines manufactured by Mirtels in the context of the equipment requirements.
Here you can buy a laser engraving machine for stone (for example, Mirtels L5060), an impact engraver for stone (Mirtels T5060 and other models) or combi machines (LT60120). Each of these machines has its advantages and disadvantages.
Advantages of Mirtels L5060 laser engraving machine:
- Does not require consumables for operation;
- At the output you get highest quality images of the finished work;
- Allows you to engrave with a resolution of up to 1000 Dpi;
- Wide area of use of the machine in work.
Laser engraving- This is one of the methods of applying an image to an object using a laser beam. Laser engraving can make any thing unique, and special laser engraving machines automate this process. Such a machine, together with a computer, is already a full-fledged business tool, but it is best to use such a bundle as part of advertising agency. Since, basically, laser engraving is used to apply the name of the company, brand, label image on various items such as pens, lighters, key chains, phones and wallets. With the help of laser engraving, you can make very unusual business cards that will attract the attention of a potential client or partner.
About laser engraving machines.
Machines are available for flat and 3d engraving. flat engraving- this is the application of an image only in one plane of the product, as on a conventional printer. 3D engraving allows you to apply an image to complex objects in different planes. For example, to put an inscription on the inside of a wedding ring, you need a 3D laser engraving machine.
Also, the machines have different sizes of working surface, laser power, processing accuracy, service life and software compatibility. And all this affects their value. The run-up in cost of such machines is very large. Starting from home (amateur) machines for 15 thousand rubles and ending with industrial machines for several million. I will give you a few examples of laser machines with a cost of up to a million rubles.
- The cheapest models for 8-15 thousand rubles from Chinese manufacturers. Laser_AS and Laser_AS-3. These models are a kind of automated burning apparatus with a small working surface, low accuracy and engraving quality. You can look at them and other settings on Aliexpress at this link. By the way, Ali now presents goods of both international and Russian brands.
- Flat Laser Engraving Machine AccTek AKJ6040 from Jinan AccTek Machinery Co.. (the company was founded in 2005) 180-200 thousand rubles including delivery depending on the course and order volume. This machine has a working surface of 600x400mm (~A2 format), accuracy +-0.03mm, engraving speed up to 600mm/s and cutting speed up to 200mm/s, service life 6000 hours. More detailed information You can read about this and other machines in the store of this company Jinan AccTek Machinery Co., Ltd.
- 3D laser engraving machine AccTek Ak-10 F or AccTek Ak-20 F worth 400-500 thousand rubles from the same company Jinan AccTek Machinery Co.. With this machine, laser engraving can be applied to metal products in various planes. General characteristics this machine has the following: working space 100x100mm, accuracy 0.001mm, engraving speed up to 7000mm/s, marking depth 0.05-0.5mm.
Examples of finished products.
Laser engraving can be used on products from a variety of materials. The main thing is that your machine has the ability to engrave on the material you need. And since the machines of Russian and Western production are very expensive, I once again remind you of the link to the company's store
The application of inscriptions and images by engraving has been widely used recently on many surfaces. The inscriptions are applied to souvenirs, door plates and signs, cups, medals, knives, paintings, lighters and much more. What a pleasure to receive as a gift. Jewelry or a watch with a commemorative inscription, over which, as well as over real feelings, time has no power.
The competition in this area of business is low. Large companies, as a rule, do not work with retail, they are interested in and profitable wholesale corporate orders. But for processing individual, one-time and exclusive orders, you can open a small point in one of the large shopping centers, closer to the same souvenir shops, jewelry boutiques, gift shops. It is important to choose the right place, preferably in good accessibility and visibility for potential clients and away from competitors.
Services provided must be reported. It is not bad to make a noticeable sign, hang a banner, distribute leaflets, you can submit ads online on specialized sites and forums. Since engraving is not yet a very popular trend, customers need to be actively attracted.
So, to open your own business, you need a small start-up capital.
The main cost items are rent and purchase of equipment. Monthly rent will cost 125-250 dollars. Engraving machine - from $ 40, additional tools for the engraver - nail files, pencils, staples, jewelry clips, ring fasteners, various vices - an additional 50-200 dollars. The engraving machine, although cheap to purchase, requires a certain skill and skill of a specialist.
Where to get money to start own business? This is the problem faced by 95% of new entrepreneurs! In the article, we have revealed the most relevant ways to obtain start-up capital for an entrepreneur. We also recommend that you carefully study the results of our experiment in exchange earnings:
You can automate the process and increase the speed of inscriptions using a laser engraving machine. Its cost starts from 3800-4000 USD, but it costs its money.
Firstly, the application is very accurate, accurate and of high quality, regardless of the skill level of the master.
Secondly, engraving is performed on any surface and material, be it glass, wood, metal, acrylic plastic. How it works: the desired image is downloaded to a computer and transferred to a laser machine via a USB port. The interface is very simple, and the lead time is reduced significantly. The disadvantages of a laser machine include the high cost of repairs in the event of a breakdown.
In addition to equipment, you need to purchase some pieces of furniture to decorate the master's workplace. You will need a comfortable chair, a table, a powerful table lamp. Be sure to make a portfolio with examples of work. Think carefully about your pricing policy.
With a successful location of the point in a crowded and passable place shopping center, workshop revenue per day can be 100-160 dollars, and using laser technology, even more.
You can start a business by working with retail clients, and if the situation is successful, you can subsequently look for exits to corporate clients.
If you are a creative person, then laser engraving as a business is right for you. However, if you are not a creative person, then the laser will allow you to develop your creative abilities.
Laser Engraving Technology
Laser engraving is simply marking and cutting materials using a laser system. The laser system works like a printer. The laser is a beam of energy directed at a specific area where the engraving is performed.
It only takes a few seconds for the laser beam to create a permanent engraving on any material.
There are many companies that produce laser engraving around the world.
Start a Laser Engraving Business
In order to start a laser engraving business, you need the following:
1. Business plan. A business plan is a great way of defining yours and defining your goals. Success in any business requires good planning. This should be the first step in your laser engraving business.
2. Laser engraving system. In order to start a laser engraving business, you must purchase a laser engraving system. Laser systems are expensive equipment. Good engraving machines range from $8,000 to $45,000, depending on size and power. The good thing is that this business is a one-time investment.
3. A computer. To run a laser engraving business, you will need a good computer. In this case, you can use a desktop computer or laptop, which usesWindows operating system XP or Vista.
4. Graphic software. The software design program is a must in your engraving business. The laser engraving system is designed to run on a Windows based graphics program such as GorelDraw, Adobe and AutoCad. Laser systems come with drivers that print images from any of these programs.
5. Creation. The people who prosper in the laser engraving business are creative.
6. If you are an engraver, then you should always be on the lookout for new products and services. The laser system is a universal machine. With it, you can only be limited by your imagination. There are many products that you can manufacture and market. In order to do this effectively, you should improve your design skills in the program you are using.
7. Marketing. There is no business that could flourish without effective marketing. Therefore, for an engraving business, you must apply a lot of marketing. Visual advertising matters. People should see examples of engravings for real and appreciate them.
Identify samples of your signature that you can mass-produce and develop further. They must have great opportunities engraving on laser engraving equipment.
You can also customize them as needed.
Build strong personal relationships to have a solid foundation for running your laser engraving business. The network is a cost effective marketing method.
You can also use trade shows to showcase your products and services to potential customers. They are well oriented towards different kinds trade with specific related products.
Building a website for an engraving business is a great way to get clients. By building your online presence on the internet, you will expand your customer base from your immediate geographic area to the rest of the world.
Use word of mouth. It's simple.Do it with flyers and business cards. Good choice of contacts, phone numbers and addresses Email with whom you communicate for business.
Ask for permission to send them a newsletter that could eventually turn them into real customers.
Types of engraving for business
Laser engraving happens:electronics engraving, marble and stone etching, wood carving and cutting, engraving, medical unit logo marking, photo engraving and barcode engraving. There are other possibilities as well.
They include laptop customizations, signage, wedding memorabilia, corporate giveaways, glass etching, toys and games, laser cut, cards and invitations, photo frames and scrapbooks, wooden models, jewelry and much more.
Engraving is needed in various industries, markets or professions.
Explore the following areas to get customers for your products:
· Clothing designers;
· Automobile dealers;
· carpenters;
· Church and other religious organizations;
· Hospitals;
· Builders for the home;
· Jewelers gift shop;
· Factories, restaurants, non-profit organizations;
· Zoos;
· Libraries;
· recreation centers;
· Event centers like stadiums;
· Schools of all levels;
· Designers;
· Private business architectural design firm;
· Individuals and more.
Materials for laser engraving
Produced on numerous materials.Often used in manufacturing: acrylic, wood, rubber, stone, glass, paper, fabric, ceramics, plastic, marble, tiles, press boards, slate, granite and leather. You can also explore the ability of laser engraving on many other materials.
Benefits of laser engraving
1. Profitability. The engraved product costs twice as much as the cost of the raw material. Products and services engraved by the laser system have high demand. Cash invested in the business are returned within a year.
2. Creative freedom. Laser engraving gives you a freedom that you rarely find in other businesses. With this, you can create whatever you want. Pretty much anything you can imagine and design can be turned into real object using a laser system.
3. Flexibility. In this business, you can work part time. With this, you can run your business directly from home.
4. Low operating costs. While laser systems cost a lot of money, the engraving business does not require the high operating costs of other businesses. The laser machine can work without repair work for a long time.
5. Small manufacturing plant. Many people with laser systems do not know that it is possible to set up a small manufacturing plant. Most people limit themselves to engraving traditional elements. However, a laser system can do much more. You just need to explore other possibilities.
