Laser Engraving Business is a quality project that offers great returns for little investment. I have considered many business ventures, and a laser engraver for small businesses is the best. In the long run, it will earn you a good profit for 15 years after you buy a machine. And laser engraving business is a project that will keep you innovative and interested for a long time.

Want to know how to start an engraving and cutting business and how to make huge profits? We've provided a comprehensive guide below to help you start your laser engraving and cutting business. We provide a complete how-to guide below.
In this article

• Why start a laser engraving business
• What are the engraving projects?
• 6 steps to starting a laser engraving business
• Step 1: Choose a machine
• Step 2: Learn how to use a laser engraving machine
• Step 3: Find a profitable engraving project
• Step 4: Purchase design materials
• Step 5: Go to market and price your products
• Step 6: Grow your business
• Conclusion

Why start a laser engraving business

The ultimate goal of starting a laser engraving business is to make a profit. Laser engraving and cutting businesses are in high demand and can add a significant amount of income to your modest means of living. At the same time, starting a laser engraving business does not require spending much money. The highest cost is the purchase of the machine.

Even if you don't make the profit you want from your laser engraving business, you can sell the machine again. You know that a used laser cutting machine can still fetch much money. In this way, the risk of starting a laser business is only a few hundred dollars. In other words, you can start your own business with just a few hundred dollars.

The benefits of having a laser engraving business

If the above reasons don't impress you, then I'll go on to describe some of the other benefits of starting a laser cutting business:

1. Speed: You can complete a creative project in a matter of minutes or even seconds, which is fast and efficient. This will give you a significant total number of sales per day.
2. Accuracy: Laser engraving is very accurate, and you usually will charge the higher the accuracy, the more expensive the product.
3. Low maintenance costs: Later, laser engraving machines only need a little money to maintain and have a long service life.
4. Easy to operate: the operation of the laser engraving machine is simple. You can easily operate the machine after watching the user manual or using the video。

What are the engraving projects?

Here are a few of the most potentially lucrative laser engraving projects, or see 15 Laser Cutter Projects For Beginners

Image credit: etsy.com

• Various nameplates
• Art walls
• Christmas, Valentine's Day, and other festive ornaments
• Traceability codes such as QR codes
• Rubbish bins
• Photo
• Champagne glasses
• Coasters
• Mobile phone holder
• Storage shelves
• Puzzle toys

6 steps to starting a laser engraving business

If you are determined to start your own laser engraving business, you can follow these 6 steps to plan accordingly. Most of the everyday struggles of beginners lie in buying the wrong machine and choosing the wrong engraving project. These frustrating things can lead to constant remorse. The following steps will help you start your laser engraving business easily and joyfully.

Step 1: Choose a machine

This is the most important step in carrying out laser engraving, and choosing a suitable machine is essential for the project's future. Without a doubt, this is also the most difficult choice for many beginners. This is because people new to laser cutting machines need to learn which features or performance is important.
Before we choose a machine, it is essential to have an understanding of the machine.

If you are only in the business of engraving, you can choose a machine with low power. With less power, the laser beam will engrave more finely with a smaller spot.

Choose a high power cutting machine if you also need a cutting business. Of course, in addition to the power of the machine, you also need to pay attention to the laser tube, the cooling method, the maximum processing thickness, whether to support the addition of rotary attachments, top engraving speed, and other parameters.

For beginners, choose a CO2 laser engraving machine and a diode laser engraving machine. These two machine types are the most widely used in the laser engraving business.

Next, I will use two different types of machines in gweike as examples to help you better understand the difference between CO2 laser engraving machines and diode laser engraving machines.

Gweike cloud CO2 (50W) Pro II

This is a very typical CO2 laser cutting machine. It has a cutting power range from 10-100W, and you can choose the most suitable parameters for your engraving or cutting process.

The big advantage of this machine over the RF metal laser cutter is that it is cheap and versatile. It supports the addition of rotary attachments, which means you can also engrave cylinders such as mugs, rings, etc.

Also, it can cut or engrave all non-metallic materials. When starting a laser engraving business, you don't have to worry about encountering materials you can't engrave.

The disadvantage is that the laser tube has a relatively short life span compared to a diode, and you need to replace the CO2 glass tube after some time. Then there is the fact that its engraving accuracy could be better than that of a diode. But you don't have to worry. We will only see the difference when engraving super fine patterns. This means that if you are only running a general laser engraving business, you can handle its engraving results.

Gweike cloud RF Metal Tube Laser Cutter

This is a very typical diode laser engraver. It has a super fine engraving capability, and you only need to choose a low power to engrave the same results as a CO2 laser engraving. Adding a metal laser tube makes it possible to engrave the desired pattern more quickly. This is the machine to choose if you want to start an exact business in the future.

The biggest disadvantage of the RF Metal Tube Laser Cutter is that it is more expensive. But you get value for money.

Step 2: Learn how to use a laser engraving machine

Once you have purchased a laser engraving machine, you will need to learn to use it. Skilled use of the engraving machine will make it profitable for you.
This is not about simply learning to operate the machine. The two machines recommended above are so simple that children over 6 can operate independently after watching the operating instruction videos. We are talking about how to learn the machine in more depth.

I will list below a few important things that you should learn.

1. Design software
   Take the gweikecloud machine. It is straightforward to use. For example, it comes with its design software, which you can use directly. However, the machine also supports other design software, such as light burn, so you must learn and choose the most suitable software for your laser cutting business.
2. Materials
   The type of material, hardness, etc., will affect the parameters chosen for laser engraving. You can prepare some of the same materials for testing before engraving and finally select the most suitable speed and power.
3. Laser engraving business ideas
   You may not have laser engraving business ideas for the first time, but you can watch other people's engraving ideas on YouTube channels. It may inspire you. You are also recommended to join the gweike Facebook group, where many DIY and laser engraving enthusiasts share their ideas. You can learn a lot there.
4. Safety
   One thing we should learn is how to use the laser engraver safely. We have an emergency stop button and an open cover stops protection during engraving. But we still must be careful to protect ourselves during the cutting process. For example, some materials can produce toxic gases during the cutting process, which requires you to be well-protected. Or go ahead and find out if the material is safe to cut before you cut it.
   And it is recommended that you carry out laser cutting in a ventilated environment.

Step 3: Find a profitable engraving project

You can search for laser engraving on platforms such as Etsy or Amazon, and items with high sales indicate that they are highly popular. You can then carry out the same project to gain profit for yourself.

Step 4: Purchase design materials

You need to buy raw materials to carry out any project. You can compare them comprehensively from several shopping sites and choose a good quality product at a good price.

Of course, it is worth noting: the difficulty of engraving varies from material to material. We recommend that first-time engravers choose materials that are easy to engrave, such as wood, acrylic, and glass. If you buy a gweike machine, we will give you a free material kit for beginners, so you can carve directly on the material to test it.

Step 5: Go to market and price your products

Starting to sell your laser engraving business ideas is a challenging task too. On the contrary, it is the most difficult step apart from buying the machine. Because the ultimate goal of buying a machine is to sell your creative products for a profit, first, you can try to sell your products by registering an account on Etsy,

Amazon, eBay, Facebook, etc. You can start by putting up links to your products and make them in time for any orders. Because if you can't sell them, the ones made will go to waste.

In short, make an effort to promote your selling information so that you can sell your products better.

Similarly, pricing is also important. As a new seller, you must sell at a price below the market price to attract more buyers to notice you quickly. Having your high quality and low priced products attracts customers, and later on, you will be better able to bring in profits for yourself.

Image credit: etsy.com

Step 6: Grow your business

If you want to go further, you can contact companies or buyers who have a need offline. You can then design customized products to suit their needs, giving you a broader scope for your business. After you have built up your clientele in the early stages, if you are content with your current state of profitability, then you can continue with the status quo.

Conclusion

Starting a laser engraving business is easier than you might think. You can even quickly profit by simply taking your machine with you and setting up a stall in a high-traffic area. We have clearly explained the 6 steps to starting a laser engraving and cutting business. You start your business by following the steps we have described slowly.

Each step has its uniqueness. You are waiting until you make your first profit will be your biggest incentive. It's easy to start a laser engraving business without leaving your home.

Good luck!