Laser Marking

Laser marking is ideal if you are a manufacturer who wants branding or product traceability (tracking an item), barcoding, logos and decorative marking on your components.

This ensures every marked item can be traced forward in the supply chain as well as backwards for consumers. This will help you to deal with warranties and returns quickly and easily, growing your company’s professional reputation and saving you time and money. Giving you peace of mind that every marked item can be traced forward in the supply chain as well as backward by consumers.

Why choose Laser Marking from bay & moor for your products and components?

Permanent and clear markings that won’t corrode

If you make components that are designed for use in harsh environments, you know that it’s vital that they retain any traceability marks – i.e. part numbers, serial numbers and/or manufacturer’s details – without being contaminated or corroding over time. This is where fiber laser marking (sometimes known as “laser labelling”) comes into its own.

We use Fiber laser technology to mark, etch or engrave the surface of your components; as the laser passes over the surface permanently marking a black to dark grey finish on the surface. The surface material remains completely intact meaning that it retains its non-corrosive properties.

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Make your components traceable

There are many reasons to make your components traceable at every stage of the supply chain. It ensures that items can be easily identified, helping you to deal with warranties and returns quickly and efficiently, or to comply with regulations.

Traceability also enables you to keep accurate records of batch and serial numbers, something that will help retailers, customers and recyclers to obtain parts, as well as streamlining your internal processes.

If a product recall is necessary for any reason (and increasing legislation means that product recalls are happening more frequently), you can handle it with confidence, knowing that all of the affected parts will have clear identifying marks.

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Laser marking supports internal and external traceability

Laser marking all of your components means that you can track and monitor parts manufactured or used by your business and make those records accessible to anyone internally who needs the information.

External traceability is vital too, covering the entire history of your products from procurement of the raw materials to the end of their lifecycle. As we’ve mentioned above, laser marking is permanent so you don’t need to worry about identifying markings corroding.

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Laser marking can help you build your brand recognition

Laser marking isn’t just about making components traceable. It’s an engraving technique capable of producing very fine lines and high quality contrast on a range of materials, which makes it ideal for adding logos or decorative features to your products or components too.

This can be a subtle but powerful way to add your business branding to the items you manufacture. Other businesses in the supply chain as well as your customers will come to recognise your logo mark on components, seeing it as a sign of professionalism, transparency and quality.

Protect your products from theft

Adding your business name or logo to components through laser marking can also protect your products from being stolen because your branding won’t wear off, wherever the component ends up.

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There’s no waste with laser marking

Chemical etching is an alternative to laser marking but it’s a process that requires you to establish relationships with suppliers who can provide the chemicals, acids, and the wastewater treatment equipment needed to dispose of them legally. You would also need a physical stencil for each unique marking, which would have to be replaced regularly, making it a technique with a high amount of wastage.

With laser marking, on the other hand, the only real consumable we need is electrical power.

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Suitable for a wide range of industries

Fiber laser marking is an ideal choice for marking components made from metal substrates such as stainless steel, brass, aluminium, titanium, chrome plating, nickel, and similar metals that are highly resistant to mechanical and chemical stresses as well as high temperatures.

It may also be suitable for use on non-metallic materials such as polycarbonate and leather.

Laser marking is widely used for food, drug and alcohol packaging, electronic components, integrated circuits, electrical appliances, mobile communications and more. It is also a logical choice for machine plate marking, aerospace and automotive components – in other words, in industries where components need to stay free from corrosion or contamination.

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Need laser marking help?

Our experienced team can help you to identify your laser marking needs. You may know exactly what you want or you might want to explore how laser marking could be used on your products – either way, we’re here to support and advise you. We have dedicated designers who can help you or we can work from your files.

Just contact us by hitting the button below and we’ll be in touch to discuss your order.

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Your custom laser marking – Our process explained

1. GET STARTED

Contact us via our contact page to tell us about your custom laser marking needs or call us on 01626 366047

2. CONFIRM

A member of our team will be in touch to discuss your order, confirm the details and develop your custom laser marking design 

3. RECEIVE

Approve the design proofs for your custom laser marking, then relax and wait to receive your completed order

Laser engraving

The word vector means “line” and with vector cutting, the laser follows the cutting outline of a shape or lines to go all the way through the material. Most shapes can be cut. This is a perfect process for cutting many different types of materials including wood, acrylic, leather, laminates, MDF, cork, paper and textiles.

How does vector cutting work?

The focused laser beam used in vector cutting vaporises the material with incredible precision. Compressed air is used with the laser beam to keep the rest of the surface free from any residue while cutting the air pressure can be adjusted depending on the material being cut which reduces any burn back to the edge of the cut. Any residue can be cleaned off after cutting, for example, materials such as leather will need cleaning after cutting. Vector cutting is a non-contact process, the surrounding area of material is not damaged by the laser so paper and card can be cut leaving no residue.

Industries.

The vector cutting process is used in many industries due to it being a fast and efficient process with cost-effective outcomes. Bay & Moor has worked with many different types of industries including the creative industries, manufacturing, aviation, product branding, marine, corporate gifting, engineering, and many more.

Rotary engraving with a laser means a rotary device is fitted into the laser machine to turn the product. From bottles and pens to glasses or awards, you can have any chosen design engraved onto any cylindrical object.

What is rotary engraving?

If you Google “rotary engraving” most of the search results refer to the mechanical engraving method of rotating a cutting tool to etch a design into the chosen material. Essentially, with laser rotary engraving, cylindrical objects are turned on a motor-powered device fitted to the bed of the laser machine. The laser beam passes over the surface of an item as the object is slowly rotated, producing an engraving that wraps flawlessly around the surface.

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Raster engraving

Laser rotary engraving is a raster engraving process, which essentially means that the laser head passes horizontally from left to right, line to line in much the same way as an inkjet printer puts ink on a piece of paper- but instead of ink, the laser uses light and heat to vaporize tiny particles of the material’s surface to create the desired design.

Rotary engraving simply adds in an extra dimension by rotating the surface as the design is created.

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Perfectly replicates the original design on your chosen item

As the rotary engraving laser equipment is computer-controlled, the final design perfectly mirrors your original, right down to the last pixel. It can even be duplicated multiple times without any compromise in quality or accuracy.

You’ll be delighted with the shading we can accomplish, simply because the laser is able to work to different depths and can translate greyscale images onto your chosen materials as well as black and white images.

Laser rotary engraving can also deliver fine lines and sharp corners to your designs, ensuring all the detail is engraved.

There’s no contact between by a tool as with traditional engraving, therefore no damage to the surface can occur. Offering amazing clarity without leaving unwanted marks.

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Rotary engraving works on virtually any material

Rotary engraving offers a high level of detail on virtually any material including wood, glass, acrylic, leather, laminates, MDF, cork, paper, ceramics, coated metals and textiles.

It’s suitable for use on a wide range of cylindrical objects, such as pens, bottles, glasses, tool handles, awards, torches and soap dispensers. This makes it an ideal choice if you’re looking for a way to brand promotional items and merchandise with a high quality, lasting design.

Just talk to us about your rotary engraving needs and we’ll be happy to turn your ideas into a finished design on the material/item of your choice. If you’re not sure what design or material would work best, just tell us and we can offer you advice to fit your budget.

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Need help with the design?

As raster images are made up of pixels, it’s important to get the resolution right to ensure that the finished engraving looks perfect at its intended size and on your chosen item(s).
We can create the artwork for you (the price for this will be given as part of your requested quote) or you can find our artwork guidelines here if you already have a file you want to submit.

Raster and vector engraving are the perfect pairing, complementing one another with a beautiful fusion of engraving techniques.

What are raster and vector engraving?

Raster and vector engraving are both types of laser engraving that use graphics files.

A raster is a type of bitmap file made up of a fixed number of pixels. They can’t be significantly resized without losing their quality and resolution but give an excellent, bold result if they are produced to the right size.

When we raster engrave the laser moves line by line, point by point in much the same way as an inkjet printer moves to put ink on a page.

Images in a vector file, on the other hand, are built by mathematical formulas that establish points on a grid. It doesn’t matter how much you adjust the size because grid simply shrinks or expands without losing resolution.

When we vector engrave, the laser follows the vector lines, drawing each one is a continuous line, a bit like someone doing a line drawing. Vector files are ideal for engravings that include fine details best seen in close-up.

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Why combine raster and vector engraving?

Raster engraving can achieve a high level of detail on its own, as can vector engraving but when we combine raster and vector engraving, it lifts the visual effect to something extra special.

The raster engraving enables us to fill and shade areas to different depths, giving the engraving a beautiful sense of texture and an almost-3D quality. The vector engraving them ensures that we’re able to create sharp outlines and delicate, precise details within the engraving.

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Raster and vector engraving works on virtually any material

Another reason that raster and vector engraving both complement each other so well is that they each work on virtually any material including wood, acrylic, leather, laminates, MDF, cork, paper, ceramics, coated metals and textiles.

Just talk to us about your raster and vector engraving needs and we’ll be happy to turn your ideas into a finished design on the material/product of your choice. If you’re not sure what would work best for your needs, that’s fine – we can give you plenty of advice and pricing options to help you decide.

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Need help with the design?

As we’ve explained above, raster and vector engraving both have different benefits; combining them is all about giving you the best of both worlds.

We have a design team who can create the engraving artwork for you, using their knowledge of raster and vector files to create the right balance of techniques (the price for this will be given as part of your requested quote). Alternatively, have a look at our artwork guidelines here if you already have a file you want to submit.

Want to outsource your raster and vector engraving?

Would you like to be able to offer your clients combined raster and vector engraving – for example, on promotional materials, trophies, awards or merchandise – without having to invest in buying, running and maintaining a laser machine?

Subcontract this service to us with complete confidence.

We will work closely with you to provide innovative solutions for your clients. As laser engraving, marking and cutting are our business, you have the peace of mind of knowing that we invest in and use leading-edge equipment and technologies, and have a skilled team who are constantly updating their skills.

You can market these benefits as part of your offering, discovering new opportunities for growth as a result.

In vector engraving, the outline of the design or layout is followed by the laser beam, this laser beam does not cut through the material but instead scores the surface. The depth of the scored line can be adjusted using more power or reducing the speed of the laser passing over the material. When the file is imported from the computer software the outline is engraved. The axis moves to achieve a smooth engraving. Vector engraving works the same as laser cutting all that is changed is a reduction in power of the laser to prevent cutting through the material.

Which materials are best for vector engraving?

Vector engraving works best of all on flat materials as it engraves in a continuous way. This can be a faster process compared to raster engraving on certain materials.

Vector engraving gives particularly effective results on wood. Softwoods such as Birch need less power to highlight the line, but hardwoods such as Oak need more power to produce a contrasting effect.

This process can be used on many materials but two popular ways are:

1. To mark parts where the need is to produce a serial or part number to a product in the most cost-effective way.
2. To highlight engraved areas of a design or layout on wood or card, particularly where there is a lot of detail to a design that needs to have more contrast to the rest of the engraving.

Raster engraving is a standard engraving process but being standard doesn’t make it run of the mill.

There are many reasons why this is the go-to technique for your engraving needs – it’s fast, efficient and accurate, able to replicate multiple exact copies of the same design without the need for mechanical cutting tools, and can be used with a wide variety of materials.

What is raster engraving?

Like a vector, raster is a type of bitmap file made up of pixels. When we raster engrave the laser moves line by line, point by point, from start to finish in much the same way as an inkjet printer moves to put ink on a page.

The difference here is that the targeted heat from the laser vaporises tiny surface amounts of the material being engraved, one pixel at a time, to leave behind a perfectly etched design.

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Perfectly replicates the original design on your chosen item

Raster engraving doesn’t suffer the limitations of mechanical cutting tools. This means that we can create designs of all shapes and sizes on all kinds of surfaces, including curved surfaces or inside an item.

As the laser equipment is computer-controlled, the final design perfectly mirrors your original, right down to the last pixel. It can even be duplicated multiple times without any compromise in quality or accuracy.

You will be amazed by the shading we can accomplish, simply because the laser is able to work to different depths and can translate greyscale images onto your chosen materials as well as black and white images.

There’s no contact between the tool itself and the item being engraved, which ensures that every mark is intentional and offers amazing clarity without leaving unwanted marks.

I WANT TO DISCUSS CUSTOM RASTER ENGRAVING

Raster engraving works on virtually any material

Another fantastic feature of raster engraving is that it works well on virtually any material including wood, acrylic, leather, laminates, MDF, cork, paper, ceramics, coated metals and textiles.

Just talk to us about your raster engraving needs and we’ll be happy to turn your ideas into a finished design on the material/item of your choice. If you’re not sure what design or material would work best, just tell us and we can offer you advice that fits your budget.

DISCUSS YOUR CUSTOM RASTER ENGRAVING NEEDS

Need help with the design?

As raster images are made up of pixels, it’s important to get the resolution right to ensure that the finished engraving looks perfect at its intended size. We have a design team who can create the artwork for you (the price for this will be given as part of your requested quote) or you can find our artwork guidelines here if you already have a file you want to submit.

Raster engraving is particularly suited to large-area applications like filled letters, images, stamps or wood engraving but can be used for other projects too.

This is an engraving method suited to bold artwork with less fine detail (if you have lots of detail within your design, vector engraving might be more suitable or a combination of raster and vector engraving). Again, this is something we can help you to decide.