What is Desktop Engraving?
Desktop engraving involves using a small to medium size rotary engraver that is computer driven. The engraver will allow marking, engraving, script, or cutting into a wide variety of substrates. The work area (maximum engraveable area) will range from 4”x6” to 24”x16” or larger in some cases. Speed is based on which machine you choose and how much of an investment you wish to make.
The appropriate engraver and supplies/accessories you will need will be based on your market focus. When you purchase an engraver from The Paper Ranch, it generally comes complete with all the software, tools and accessories you’ll need to get started engraving into multiple markets. As you add new markets you can add new tools and accessories if need be.
The Learning Curve…
Under our instruction, you can be engraving within 30 minutes. You’ll need to learn about:
Ø Tool-path generation, an automated software function
Ø How fast to engrave different materials
Ø How deep to engrave materials
Ø What size “cutter” to use
Ø Choosing to engrave with/without a “nose cone”
After only the first day, you will begin to have a good understanding of the process. As with any new technology, the best way to learn is experience. The Paper Ranch is here is help you along the way, from start to finish.
Making Money with Engraving
The margins in engraving are very high, typically a 150%+ margin depending on your market. For example, let’s look at name badges. It will cost you about $50.00 in material to do 100 name badges. Depending on which engraver you have the job will take approximately 1-2 hours to engrave. With an average selling price of $3.50 per badge you have just brought in $350.00 in sales. Please feel free to download “The Beginners Guide to Engraving for Profit” for more examples or contact us and we’ll send you the guide at no charge.
Almost everyone and every market currently use engraved items everyday. Your potential market can be every company from A-Z in your local phone book. See below for some examples of the products you can sell to companies:
A - Accountants…Brass Plates, Desk Plates, Letter Openers, etc…
B - Banks & Financial Instructions…Brass Plates, names badges, door/desk signs
C - Control Panel Manufactures…Control panel fronts, labels, id-plates
D - Drama Schools…Awards & Certificates
E - Electrical Contractors…Switch Plates, labels, warning signs
A complete listing of markets and products to sell to those markets can be downloaded by clicking on the link below or request a hard copy by calling us at 1-877-777-2624.
Free Download: The Beginners Guide to Engraving for Profit
Types of Engraving Equipment
With the growing popularity in engraving photos, it’s easy for people to get confused in which type of engraver fits their focus the best. If photos are your market or you want them to be, chances are you are looking for a Photo Impact Printer like the Roland METAZA MPX-60 or MPX-70. These machines are often reoffered to as “Engravers” but are more similar to a dot matrix printer. They use a very fine diamond tip stylus which “impacts” .bmp’s or .jpg’s into metals or acrylics. The METAZA’s specialty is “engrave” photos onto dog tags, charms, Zippos, Jewelry Box Covers and more. Your traditional engraver will do text and logo’s onto a wider variety of substrates, but generally will not handle photos.
The Paper Ranch also offers engraving equipment which can do true 3D engraving, along with the software to drive it. Please contact us for more info on this application. Check out The Beginners Guide to Engraving for Profit for more details.
Types of Engraving Supplies
The sky is the limit when it comes down to “What can I engrave”. Names Badges, dog tags, interior signage, trophy plates & award, wood, acrylics, marble, jewelry, lighters, desk plates, control panels, exhibit signs, promotional products, corporate gifts, etc… Have an idea or an application in mind? Contact The Paper Ranch at 1-877-777-2624 and we can do a time study/application testing of your product, or request your own engraved sample.
Engraving Information & Instructions
Below are links to information and instructions are for our products. All instructions are in printable pdf files and can be easily saved to your computer. Please contact our Technical Support Department at 877-777-2624 or via email at techsupport@thepaperranch.com. Additionally, please visit our Tips and Tricks Blog to learn some new techniques and common challenges companies like your’s face everyday.
General Engraving Information
- Guide to Engraving for Profit
- Overview of Roland Engraving Workbench
- Engraving Dictionary
- Anatomy of an Engraving Cutter
- Rotary Engraving Fact Sheets
- Engraving Tools Fact Sheets
Roland Engraving Machines
- EGX-20 Desktop Engraver Brochure
- EGX-30 Desktop Engraver Brochure
- EGX-300 Desktop Engraver Brochure
- EGX-400 High Speed Engraver Brochure
- EGX-600 High Speed Engraver Brochure
- RX-50 Spiral Axis Engraver Brochure
Roland Engraving Software
- Dr. Engraver User Manual
- EngraveLab 6.1 Brochure
o EngraveLab 6.1 User Manual
- EZ Engraver Software
Engraving Techniques
- Ballnose Engraving Fact Sheets – Reverse Engraving for Acrylic
- Burnishing Engraving Fact Sheets – Usually for Lacquered Brass
- Color Fill Engraving Fact Sheets – Adding Color to Engraving
- Creating Multiple Plates
- Creating a Multi-Line Engraving Plate in EZ-Engrave
- Creating Single Badges per Plate using EX-Engrave
- Tracing a Monochrome Bitmap in EZ-Engrave
3-D Engraving Information
- 3-D Engraving Fact Sheets
- 3-D Engraving Manual
ADA Engraving
- ADA Signage Engraving Fact Sheets
- Setting Up a Braille Drill Job – EngraveLab 6.1
- Creating Raised Dot Braille Signs in EngraveLab 6.1
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