More deets about tags and such

[tugrik]

This week I had a few friends kick me to post more details about the actual "stuff for sale" side of my little laser hobby. They're trying to convince me that folks might want to order things for the upcoming convention or just in general... so here goes. :)

I currently stock two sizes of bone-shaped pet tags (2" and 1.5" widths) and regular, military-sized dogtags. Both item types are available in the following colors: black, blue, purple, red and green. I've got split-rings, ball-chains and (soon but not quite yet) silicon silencers to go with them. Lastly, I'm also stocking both wood (0.125" alder) and metal business cards in two colors and two sizes: blue or black, and thick (0.050") or thin (0.020"). The thin ones are like normal business cards. The thicker ones are quite beefy and can take more abuse.

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Here's a tag I made for my cat. 1.5" width size, blue aluminum. Address and ph# blurred out for privacy. And, yes, the chunks and chinks out of the word "BATOU" in the first image are part of the actual font, not screwed up engraving. :)





Here's a metal business card we did for Revar. Sorry for the cruddy pic; I only had my iPhone out by the laser when I took it. I'll post a better one soon.



Dogtags:



Zippos:


(more info on Zippos after FC2009 is over and I'm properly set up as an official Zippo reseller! This test one was done for a friend with an over-the-counter, retail priced one.)

And, as long as I'm posting a group of images, here's a paper-cover moleskine:



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As for aluminum items, the laser leaves the metal white, giving a white-on-color contrast. Much-love to my new supplier, as the anodizing job on these pieces is far better than the batch ordered from the previous shop. Like all aluminum you can indeed scratch it, but as the laser exposure is bleaching out the entire anodized layer, the designs will still show through most surface scratches just fine. This is why laser-etched tags are so good for pet tags and the like.

As for paper and wood, the laser removes material as well as darkens or chars, depending on the settings and particular wood types. Unlike the metal items, the laser can also cut wood items up to 1/2" thick.

If you supply the design in a ready-to-go format (.eps, .pdf or Corel) or if you just need some simple text, I'll make dogtags and pet-tags for $2, thin business cards for $4 and thick ones for $4.50. Need more than just one or two? Price goes down as quantity goes up. Have more complex art that needs layout work before it can be engraved on the tag? Email me and we'll work out what (if any) additional art setup-fee might be needed.

I can do wooden business cards as well for the same price, in 1/8" alder wood. They're thicker than the metal (0.125" vs. 0.050") because if I go any thinner they'd be far too weak.

In another week or two I'll have a sample 'grab bag' from my new vendor with about 1,000 various anodized shapes. He's sending them to me at a cut rate so that I can figure out what other tag shapes and sizes to stock in the future. Have a special request or need one of my not-usually-stocked colors? Let me know and I'll see if there's one in the grab bag that matches.

And as always, if you have anything else you'd like to see me try as an engraving product/service, let me know. tugrik@gmail.com , as always. :)

There's also a load of acrylic products I can do, but nothing I've got priced out yet. More on those another day.

Comments

[silverjames.livejournal.com]

Email coming your way shortly.

[darkwolven.livejournal.com]

This stuff is amazing. I have a business that may lead to having some stuff like this done someday. I'm going to put you in my business contacts, and if anything comes up in the future where I need something like this, you'll be my first call.

Also, could you etch say...a pc case panel if it were shipped to you? Just wondering. I used to like PC windows, but my PC case is under my desk and it has reciprocating doors in front made of brushed aluminum, so I'm just thinking. It's black though, so I don't know how deep the color goes...

[tug-the-dragon.livejournal.com]

As a smoker...Zippo
~:O~~~

[diadexxus.livejournal.com]

You CAN do sketch books!!!!

*RUNS AROUND AND FLAILS!!!!*

-J

[jillfennec.livejournal.com]

how would you feel about ... engraving a nintendo ds? :)

[carlhh.livejournal.com]

Dog-bone tag for a cat?

He's either going to be the neighborhood laughing-stock or the neighborhood bad-ass.


"My name's not really Batou. Batou was the dog I killed for this collar!" :D

[obliviousally.livejournal.com]

Those metal business cards are HOT. I'm seriously tempted to save a little money and get some to hand out at the comic convention I staff.

I'll definately be contacting you about a few items in the future. :D

[tugrik.livejournal.com]

If you've got a design ready I can send you one for free, just for fun. :)

[tugrik.livejournal.com]

making sure I didn't miss it or my spam filter didn't catch it? I didn't see an email...

[tugrik.livejournal.com]

Maximum bed size on the laser is 24" x 18". If it fits within there, I can work on it. :) Coated metals are better than raw metals. Plastics that are non-PVC work with varying degrees of success. Flat surfaces are best, to avoid focus issues.

If you have junker case parts you could always drop one of those by for me to test on first!

[tugrik.livejournal.com]

the best zippos for this are the 'matte' ones. They come in a variety of colors. Just look on zippo's site at their classic lighters in matte surfacing. One page of the catalog will have them all in a group.

Pick a color, send me a design, I'll gladly do it for $10 plus the cost of the lighter. :) The matte ones are usually $20 or so.

[tugrik.livejournal.com]

not sure how the plastic would act. It might work well, it might look horrible. What I'd want was a dead or junker one to test one first, to know what the effect would be like...

[tugrik.livejournal.com]

This is why we call him Beef. Because, yeah, he's a total Beef.

Mostly, though, it was just a collar test and that's the only shape I had. Soon I'll have the rounds in and will most likely give him a more normal cat-tag.

[tug-the-dragon.livejournal.com]

And shipping?

[obliviousally.livejournal.com]

Ooh! I'll have to whip something together, then!

[tugrik.livejournal.com]

$5.00 for standard USPS, $8 for fedex ground, more for faster fedex if you wanted.

[silverjames.livejournal.com]

Rut ro. I sent it to the gmail addy I have for you. I'll try resending. It was from my steelheart account. AT&T/Yahoo has been having some email issues so it may have gotten eaten.

[synnabar.livejournal.com]

I thought your bento lunch post made me drool - now THIS really gets my heart beating! So many ideas... and everything looks fantastic. :)

I will not be attending FC, but I will be at AC 2009, and I would love to purchase some custom things from you, if you are interested. So many ideas, yeah! After the holidays, if you are interested and have the time, I will definitely get in touch with you.

[baja-hyena.livejournal.com]

This is awesome Tugrik. Can you give an example of what kind of artwork works and what doesn't? What resolution would be considered minimum for engraving?

Can you get larger dog tags? (4-6"?)

I will definitely have a few things for you to engrave for me. :)

[tugrik.livejournal.com]

I can get business cards and luggage tags, but not oversized dogtags... yet. :) Still looking for a supplier.

B/W artwork without greyscaling works best on aluminum. Where the image is black, the laser burns a white color out of the anodizing. Halftoning and the like doesn't work well on aluminum, but patterning (like woodblock cutting) does.

As for resolution, aluminum doesn't seem to benefit much beyond 150dpi.