More and more people are approaching the laser engraving industry, and for good reason.
Not only is it highly lucrative, but it's also very functional, as you can use the pieces you've practiced to improve your home decor.
If you've just bought a laser engraver and don't know what's the best niche for you, you've come to the right place. Today, I'm going to introduce you to some of the best laser engraving machine product ideas that can bring you a fortune without being too complicated to be accessible to beginners and intermediates alike.
1. Custom Wooden Photo Frames
The difficulty of this project is up to you. You can stick to the simple idea and carve a piece of wood to fit a standard size photo, or you can etch the sides with beautiful details and even offer portrait engraving services.
Regarding the latter, woodcut portraits are one of the most lucrative products you can specialize in. You don't need to etch the portrait yourself - if you have a high-quality laser engraver, just paste the photo into your engraving software and specify the dimensions.
The great thing about photo frame products is that they sell in almost any shape. If you're still learning, I suggest you start here.
2. Wooden Heart Gift
There are enough holidays and birthdays for you to be sure that wood carved hearts will sell well. Similar to a wooden frame, a heart-shaped gift is relatively easy to make, but a few new elements make this project more challenging, most notably the curved cutout.
Assuming your laser engraver is accurate enough to carve a heart-shaped piece of wood out of your material, I would recommend improving your wood sanding skills to sand these products to perfection.
This is one of the products you can sell in a number of ways. Whether you open your own store or sell to gift shops is up to you.
3. Wooden prizes and trophy gifts
If you don't want to etch custom cutouts, one of the easiest and most lucrative product ideas I can recommend is to try wooden prizes and trophies.
4. Glass
Etched glasses are becoming increasingly popular among consumers and manufacturers/retailers. They're inexpensive to produce, so you'll find a good deal no matter where you are.
If you want to make your own glass, the easiest way is to order glass cutlery and decorate it with plastic sheets. What makes this process easier than making glassware is that you can carve these plastic ornaments before placing them on new glasses.
If this is the niche you feel most comfortable with, one of the best ways to take advantage of engraved glasses is to partner with local gift shops and coffee shops. Whether they send you bulk orders from time to time or one-off orders, you're pretty much guaranteed to have a slow but steady impact on your local market.
5. Wine glass
Wine glasses are more delicate and harder to carve than glass. However, this is where the biggest money is, as your business has limitless options. You can create custom wine glasses, engrave fine glassware for well-known brands, or make custom orders online.
Similar to wooden trophy engraving, you can etch custom text for various occasions, or complete personalized orders, but I highly recommend contacting a company that specializes in wedding arrangements - engraving high-end glassware in bulk is one of the surefire ways to make it Get the most out of atomstack laser engraver machine.
6. Wine bottle
Wine bottles are a symbol of elegance and many would consider them perfect. However, you may have noticed that more expensive bottles often have subtle engravings, such as text indicating the year the batch was made, or a small logo of the company that made the product.
The market for engraved wine bottles is not as saturated as one might think. These tasks are usually given to small artist shops, but the demand is definitely there.
Come the holidays, people are looking for unique gift ideas, and a custom, personalized bottle of fine wine is just that. Alternatively, you can engrave wine bottles for larger brands, just as you can create custom designs for a wedding glassware brand. Although, you typically engrave a thousand glasses at a time, in a typical situation you may only engrave up to a hundred bottles.
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7. Glass mirror
Dressing table and bar mirror carvings are very popular these days. Whether for indoor or outdoor use, large engraved mirrors are slowly replacing the usual neon signs and you'd be surprised how much demand this type of product is.
The main problem here is that carving a glass mirror is not the easiest thing to do. Even basic rectangular shapes are difficult to work with, as this type of glass can be very fragile.
Since these products are more often used for marketing purposes (as opposed to personal use), if you decide to work with a well-known bar or studio, you may have to use unique font styles, complex logos, and very specific requirements.
One of the reasons this laser engraving product idea is great is because you can charge a hefty amount right from the start. If you find satisfaction in completing difficult projects rather than grinding, this may be perfect for you.
8. Pet collar nameplate
Pet owners see their furry friends as family, which means this group of consumers will buy just about anything that has any connection to their cats, dogs, parrots or other animals.
A nameplate on a personalized pet collar is one of the easiest metal engraving projects you can choose from. These plates are usually perfect rectangles, and even if you decide to go with a custom design (such as a bone or heart collar), the process is still pretty straightforward.
Considering cats and dogs are the most popular pets, it's usually a good idea to start making cat and dog pet collar nameplates at the same time. If you don't want to wait for someone to place an order, a search for the most popular pet names in your area will get you ready when the first pet owners come to your store.
9. Keychain Holder
The typical design of a keychain holder is similar to that of a pet collar nameplate. If you've taken my advice and started working in the pet accessories space, the transition to engraving keychain holders will come naturally to you.
Since everyone has different tastes and aesthetics, I recommend you to experiment with whatever design you want. Create a few basic rectangles, then a few oval brackets, and try sculpting an asymmetrical design. You'd be surprised how many people value uniqueness over anything else when looking for a gift.
As for the money you can expect in this branch of the industry, custom keychain holders rarely cost more than a dozen dollars. On the plus side, your material costs will be minimal and the process is usually short.
10. Belt Buckles
From simple personalized belts to antique-inspired artwork, the range of designs you can incorporate into your belt buckle engraving is amazing.
This is probably the most complex and challenging product idea on the list, as even the simplest belt buckle engraving project can take days of tedious work, with the finishing touches doubling down.
Engraving custom belt buckles is also one of the most lucrative ideas you can take advantage of. Personalized buckles stand out from the rest no matter where they are placed. Whether your artwork is displayed in a well-known fashion designer's boutique or in a back alley gift shop, people will be willing to pay big bucks for it if it's of good quality.
11. Custom Coins
Engraving custom coins is in many ways similar to engraving buckles and nameplates, but they are much smaller and require impeccable accuracy and a great deal of patience.
The shape of the coin is perfect for experimentation; you can relax your creative spirit, try etching your favorite comic book superheroes, or even replicate the design of an authentic vintage coin. Before you know it, you'll be making a huge collection, and your artistic vision will connect you with dozens of people who appreciate beautiful handicrafts.
Be prepared for tedious trial and error, though. You're unlikely to create a batch of identical coins (unless you personally want to), which means your muscle memory is of little use when it comes to carving custom coins.
12. Cutlery
A huge market already exists for custom forks, spoons and kitchen knives. While most people interested in buying personalized tableware don't plan to use it to dine, it's an idea that no gift shop will pass on.
If you have any experience with laser engraving, you will easily recognize common shapes - ovals in spoons, rectangles in knives, and lines in forks. Although the actual surface suitable for carving in all three cases is very small, you can carve almost any part of forks, spoons, and knives.
There's a world of difference between the subtle handle engraving of a classic spoon and the custom text on its head. You can easily cater to almost everyone by focusing on not just one area - although it may take some time, custom tableware engraving can be very lucrative.
I hope my atomstack a5 pro laser engraving machine product ideas inspire you to decide which products you enjoy both engraving and selling.