Why Pen Engraving Machines are the Secret Ingredient

Custom engraving is in high demand nowadays. People who are involved in developing businesses and brand development, mutually agree that personalization plays an important role in standing out. Engraving details like a name, logo, address on items whether it’s your own possession or it belongs to your company, is the best way to show ownership.

It not only shows your ownership but also reduces the risk of theft or copyright infringement. Having said that, engraving is not only limited to security purposes. It can also be done to produce something unique, to stand out, and to customize products that can be used to market your brand image.

Engraving on personal items like pens or stationery is something that’d enable you to connect with people and make your mark differently.

Why should one go for pen engraving?

 For items of personal belonging like pens, engraving is the ultimate form of spreading your brand image in the world. Organizations, industries, or even churches share their logo with people using engraved pens and stationary.

Pens can be customized with the help of engraving and almost any kind of brand information can be carved on them. Since pens travel with people using them, your message can simply travel the world and it won’t even cost you anything.

The Right Type of Engraving technique for Pens

While there are many types of engraving machines in the market, only laser marking is a suitable kind for pens. Engravings like dot peen engraving, electrochemical etching, and ink printing do not include pen engraving in their scope.

These machines are used to engrave big parts that possess larger surface areas and hard surfaces. For pen engraving, the surface is round and is more complex. For smaller shapes, laser engraving is the best solution.

It doesn’t involve any robust mechanical or chemical contact with the pen, creates a permanent impression, works off smoothly around complex shapes, and doesn’t involve any material removal.

Let’s see in detail how to pen laser marking machines differ from other machines

• Since laser engraving is operated using a computer, it gives you the freedom to change the design or information of the engraving at any time without any losses in money and time. The change is swift and is easy to handle.
• In the case of fast-moving production lines, conventional engraving techniques fail to deliver because of speed constraints. However, laser marking machines can easily be integrated with the system of the production line or any fixture that can support speedy and clean engraving on your pens. Laser engraving is fully compatible with high-speed production lines and complex shapes.
• Laser engraving is a permanent process. Simple ink printing does not create permanent indentations in the material hence it can easily get removed after a few uses.
• The production cost of laser engraving machines is very less only because it doesn’t involve any consumables. There is no fuel no substance that is to be consumed in order to bring about this laser engraving process.
• In chemical etching processes, the environment gets disturbed hence cause pollution. Whereas in the laser marking process, there is no pollution due to its proper exhaust system.
• Laser engraving provides deliverables with ultimate finishing which greatly enhances your image and customer satisfaction.
• Laser machines do not require a huge load of men to do the job. It can easily be operated by someone who is handling 2-3 different machines. A hassle-free job is directly related to the quality of work output.

Now that we know that pens can be engraved perfectly with the help of laser engraving techniques, let’s take a look at some of the laser engraving machines available in the market.

CO2 Laser Engraving Machines

CO2 laser engraving machines are known for engraving non-metallic parts. Since the pens are generally made up of plastic bodies, CO2 laser engraving can precisely engrave all your logos, brand information, or anything on your delicate and small pen bodies.

These engraving machines employ CO2 gas for their operations and are powered by electricity. These are able to work with materials like ceramic, leather, wood, garment, jade, bamboo, acrylic, rubber, paper, and glass. You name it and this machine will get you covered.

CO2 engravers do not imply any kind of force, as in the case of dot peen, hence they do not require any support. But having said that, they are much more delicate than other engraving machines hence they require exquisite care.

Apart from engraving on smaller objects like pens, CO2 engravers are widely used in the industry. Their versatile applications are as follows:

• Packing industries like food packaging, pharmaceutical packaging, and beverage packaging.
• Arts and crafts, toys, and molds.
• Superb for smaller objects which can’t sustain the force of a point marker like dot peen e.g. Wooden frames, stationery, utensils, and ceramic pots.
• Textiles
• Handicrafts
• Electronic components
• Communications

Given all of that, every machine has certain pros and cons when it comes to usage. How about we list those pros and cons for you? Here you go:

Pros

• A Galvo pen laser marker must have a precise output. The positioning of the CO2 laser engraving machine is always very precise. The programming is always strong and you get the right information on the right spot.
• It enables you to program it the way you want. The protective features of CO2 machines are also programmable allowing you to use your machine according to your own conditions.
• The laser beam of these machines is of exceptional quality.
• The high efficiency of these machines makes them the most popular in the business.

Cons

• CO2 laser engravers cannot work with metallic materials which seems to be the only important drawback of these machines.
• If adopt a glass gas laser tube, one CO2 gas laser tube’s working life is only around 2000 hours.
• Overheating can be experienced in case of program failure.

Let’s talk about an example of a CO2 laser etching machine that can actually help you with your pen engraving needs. Take a look at Prakash’s CO2 laser marking machine which boasts the ability to engrave pens.

It has a 110x110mm working area. The marking speed is less than 7000mm/second. But, it can easily mark 450 characters per second which is the required speed for stationery items in general.

It comes in three power outputs i.e 10W, 30W, and 50W. With a stable output power, it gives you a highly precise output. This is only possible because of a high-speed scanning galvanometer which doesn’t disappoint you ever.

Fiber Laser Engraving Machines

Fiber laser is the most advanced form of laser engraving. These machines generate laser using seed laser which is then amplified by means of special glass fibers and lenses accurately placed within.

The wavelength of fiber laser is as small as 1.064 microns which produces a very small focal diameter. The intensity of fiber lasers is almost 100 times higher than that of CO2 laser machines.

Fiber lasers are laser engravers for metals but they can work on certain types of plastics as well, primarily high contrast plastics.

Fiber Laser Marking Machines for Pens

If your pen contains a metal framework, you can easily deploy a pen fiber laser marking machine for that. Pen fiber Laser marking machines can create some good markings on the metallic parts of your pens especially the clips of pens that are usually made up of metallic materials.

Most brands prefer engraving their logo on that part since it shows whenever you put your pen inside your shirt pocket.  With your pen inside your pocket but your logo on the metallic clip outside your pocket, you can boast about your brand identity.

Since fiber lasers have a specialty in performing engraving operations on complex shapes, it is the best choice for any pen manufacturer making metallic pen bodies. However, if the pen contains a plastic body which is mostly the case, you need to look for compatible plastics for a fiber laser.

It works fine with PVC plastics, polypropylene and polyethylene plastics, and ABS. Fiber laser machines have a service life of at least 50000 laser hours which is considerably high if we take into account other engraving machines.

Let’s talk about the pros and cons of Fiber Laser Engraving machines and techniques:

Pros

• Fiber Laser machines are low-maintenance machines because of the advanced air cooling system.
• They offer high precision in their output.
• Their specialty is metallic materials.
• It can equally be used for industrial as well as commercial applications.
• Environment-friendly.

Cons

• Fiber laser machines with pen auto-feeding systems will be expensive.
• You cannot control the color of the engraving as it depends on the color of the material to be engraved.

If we talk about fiber laser machines, we can’t simply ignore Heatsign. Heating excels in making fiber laser machines with a huge margin. Although the fiber laser collection of Heatsign is big, we will only talk about one precise model which can be suitable for pen engraving.

Check out H HS-FL20 20W Fiber Laser Marking Machine on Heatsign. It has a marking area of 110x110mm. The output laser ranges from 10W-20W. It is very easy to use and is very low maintenance because of no consumables.

DIY Engraving Machines

Did you ever think about DIY laser engraving machines? We bet you didn’t. DIY laser engraving machines are a new trend these days for people who can’t afford to buy big machines.

Some people need laser engraving for their small-scale businesses. You can either have a small stationery brand of yours or you could just open up an engraving service business.

Whatever business kind you pursue; you can surely use DIY laser machines for engraving on pens.

DIY engraving machines come in parts. All you have to do is to follow the basic guidelines in the user manual and assemble the machine first. It will require some special tools but it’s not hard at all. Once it’s assembled, you’re good to engrave your pens.

These DIY machines are cheaper in comparison since they are not designed for commercial purposes. They are designed for custom engraving that you can do at your own convenience.

DIY laser engraving machines can engrave only the non-metallic parts hence they are a good option for your pen engraving needs. Here are some of the materials that can be engraved using DIY engraving machines:

• Wood
• plastic
• paper
• bamboo
• horns
• leather (purse)
• plastic phone case
• rubber stamp
• photosensitive seal
• sponge paper

Let’s discuss some pros and cons that these DIY engraving machines have to offer:

Pros

• DIY laser engravers are amazingly cheap and they can do almost everything that a commercial laser engraver can do.
• Great for small-sized businesses
• Basic software compatibility

Cons

• Requires you to assemble every part in the beginning all by yourself
• DIY laser engravers cannot engrave big parts.
• No compatibility with metals.
• Can not support batch engraving work.
• Low-speed engraving

Considering all the pros and cons, we have a suggestion for you in the DIY section as well. Take a look at this ELEOPTION DIY Laser Engraving machine. Eleoption is a new name in the market but it was worth a try. It fully supports windows and not only the latest versions but goes back to windows XP when it comes to compatibility.

It doesn’t take much time to set up. Turn it on and it will get ready for engraving in no time. Although it supports windows, there is confusion about whether it supports Mac or Linux also.

It can’t engrave on reflective materials since the router is guided by UV light and it won’t get the right instruction because of reflection. Mostly pen engraving is done on solid colors so it won’t be an issue.

It comes with an instruction manual that is self-explanatory and it’s super easy to assemble this machine. Although you might get stuck at a few points reading the manual carefully can help you in this regard. The engraving area is 170x200mm which is fairly big for any pen size.

It can easily engrave precise details while working in this engraving area. It definitely competes with laser engraving machines of the top tier.

Conclusion

Now that you have a fair amount of knowledge of what type of engraving can be done on pens and what are the machines to do this job are, you can safely narrow down the required technology for yourself.

If you’re a high-end firm looking for a batch engraving setup, go for fiber laser engraving machines because it is the best laser marking machine for pens. But, if you own a small engraving business, you can opt for DIY laser engraving machines.

However, you can’t ignore CO2 laser engraving machines because you still have to engrave the non-metals or plastic pens at high speed. Better do it with the right kind of machine!