Color Laser Engraving with Fiber Lasers

CO2, fiber, and diode laser engraving patterns are all black. To make your products more attractive, try color laser engraving. A color laser engraver can make your products more colorful. However, laser engraving color fill is rare. To learn more about color engraving, let's discuss various common problems in depth.
In this article

  1. What is color laser engraving?
  2. How does color laser engraving work?
  3. The best color laser engraving machines
  4. Conclusion

What is color laser engraving

Color laser engraving is an engraving technique that uses special laser equipment to create colored marks on the metal. The MOPA laser is a special laser source for color engraving. It controls the laser frequency and pulse width to achieve color marks on the metal.
If you want to complete the color engraving on acrylic, fabric and wood, you can also use other measures.

How does a color laser engraving work

There are usually two main ways in which we want to achieve color engraving:

  1. purchasing a Mopa laser source, developed and produced specifically for color marking.
  2. color marking on non-metallic materials using colorants or colored cardboard.

The following is a discussion of how both work:

Color laser engraving on metal

Color laser engraving on metal

Mopa laser engraving on brass

Mopa laser engraving on stainless steel

Mopa laser engraving on stainless steel

The main principle of metal color engraving is the oxidation of the metal. Different metal materials will form different colors after oxidation. The same metal with varying parameters of marking will also produce different colors.
Mopa is characterized by the fact that it can set the pulse width and frequency individually without affecting the other parameters of the machine. You can set different pulse widths, frequencies, and speeds to achieve colored marking on metal.
We sometimes choose the lenticular engraving method to fill large areas with metal. In lenticular engraving, the image is created similarly to how ink is applied to an inkjet printer. When the laser beam falls on the metal, the metal starts to melt, and then oxidation occurs. When the engraving is complete, it also appears in a different color than traditional engraving.
Color can easily achieve laser engraving on most metals, including brass, stainless steel, and titanium, by purchasing a Mopa fiber laser engraver.
Note: ordinary fiber laser cutters or diode laser engravers do not allow color engraving.

Color laser engraving on non-metals

There is currently no laser technology available for color engraving on non-metallic materials. If you want to engrave colored wood, acrylics, etc., you can use colorants such as coloring powder or colored cardboard as an aid.

You can color fill laser engraved acrylics or glass with colored cardboard, stains, and paints.
For color fill laser engraved wood, color fill powder and colored cardboard can be used as a color filler for easy cleaning.
To color fill laser engraved wood, proceed as follows:
First, engrave the design on a clean board.
The coloring is then spread evenly over the engraved area of the board and re-engraved in the same way.
Some coloring powder is left in the engraved area, after which the excess powder is cleaned up.

Best Color Laser Engraver: Gweike G1

 Color laser engraving machine G1

The Mopa laser source is, of course, the only laser capable of color engraving on metal. In addition to this, you can also choose from the gweike G2 and G1 laser engraving machines for laser colour engraving. You can set individual engraving speeds and power and use several auxiliary tools to achieve laser engraving color fill.
The G1 is a 10w diode laser engraver that is compact and at a great price. You can easily make precise marks on a wide range of non-metallic materials.
This machine is perfect for some small businesses as well as DIY enthusiasts. It is powerful, and with an engraving speed of 400mm/s, it greatly increases your productivity.

Conclusion

Color laser engraving can make a product more attractive. If you want to start a small business, color engraving can make your products more competitive. The engraving machine uses dye reagents and colored stickers to achieve laser engraving color fill easily.

Back to blog