Make a paper catalog cover
See how you can produce unique catalog covers, brochures or other printed items with paper.
Preparation
Required material
- 1 sheet of heavy laserable paper
- material to cover the engraving table
Machine used
- Speedy 360
- 120 Watt
- 2" lens
- aluminum cutting grid table or honeycomb table
For this sample you can use any laser machine from the Speedy laser engraver series.
Important
- For the inner part, use paper with at least 150 g/m² to secure sufficient volume of the finished item
- Make sure that "Send Beziers and paths to driver" is activated in your software. Otherwise the registration marks are not recognized by JobControl® Vision.
Step by step
Step 1: Create your design
Make your own design and adapt it to your needs. Print your design on your paper or have it professionally printed.
Because this sample is being engraved and cut, we put a hair cross in the middle of the print file instead of registration marks. This hair cross helps you to position the job precisely.
Send the graphic for the outer shell to the laser using the settings below:
Print settings:
Process mode | Resolution | Cut line |
---|---|---|
Standard | 500 dpi | none |
Halftone | Others |
---|---|
Colors | enhanced geometries, inner geometries first |
Step 2: Laser process
Determine the correct the parameter settings for the laser machine and laser power you're using.
Tip:
Change the order of the colors in JobControl from red to blue so that the material is scratched first and cut second.
Laser parameters:
Color | Process | Power (%) | Speed (%) | ppi/Hz |
---|---|---|---|---|
black | Engraving CO2 | 20 | 50 | 500 |
red | Engraving CO2 | 12 | 1.5 | 1000 |
blue | Cutting CO2 | 5 | 1.5 | 1000 |
Passes | Air Assist | Z-Offset | Advanced |
---|---|---|---|
1 | on | +2.5 mm | - |
1 | on | - | - |
1 | on | +2 mm | - |
Step 3: Post-processing
Take the cover out of your laser and insert the core of the catalog. Or if you are using a commercial printer, forward the cut-out cover to your printing representative to attach it to the catalog.
Inspirations
Due to the wood grain, colored prints also look great on this material. There are no limits to your creativity.