CUT, ETCH AND PRINT
When Glowforge sent us a printer, we weren’t sure what it could do. Is it even a printer? No, in the common sense of the word, it’s not. It’s a cutter, an etcher, an engraver and more. And it makes you a designer and creator. We didn’t fully appreciate the Glowforge at first. Then we found our first real need and created welcome signs for our Getaway home. In the process, we became inspired by all the possibilities.
A Glowforge model is the size and shape of a large paper printer, but, instead of ink, it uses a laser to etch and cut a variety of materials—with unlimited designs and outcomes. Glowforge works on leather, wood, paper, plastic, metal, acrylic, cardboard, ceramic tile— even food like chocolate or cookies. You can cut shapes and stack layers to create 3D objects. Etch photos onto a range of materials or logos onto a laptop cover or a chocolate bar. Engrave names into wood or leather. Simply upload a design—your own or a Glowforge-supplied file—and place your material inside the printer.
All three Glowforge models can accept material up to 2 in. thick. On the Pro model we tested, you can open the front and back of the device to feed through material measuring 19.5 in. wide by however long you want. The Basic and Plus models can handle material up to 19.5 x 11 in. We also received a Glowforge air filter with our Pro model. It’s a necessary addition for laser-cutting and etching indoors.
The Glowforge’s internal camera makes multistep operations easy. For example, with processes involving an etched background followed by a cutting step, you can effortlessly adjust the position of the artwork for an error-free finished product. You can even do it remotely. All work is done via
Wi-Fi, which is an advantage and a disadvantage. Without a strong signal, or if Wi-Fi goes down, the Glowforge can’t work. It relies on cloud-based software and storage for your designs, which means they’re easily updatable and accessible. Glowforge is compatible with PC, Mac, tablet and mobile devices. It can accept JPG, PNG, SVG, PDF and other file formats.
Once we figured out the user interface, we were impressed by the tool’s capabilities. It can cut and etch much more precisely than a router or other hand-held tool. And it has a size and style that makes it more user-friendly than a CNC (computer numerical control) machine. But it’s not fast. Some of the work on our Getaway sign took more than an hour, plus setup and final sanding.