How it works

An image is created in a piece of software like Adobe Illustrator, CorelDRAW, or Inkscape. From there it's sent to the laser cutter where there are two ways that the Zing works to create a design. It can engrave images, and it can cut lines. Any line given a thickness of .001 pt (or hairline in CorelDRAW) will be cut, anything thicker than that will be engraved. This file is then sent to the Zing where a design is printed. A CO2 powered laser burns the material in order to create the image. There are two criteria, speed and power, that help to burn it the way you intend.

Things to consider

• The laser will cut anything it reads as a thickness of .001 pt in Illustrator (Hairline in CorelDRAW). Some clip art images may have very small lines that will cut instead of engrave.

• Our laser cannot engrave metal on its own. It can however remove a painted or applied coating to the metal. Things like YETI tumblers or anodized aluminum work great.

• Cardboard is incredibly cheap and is a great tool to test a design if you're unsure how it will look before using a more expensive material like aluminum or acrylic.

• If there is a material you are interested in using with the laser cutter, we may be able to order it for you. Please talk to a Maker Annex staff member to discuss your project ideas.

• If creating your design in Inkscape, please export your design as an .EPS before submitting. Their SVG formatting sometimes does not work with our laser cutter software.

Materials available for cutting/engraving:

• Transparent acrylic (1/8", designs up to 12" x 24" in clear, orange, green, yellow, and blue)

• Maple plywood (1/8", designs up to 12" x 24")

• MDF (Medium Density Fiberboard) (1/4", designs up to 12" x 24"

• Anodized aluminum (.02-.025", designs up to 12" x 24", in blue, red, black, gold, and silver in rectangular sizes only)

• Black coated brass (.02", designs up to 12" x 24" in rectangular sizes only)

• Cardboard (1/8", designs up to 12" x 24")

• Chipboard (1/8", designs up to 8.5" x 11")

• Polyester Stencil Sheets (0.012", designs up to 12" x 24"

• Specialty items as described below.

Material examples

All acrylic sheets are translucent and will engrave white. All materials are 1/8" thick.

Specialty Items

Stock of these are limited, and we may get more as demand requires. However, some of these are being retired as inventory runs out. If you are interested in using one of these items for your project, please check with us on the availability of the items, then list "Specialty Item" on the submission form and include which item you would like to use. If you have a question about any of these, please email makerannex@delawarelibrary.org

Note: Some of these items are being retired as we run out of inventory.

Submission Requirements

To submit a design, please follow this link to upload your file.

Be aware, we stock laserable material as best we can, but may end up out of stock for a short amount of time. You'll be notified when you submit your project whether the material is on hand or if there is a wait.

Once received, we will evaluate your project and reply to you with the estimated cost for the project, as well as any issues we may see. The price for our flat stock material is $0.10 for each square inch of material used (rounded up to the nearest inch). The price for specialty items are listed as follows:

• Faux wood photo frame - $10.00 each

• Alder wood photo frame - $9.50 each

• Bamboo cutting board - $2.50 each

• Bamboo coaster - $1.55 each

• Blank greeting cards - $0.25 each (includes envelope)

• Thermal tumbler - $9.00 each

• Pint glass - $3.00 each

If you would like to test your project, we can run it with cardboard first and provide a photo if you're unsure how the project will look. The cardboard is free to use.

When the project is ready, we will ship your project to any DCDL location for you to pay and pick up.

We will not cut or engrave anything crude or dangerous.

Examples of laser cutting