Laser Cutting / Engraving
Please note that if you are looking to have a laser cutting completed for the holidays, you should consider submitting it by mid-October! The queue gets long this time of year!
Current pricing for laser cutting / engraving. Please note that pricing is dependent on both the length of time it will take the job to complete AND materials used
- $3.00 per 20 minutes
- $5.00 per cut for West Linn Public Library Materials (5mm MDF or 3mm MDF)
- $3.00 per cut for your own materials
- Example: A 40 minute cut using West Linn Public Library materials would be $11.00 ($6.00 for time, $5.00 for materials).
The library offers laser cutting and engraving on our Glowforge Pro desktop laser engraver! You can create your own designs as any image file or as an svg, OR you can find svg cut files online (on websites such as thingiverse or etsy - often you will have to pay to use someone else's design). Some cut files enable you to create a 3D object.
Please note, images with a lot of various tones or blurry lines won't come out as expected. Simpler models produce the best results. If you have any questions, feel free to reach out to our Emerging Tech Librarian for tips for finding cut files!
Submitting a laser engraving request online:
- Please read the guidelines below, then go to our Google Form and fill it out completely to have your print submitted online. We will contact you if we find a problem with the file you have uploaded.
- You will be notified when your job is finished. Often the size of our queue means that we will not get to a newly submitted print for a few weeks and the process can take several work days from start to finish. Our Teen Techs are generally here twice a week. Thank you for being patient with us!
- You’ll have 14 days to pick up your print. Objects not picked up will become property of the library.
- Payment is due when the job is picked up.
Guidelines:
- Patrons must have a library card in good standing.
- Requests will generally be completed in the order in which they were received when staff is available to operate the Glowforge. Slight adjustments to the queue will be made to maximize efficiency.
- Patrons may have only one active request at a time.
- We generally use sheets of light-colored MDF, but if you want another material, you can bring us almost any wood that is under a half an inch thick and 12 x 20 inches.
- If you have another material that isn't wood, please mention that and we can assess whether or not we can engrave it for you. The Glowforge cannot cut or engrave metal, but CAN engrave on coated metal (it will burn off the paint and you will see the metal underneath). We cannot engrave on anything greater than 2.5 inches thick (most tumblers won't fit in our machine).
- If a submitted image is too large, it will be scaled down unless the original size has been specifically requested. If we cannot accommodate the specifics of a request, you will be informed.
- Additional engraving attempts will be offered for objects that fail to cut due to hardware failure. We cannot issue refunds for dissatisfaction with color, scale, design, or other options selected by patrons.
- We cannot print objects that are:
- Prohibited by local, state or federal law.
- Unsafe, harmful, dangerous or poses an immediate threat to the well-being of others.
- Obscene or otherwise inappropriate for the library environment.
- In violation of another’s intellectual property rights. For example, the printer will not be used to reproduce material subject to copyright, patent or trademark protection.
- The library reserves the right to refuse any laser cutting or engraving request.
- Printing may occur within public view.
If you have any questions about laser engraving at the West Linn Library, please reach out to our Emerging Tech Librarian at clenartz@westlinnoregon.gov
