I have been lurking on the board for the past couple of months in hopes of learning as much as I can before I actually buy my laser engraver. I am also trying to see if I can actually get any business in this area. Well I have my first inquiry. And now my question.
I have a client that would like some laser engraved key tags or business cards. He hand builds guitars, and would like something “different” to give to his customers when they buy one of his masterpieces. I came up with this idea to give away a custom t-shirt along with a special keytag/business card attached to the shirt. Now my dilemma….can this keytag/business card be made, and how expensive would it be to have 50-100 of them made?
Keep in mind, I do not have a Laser Engraver, don’t know much except what I have read either in magazines, this group or a trade show. I just know that it is something that I want to add to my creative business (screen printing, pad printing & heat press) eventually.
Any information you can give me will be greatly appreciated.
With regards to business cards, the answer to your first question is Yes, they can be made, the caveat however, is are they worth bothering with. In other words, can you charge enough for them so that it is worth your time? For me the answer is no. Although I do make them for myself (I get blanks from www.cardsofwood.com or cut them from cherry veneer), about the cheapest I could offer them for was $.50 to $.75 each, not worth it to most folks and still borderline profitable for me. And when I compare them to bag/luggage tags which cost only a little more to make, but fetch $3.50 to $5.00 each and take only slightly longer to burn/cut, the answer is more clear. Keytags may be more worthwile depending on material used and how much you might be able to charge for them.
With regards to the client you mentioned, have you thought of offering him laser cut / engraved truss rod covers? I’ve done a few of those and the profit margin is even greater.
Lastly, if you’d like to test the waters before you commit, I’d be willing to offer you wholesale pricing on some items you can offer your clients. I provide this service to some of the engraving houses in my area who don’t want to buy a laser. They have the clients and the storefront, I do the production, we split the profit. If this is something you might want to persue, you can contact me and we can discuss further.
Hope this helps. Perhaps others have different viewpoints to offer.