Over the past few years, the most popular wood items have been products that serve a purpose and have plenty of laser engraving or printing area. The most popular have been: boxes of any kind, urns (pet or human), cutting boards, custom shaped plaques, and frames.
Boxes
Boxes are great for a variety of uses. Corporations like to use presentation boxes for new items or appreciation gifts to clients, employees, board members, or customers. The value in these items comes from the items found inside and the personalization engraved or printed on the boxes. Personalized special occasion boxes for graduations, weddings, birthdays, etc., that hold special items are also trendy. The option for personalization sets the pieces apart and potentially makes them heirlooms to be passed through families.
Urns
Urns of any type have become very popular over the last several years as cremations have become more prevalent. With burial laws becoming more restrictive and pets being companions, the desire for urns is on the rise.
The personalization options are endless with these items. Any combination of printing and lasering, whether pictures, scriptures, or poems, makes these items valuable memories and keepsakes.
Cutting boards
Cutting boards offer versatility and a large space for customization. They can be for decorative use only or made to be useable and decorative at the same time. They can be hung on one side for decoration and flipped for the usable side, or both sides can be lasered for decoration. They’ve become common as corporate gifts as well as personal gifts.
A unique use for these is to use an old family recipe and engrave it onto the board, with the intention that the end-user will pass it on from generation to generation. Corporations and realtors also use these with their logo or to pass a company slogan, beverage recipe, or food recipe on to their employees or customers. These are quite often sold in restaurant gift stores or used as closing gifts by realtors.
State- or flag-shaped plaques
Custom-shaped plaques have become increasingly popular as of late. These have a lot of personalization area. You can print transparent flags or tourist areas on the plaques first, then poems, attractions, or genealogy can be engraved on top. You can find these in many gift shops across the U.S.
Frames
Frames are always a great seller. Many gift stores or tourist attractions stock up on these items. Websites are a very popular space to sell these items for special occasions.
Customization
Wood in color is becoming more popular, especially overseas as the awareness of “green” culture becomes more prevalent.
There are more options becoming available in woods to allow for more color and fun. This is a great alternative for the market that has been dominated by plastics and metals. Woods can be purchased in transparent stain colors so natural grain beauty can still be seen or colored lacquers can be used so the color is bolder. Laser engraving on these color products is very effective, as is direct color printing.
