You need to produce promotional items with your client’s logo for an event next week – what do you do? Pay high rush charges and steep shipping fees from a promo company, or do you fire up your laser and run a quick 100-piece job?
Your product is just what your customer is looking for, but they want to add a custom message to the front. Do you contact your laser service provider and find out they can get the product to you next week, or do you put the product in your machine and start engraving right in front of the customer?
Until recently, most small- to mid-sized businesses outsourced laser engraving and cutting jobs like serializing company assets, creating corporate signage, branding promotional products, and other laser applications; however, advances in equipment and technology have largely eroded the economic barrier to bringing laser engraving and cutting capabilities in-house.
As the demand for laser engraving/cutting services grows and production runs increase, businesses are faced with increased costs from contractors. For this reason, many are considering bringing this function on-site. As new personalized products gain traction in the market and the volume of outsourced work increases, there comes a point when that monthly cost of custom laser services from an outside company is no longer cost-effective.
Sometimes, the time taken to contact suppliers and reserve space in their production schedule can lead to delays ranging from one day to one week (or more). Shops can reduce production and delivery lead times by installing laser equipment in their own space. Delivery time pressure and the need to satisfy unpredictable customer demand can be minimized by taking control of laser jobs and having the resources on tap.
Bringing a laser system in-house also allows shops to brand their own promotional products such as pens or clothing, serialize assets such as company laptops and mobile phones, design their own internal/external signage, personalize gifts, and develop employee recognition products.
-Amy Dallman, Epilog Laser
