Engraving Laminate Laser Cutting and Laser Engraving

Engraving laminate is specifically developed for creating high-contrast, easy-to-read laser engravings. These materials consist of different layers: by engraving away the top layer, the contrasting layer underneath becomes visible. This allows you to create nameplates, type plates, signage, labels, and machine panels, among other things.

At Snijlab, you will find four types of engraving material: Economy Engraving Laminate, Premium Engraving Laminate, Transparent Engraving Laminate, and Engraving Film. Which one you choose depends on your application. Are you looking for an affordable sheet for indoor use, a UV-resistant sheet for outdoor use, a transparent sheet for illuminated applications, or a flexible self-adhesive film? Below, we explain the differences.

What types of engraving laminates are available?

At Snijlab, you will find four types of engraving material, each with different properties and colours. Below, we explain the differences and when to choose which variant.

Economy Engraving Laminate

Previously known as ABS Engraving Laminate. Economy Engraving Laminate is ideal for creating durable, high-contrast, and detailed engravings. The material is available in many different colours, including metallic gold, silver, and bronze. The metallic colours have a brushed texture; the other colours are smooth with a soft sheen.

The material is a 1.5 mm thick ABS laminate, constructed from a core and a thin top layer. During engraving, the laser removes the top layer, revealing the contrasting colour underneath. This creates crisp and easy-to-read engravings.

Economy Engraving Laminate is particularly suitable for indoor visual applications, such as nameplates, type plates, warning signs, and signage. The material can discolour in direct sunlight and is more susceptible to scratches than Premium Engraving Laminate. Therefore, it is supplied with a protective film on the top side.

Available in the following colours:

• White with black core
• Black with white core
• Yellow with black core
• Green with white core
• Red with white core
• Blue with white core
• Gold with black core
• Silver with black core
• Bronze with black core

When should you choose Economy Engraving Laminate?

Choose Economy Engraving Laminate if you want to create a clear, easy-to-read engraving for indoor use and are looking for an affordable 1.5 mm engraving laminate. The wide range of colour choices and metallic variants offer many possibilities. Economy is also suitable, for example, for first prototyping signage that you eventually want to produce in Premium Engraving Laminate.

Premium Engraving Laminate

Premium Engraving Laminate is the high-quality variant of Economy for applications where UV resistance and scratch resistance are important.

Premium Engraving Laminate is made of PMMA (Acrylic), making it sturdier and less prone to scratches than ABS. The material consists of two contrasting layers and produces crisp, fine, and easy-to-read engravings.

The main difference with Economy is its UV resistance. Economy Engraving Laminate can discolour in direct sunlight, whereas the colours of Premium Engraving Laminate remain stable in the long term. This makes the material suitable for both indoor and outdoor use.

Premium Engraving Laminate is ideally suited for applications that need to last for years or meet higher demands. Consider type plates, CE plates, machine panels, front panels, wiring diagrams, and cable markers. For outdoor use, think of house number signs, signage, information boards, and nameplates.

Like Economy, Premium Engraving Laminate is 1.5 mm thick.

Available in the following colours:

• White with black core
• Black with white core
• Red with white core
• Yellow with black core
• Blue with white core
• Green with white core
• Light blue with white core
• Light green with white core

Premium is also available in light green and light blue, but currently not in metallic colours.

When should you choose Premium Engraving Laminate?

Choose Premium Engraving Laminate if you want to use a component for many years, if it will be exposed outdoors, or if higher scratch resistance is important. Premium is also the right choice for light green and light blue designs. Keep in mind that this material is more expensive than Economy.

Transparent Engraving Laminate

Transparent Engraving Laminate offers something quite different: this engraving laminate does not consist of two coloured layers, but of one colour layer and one transparent layer.

Transparent Engraving Laminate is made of PMMA (Acrylic). Engraving the material creates a beautiful depth effect. This makes it highly suitable for designs where light plays a role. For example, place a light source behind the sheet or allow LED light to enter from the side to make the engraving stand out even more.

The material is available in white and black and is UV-resistant. Laser-cut edges become shiny, clear, and crisp, while laser engravings become matte and translucent. You won't achieve full transparency with an engraving; the result is a matte translucency.

We advise against large area engravings. Line engravings and narrow area engravings yield the best results.

The sheets are extruded and therefore have a very uniform thickness. This is also referred to as low thickness tolerance. Extruded PMMA has a more stable thickness than common cast sheets, which is useful for applications where dimensional stability is important.

Transparent Engraving Laminate is used for signage, wayfinding, front panels, and edge-lit objects. Examples include illuminated nameplates, dashboards, decorative logos, and signage. The material is also suitable for type plates, CE plates, and information boards.

When should you choose Transparent Engraving Laminate?

Choose Transparent Engraving Laminate if light and transparency are part of your design. It is also interesting for precision applications: the 1.5 mm thickness is very consistent due to the extrusion process. Furthermore, the material is UV-resistant and suitable for indoor and outdoor use.

Engraving Film

Engraving Film is a thin and flexible engraving material with a self-adhesive backing. This allows you to create labels, markings, and stickers, for example, which you can apply directly to another surface.

Engraving Film is composed of two contrasting layers of Acrylic (PMMA). The principle is similar to engraving laminate, but in a thin and flexible version. During engraving, the top layer is removed, revealing the contrasting core.

Because the film is flexible, you can apply it to flat, round, or curved surfaces. The reverse side features an adhesive layer with a protective film. After removing this protective film, the cut part can be directly affixed.

The material is shatterproof and UV-resistant, but it is sensitive to creasing. Once a sharp crease forms, it will remain visible.

Laser cutting produces clean and crisp edges, and engravings achieve a sharp contrast. We also advise against large area engravings for Engraving Film. Line engravings and narrow area engravings yield better results.

Engraving Film is used, for example, for type plates, tool markings, labels, nameplates, instruction labels, decorative elements, and QR codes.

Available in the following colours:

• White with black core
• Green with white core
• Yellow with black core
• Bronze with black core
• Lilac with white core

Bronze and lilac are metallic colours with a shimmering speckle. All films are 0.2 mm thick and supplied with a self-adhesive backing.

When should you choose Engraving Film?

Choose Engraving Film when flexibility and a self-adhesive backing are important. For example, the material is ideal for custom-designed labels and stickers that you want to stick directly onto a flat or curved surface. The metallic colours, especially lilac, also make this variant unique within the range.

What can you make with engraving laminate?

Engraving laminates are suitable for a wide variety of applications. For designs where illustrations are central, you could consider keychains or decorative components, for example. For designs where text and readability are important, nameplates, house numbers, and information boards are obvious applications.

Engraving laminate is also widely used in industry. Think of type plates, front panels, machine plates, cable markers, wiring diagrams, and CE markings. Wayfinding and signalling are also good applications.

Around the house, you can use engraving laminate for house number signs and personalised keychains. In museums and other public spaces, you will see it in explanatory boards, locker markings, and signage.

Sports clubs, for example, use engraving laminate for award plaques and nameplates on trophies. The colours gold, silver, and bronze are particularly suitable for this.

The possibilities are therefore quite broad: from a single personalised plaque to a complete batch of industrial markings.

When should I use which engraving laminate?

In short:

Indoor use, many colours including metallics, and an affordable price?
Choose Economy Engraving Laminate.

Outdoor use, higher quality, and better scratch resistance?
Choose Premium Engraving Laminate.

Transparency, light, or a very consistent thickness important?
Choose Transparent Engraving Laminate.

Flexibility and a self-adhesive backing needed?
Choose Engraving Film.

This way, you have an engraving material for different applications that suits what you want to create. Do you need advice on your material choice? Feel free to contact our customer service.