Laser Etching

A Unique Take On Photography

When I began working on SycoFox Studios, laser etching as a means of displaying photographs and art was a novel concept that had taken the internet—particularly Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter by storm. In truth, I hadn't considered the idea at the time, but it would very quickly become the flagship product of the business.

From still life, dynamic shots and landscapes, to traditional and digital art, the concept of laser etchings as a unique take on displaying images has come a very long way, and today the possibilities are nearly limitless. While I tend to cater to a narrow demographic of the population, the laser etching process has grown in popularity among the hobbyist communities world-wide.

While the idea is simple enough to understand—after all it's right in the name—laser etching it's more than just plonking a piece of material down on a machine and pressing the go button. How it works is actually rather intuitive. First, the image is uploaded into a computer program that runs it through an algorithm from which a program called a G-code is generated. From there it's transferred to the machine to begin the print.
That's the easy part; the part that pretty much anyone can do. What makes the process a bit more difficult—as you can see from the photos on this page—is that no two pieces are the same, even when they use the same picture, but I'll get to that in a moment. The skill of turning a full color image into a black and white picture printed onto a piece of wood, cloth, stone, and even some kinds of metals is in what adjustments to the algorithm need to be made in order to avoid making the piece either too dark, or light and either "bleaching" the image out completely, or not burning the wood or other material at all.

It takes a trained eye to see what the finished piece will look like before the print begins, though depending on the program (I personally use Luban through Snapmaker) it's fairly intuitive. What makes this part difficult is because the material the images are printed on can differ wildly from piece to piece.
From knots and soft spots, to plywood and veneers, wood is surprisingly inconsistent in terms of both quality and condition, which makes for some occasionally wild variations between two prints. For example, the two images below this text were printed using the same program, on the same style of plaque, which was made of the same species of wood. But the difference between them is striking. While both ran flawlessly, and were accepted by the commissioner, they stand as the defining example in my portfolio of how truly different and unique two otherwise identical pieces can be.

With wood and canvas being the most difficult of the materials to obtain crisp lines on for their inherent weaknesses, it's little wonder that some custom work can take several weeks to complete. Though I do strive to maintain a level of quality in my work that is second to none—my mantra is, "if I'm not happy with my work, I know my customer won't be either"—I also strive to complete orders within the same week as the material is delivered to my door step, and quite often I've already got the programming work figured out before the material is even shipped.

That said, laser etching has proven to provide me the lion's share of the work I do here at SFS, so you can rest assured that even with the variation in the materials I use—which are the best I've been able to source—you'll get a product that no one could do better, at a price that no one could beat. Now if you doubt that, take a look below at the breakdown of the prices I offer for both custom work, and the cookie cutter stuff you'll see in the shop.

Pricing

Custom work Like the pieces you see on this page, and the cookie-cutter pieces in the store have a standardized pricing formula, which I adapt to all products in my repertoire. As such it breaks down as follows:

Material Cost: The cost of the material, plus shipping to get the material to me.
Runtime: The amount of time allocated to each piece, which is a minimum of 24 hours. Longer runtimes incur an additional charge.
Sales Tax: Kansas state sales tax is 7.5% and is included in the price so there is no surprise at checkout.
Royalties: Qualified cookie-cutters—i.e. those images supplied by artists/photographers as authorized merchandise—are subject to a royalty fee of the suppliers choice.
Shipping: Unlike shipping with cookie-cutter products, shipping on custom items are not included in the final price, as far more options are available, and more creative solutions are often needed. However it will be quoted at 20$ domestic (U.S.A. only) and up to 100$ international. At present I have no way of knowing how much shipping will actually be for international shipping per order.

With the occasional exception of gifted work (i.e. work that I gift to others,) all prices are non-negotiable as the only aspect that I have control over is the Runtime rate, which is currently set at a universal 1$ per hour for all laser etchings. This is the lowest rate that I can realistically charge.

ALL SALES ARE FINAL, BE SURE YOU ACTUALLY WANT WHAT YOU ASK FOR!

Become A Supplier

Get Your Art and Images On a Unique Platform

How To Become A Supplier

The simplest way is to get in contact with me via my personal business email cashcroft.freelance@gmail.com and we'll work out a deal for you to get your art or photographs added to the store.

Requirements

Like many aspects of my custom work, those wanting to become suppliers need to meet a few basic requirements. I'm not going to beat around the bush on this, if you don't meet these requirements, absolutely do not approach me about merchandise. The requirements are as follows:

High-Res Images: Just like with custom work, I cannot make good quality products with low resolution images. It doesn't end well.
No Pornography: I do accept NSFW (Not Safe For Work) commissions on custom work, but first and foremost SFS is a family friendly business. I will not print or distribute NSFW pieces as authorized merchandise under any circumstances, EVER!
No A.I. Images: While I do not immediately condemn the use of "artificial intelligence" in the creation of art—as I view it as just another way of personal expression—I will not accept it on principle, due to the nature of how A.I. gains its ability to create art.
Proof of Ownership: Just like with custom work, you need to be able to prove that the image is copyright to you. If I can't verify the image belongs to you, in this case I legally can't use it. Custom work is a grey area where my work is just a service, Authorized Merchandise is—in this case—entirely black and white.
Address and PayPal: As with custom work, you'll need to provide your address as you would write it on an envelope, so I can send you the first piece as a proof. I'll also need a way to send your royalty payments to you via PayPal in order to ensure my end of the financial obligation is met.

Where It's Sold

I do my business primarily online, so the majority of Authorized Merchandise that I sell is sold via the store on this site. In the case that I have stock available I'll also sell at live venues in which I have a booth set up, but due to the fact that I do not have any appreciable storage capacity, it will be unlikely that a large enough amount of stock will come available for such instances, however the ability to order merchandise will likely still be available.

Cookie-Cutter

This is the term I use for pieces that are not able to be customized. Authorized Merchandise falls into this category as any customization beyond adding the purchaser's name to the backmatter of the piece introduces too much complexity to the order. Cookie-cutter products are just that; one image that is used on multiple pieces in a variety of sizes; no different than any other product's manufacturing process.

Royalties

As a dealer of authorized merchandise, I'm legally required to pay for the use of your work in the products I sell. As such, you're entitled to a portion of the proceeds. You can name your price, but keep in mind your price will be included in the price of the finished piece, if it's too high, no one will buy the piece.

I can send royalty payments one of three ways, per sale, per week, or per month. To avoid sending too many payments to you and getting your PayPal (or mine) flagged, I can structure payouts in the following ways:

Per Sale: There is no guarantee that sales will be immediate. It may take weeks, or months to make a single sale. As such, a "per sale" payout would be preferable.
Per Week: If sales are respectable but not insane, I can hold your royalty payout until the end of the week and pay a lump sum of all royalties earned that week. This is preferable when there are more a handful of sales per month. (For example: five sales in a week.)
Per Month: If your piece takes off, and I end up selling... a lot, every week, like... so many that I have to buy another machine just to keep up, it would be preferable to get monthly payouts instead of weekly or per sale as the amounts being transferred would be significantly higher, and more likely to get an account flagged.

While it's unlikely that any sales reach the point of absurdity, it is possible. So I need to emphasize that regardless of the number of sales and the payout method used, your royalty amount is incorporated into the price of the piece, and you will be paid a royalty on each sale.

Custom Work

How to Order, and What's Involved

How to order

There are a number of ways to order custom laser etchings, however whether email, instant messenger, or in person the method of ordering is the same.

For Email Users: For the fastest response time is via my personal business email cashcroft.freelance@gmail.com While the contact page here works as well, I will usually answer emails sent directly to me the same day, if not within a few minutes.
For FurAffinity Users: Contacting me via the notes system at www.furaffinity.net/user/sycofoxstudios is the best method, though I don't recommend it as I tend to only sign in to check the page when I post updates, or check to see the response to those updates. It can sometimes be several weeks, or months, so if you're here reading this, save some time and email me directly.
Instant Messengers: I use Telegram, and Discord, however I only offer to disclose my contact info here on request for ease of communication. If you have my contact info, just message me, if not, send me a message at the above addresses.
Via Phone: I include a business card with all my orders. On that card I include my personal phone number, as I do not have a business phone associated with SFS. If you call this number, please leave a message, or text me first to let me know you're calling, as I will not under any circumstances answer a number that I do not recognize immediately, and I won't return calls to people who don't leave messages.
In person: If I'm busy with a customer at an event, hang around, or POLITELY interrupt and ask for something to write your name and number on, and I'll text you when I'm done. If I'm not busy say hi, I don't bite.

The Process

Once you sent your message, or otherwise gotten in contact with me, there are a couple things you need to have in order for the process to proceed.

A High-Res Image: I cannot emphasize this enough... Low resolution images yield poor quality prints you absolutely need a high-res image in order for your print to not be a pixilated or over saturated mess. I have tried to do this more than once... It never ends well.
Proof of Ownership: This and 2a are only to cover my ass. If I run a print using an image that I cannot verify belongs to you, I may incur legal issues regarding copywrite and plagiarism.
2a. Copyright Release: If you are using an image that is not your own, I require either a physical written release that is signed by the artist, or a way to contact the owner/creator of the original, so that I may obtain permission to use their work for the piece you're ordering.
Address and PayPal: As you would write it on an envelope. Unless you agree to pick it up in person at the next event that I'm at (unlikely) I'll need to send your order to you. Your information is not saved for future orders and you will need to provide it again with your next order. I'll also need your PayPal info so I can send you an invoice for your order.
Parental Consent: If you are under that age of 18—even by a day—you need to have written and signed parental consent to order from me, simply because some of my work involves work that is not suitable for minors. If I find that you've violated this condition (even years later) you will be banned from ordering any custom work from me, forever.

Once the process begins, the pertinent information is usually asked for ahead of the commission itself, with the exception being your address, which I'll ask for once the commission is finished.

Through the course of setting up the order, you'll be given a number of options of basswood plaque regarding size and shape, and live edge (bark) or finished edge (no bark.) At this point I do not offer slate, canvas, or metal, and do not plan to venture into those material until it becomes financially feasible to do so.

When you've selected a piece for your image to be printed on, you'll be given a price based on the breakdown above. This is your last chance to back out. If you agree with the price you'll be sent an invoice that must be paid in advance, so that I can order the material. At the point I order the material your order is no longer eligible for a refund, even if you cancel the order, you'll have 24 hours to cancel your order otherwise.

Your Print

After the order is finalized, and the material ordered, it can take up to three weeks for your print to be completed. This isn't because it takes that long to run, usually it only takes about 24 hours to actually print the image, it has more to do with the finishing and shipping aspects, as well as my personal life's responsibilities outside of SFS, and any other orders that I might have at the time.

Shipping from the material supplier (Walnut Hollow) usually takes 5 to 7 days by itself. The etching process takes a day (sometimes longer.) and the finishing process can be either completed within a day, or need to wait until the weather is dry enough for me to be able to seal the etching. (Ever try spray painting indoors? It's really fun! (Not really...))

After sealing the print, I fasten a sawtooth hangar to the back and apply the back matter (credits to the owner, who placed the order, and contact info for SFS) this can take another day. Shipping on my end is done Monday to Friday, and will take up to a week via USPS.

Due to the size of most orders, if you live in an apartment complex, you will need to check with your local office if you have not received your order within a week after I notify you that it has shipped!

Afterword

After I've shipped your order, I'll remain in contact long enough to ensure you've received your order. I'll also be posting an image of your finished piece here and—if it's not an image that could reveal personal information, like a family photo—on my display page on Furaffinity (linked above.)

And that's pretty much it. Feel free to get in contact with me if you want to place an order, and we can get started immediately! I look forward to working with you!

Questions and Concerns

Stuff You Should Probably Know

Why Does It Take So Long To Get A Print?

At the time of writing this, I use one machine capable of laser etching, so the lead time that I have on each order is about a week. In this time I order the material and it get's shipped to me. I would have stock on products in the store, but I lack any capacity for storage beyond about five blank plaques of each size at a time. After the material is delivered it can take up to three days—weather permitting—for the piece to be printed, finished, and then shipped. Once shipped it can take up to a week to be delivered.

What Kind Of Machine Do I Use?

For laser etchings I prefer to use my Snapmaker 2.0 with a 10w laser. I do have access to other laser etching machines, but so far the learning curve associated with them has yielded less than stellar results.

What's The Pixel Count?

Okay, so this was actually a question that I had to do a lot of research into to find out. Basically it boils down to two things; 1: dots per millimeter, and 2: the size of a standard computer pixel, which is what most people are thinking about when they ask this. In general a standard pixel is approximately 0.26mm or .0104in in size, and the focal point of a laser beam that is intended to cut/burn an object is somewhere around 100 times smaller, so in theory I can get up to 260 dots per .26mm sized pixel. Doing so however would "bleach" the image, leaving nothing but a featureless black surface, so I work in dots per millimeter. The typical infill interval—the space between dots of laser light—of an image is between .14dpmm and .26dpmm with a lower number yielding a darker image. This is why I insist on High Resolution images! The dpmm fill interval can be as little as half the size of a typical computer pixel, so it really doesn't matter what the pixel count of a typical image is, as long as it's a High-res image. The only time it does, is when the image you supply is between the size of a postage stamp, or a business card. At that scale, I can't make them bigger without lowering the resolution.

What's Your Finishing Method For Prints?

I use between one and five layers of both a matte clear shellac and gloss polyurethane top coat typically used for sealing wood furniture. I used to apply topcoat sealers with brushes and sponges, but it would damage the piece, now the finishing coats are entirely spray on, which results in a solid and flush finish that brings out more detail than the original method.

Are They Meant To Be Hung Or Sat On a Surface?

Either. I fasten a sawtooth hanger to the back but it can be taken off. If you specifically ask for it to be left off I'll do that too.

What Is "Backmatter?"

Typically, the backmatter I'm referring to in regards to laser etchings is the printed lettering on the back of the print, which details who supplied the art or photograph, who ordered the piece (if requested,) and my company info.