Issue link: https://nbm.uberflip.com/i/1482193
6 8 G R A P H I C S P R O • N O V E M B E R 2 0 2 2 G R A P H I C S - P R O. C O M LASER ENGRAVING REPORT She found that she was able to produce so much more with the under than with the Glowforge. "What would take me 15 minutes on the Glowforge would take me five on the under. When you're working at a wholesale scale, doing mass productions of pieces, those 10 extra minutes really matter," Gates says. Bumble and Birch now sells about 1,000 units per week across all SKUs and, Gates says, the industrial laser has already paid for itself because of how much it has increased her turnaround. LEARNING CURVE AND GROWTH Going from a desktop laser engraver to an industrial machine was a "massive" learning curve. The biggest benefit of the Glowforge was that it was user friendly. "You don't have to learn the inner workings of the laser and what all of the jargon means in the laser cutting world in order to operate the Glowforge, which was a blessing and a curse," Gates says. It took Gates a little time to get comfortable with the larger industrial machine. Luckily, she says, the under laser team was very responsive when she had questions. She was able to double the amount she put into the bed of her original laser. She could make six bookmarks at a time on her smaller laser and 12 at a time on the under. Getting comfortable using the software, LightBurn, made the entire process go faster. "You are able to set up duplicate runs instead of dragging and dropping. It is all automated in LightBurn," she says. Bumble and Birch has added part-time help to keep up with demand for its products. "Right now, wholesale is 80% of my busi- ness but I still absolutely like to sell to retail Bri Gates got her first taste of laser engraving after starting a small Etsy site during the pandemic selling wooden earrings she designed with a wood-burning tool.