Exclusive, self-made Christmas card

Learn how to produce a modern and elegant Christmas card using your Trotec laser and a simple piece of paper, and surprise your dearest with an engraved and cut card.

Preparation

Required material:

Anything goes, but you will get the best results using paper (or material) with a weight of more than 150g. We used a noble, two-tone cardboard from the GMUND 925 series.

Machine used:

Speedy 400
120 watts with 1.5" lens

You can use any product from the Speedy series to produce this sample. For larger quantities or serial production of greeting cards, the GS series is the best solution for you.

Important:

For the best cutting results, we recommend using the honeycomb cutting tabletop. The minimum contact area will help keep residue on the back of the material to a minimum.
Alternatively, you can use the aluminum cutting grid table.

Step by Step

Step 1: Import /create design template

Create your own design or use our template. Due to the special characteristics of the paper, we have been able to create two different levels of engraving. You can test this using the grayscale matrix.

Print settings

process mode	resolution	cut line
Standard	500 dpi	none

halftone	others
color	enhanced geometries inner geometries first

Step 2: Laser process

Put the paper on the honeycomb cutting tabletop and cover the rest of the table. This ensures full vacuum of the engraving table and prevents the paper from shifting.

Laser Parameters

colour	process	power (%)	speed (%)	ppi/HZ
black	engraving CO₂	40	70	500
red	engraving CO₂	14	70	500
blue	cutting CO₂	5.0.	3	1000
cyan	cutting CO₂	5.1.	1	1000
green	cutting CO₂	15	3	1000

passes	Air Assist	Advanced
1	on	High Quality
1	on	High Quality
1	on	-
1	on	Correction "30"
1	on	-

Info:

The laser parameters vary depending on the type of paper you are using. Use the grayscale matrix to find the optimum parameters for your paper.
For an perfect cutting result we used different laser parameters for the complex geometries of the tree and the outer contour of the card.

Step 3: Post-processing

The crease line allows you to easily fold the card. Some types of paper tend to produce traces of smoke. In most cases they can be removed with a damp cloth.

Inspirations

The Trotec laser allows you to add the recipients' names on the card simply and quickly. The serial print function of CorelDraw allows you to add a complete list of different names automatically.