With a laser and some creativity, you can transform an ordinary notebook into a personalized gift or keepsake. We used a Speedy 400 to decorate two notebooks. We enhanced the emerald sketchbook with a contrasting laser engraving, and we laser cut the flexible cover on the smaller notebook to reveal a colored second layer.
Gather materials and get ready
Material required :
Hard cover sketchbook (we used an emerald Leuchtturm1917® Sketchbook Master - A4+)
Soft cover notebook (we used a Leuchtturm1917® Jottbook Medium (A5) - navy)
Spray glue
Piece of paper - the more contrasting, the better
Trotec Laser Used:
Speedy 400
80 watts
2-inch lens
Step by Step
Step 1: Laser engrave sketchbook cover
Using our design, you can laser engrave a design on the sketchbook cover and personalize it with a name. If you wish to uise our design, you can open the PDF design and enter the name. You can also create your own unique design.
Parameters used:
The following parameters produce a brown engraving on the emerald sketchbook: Engraving: Power: 20% - Speed: 30% - Frequency: 500 ppi - Air Assist: ON - Z-Offset: -1 mm
Note:
Other colors may react differently.
Step 2: Laser cut the notebook
Flexible covers (like the cover on the Jottbook we used) can easily be cut with a laser. Our decorative design is a tree with precise details. To give the fine details more stability, we glued a piece of paper on the inside of the cover after we laser processed the notebook.
1: table Use the Aluminum Cutting Grid Table and cover the surface around the workpiece to focus the vacuum suction.
2: air flow shutter If you elect to use an air flow shutter, please close it to achieve optimal suction on the table and not on the exhaust slots.
3: laser process Open the design and send it to the laser.
Parameters used:
Cutting: Power: 20% - Speed: 0.5% - Frequency: 1000 Hz - Air Assist: OFF - Z-Offset: -1 mm
Step 3: Finishing
To give your laser cut cover more stability, glue a piece of paper on the inside of the cover of the notebook. Try finding a piece of paper that coordinates with your design. You can use a glue stick or spray glue, but spray glue seems to provide the most stability. More laser cutting tips.
