We currently live in an age where anyone can build anything they desire if they have the right tools and technology with them. With the introduction of high-end laser printers within the last decade, companies are getting creative and building various products that are made from materials such as wood, felt, fabric, paper, and acrylic. Let’s learn about Glowforge alternative.
When it comes to laser printing, there is only one solid organisation that a lot of people trust with their work. This organisation is Glowforge. Glowforge is an American company that specialises in developing and creating amazing laser printers. This article will aim at giving you an answer on the various alternatives to Glowforge that are currently available on the market.
Why is Glowforge considered one of the best in the market?
Some of the excellent features that Glowforge provides with its laser printers are ones such as a live camera preview on the printer that lets you see the final product before it starts taking shape, tremendous laser precision for great results, and in-built cloud software that makes it easier for you to set up and install the printer, and a pen that lets you be creative and draw your products into real objects.
Glowforge sets its printers at a premium price as compared to other laser printers. A basic Glowforge laser printer would cost you $2,500, whereas the Glowforge Pro is currently retailing for $5,900. So, as you can see, not a lot of people can afford to pay the hefty price for a laser printer.
Here are a few of the Glowforge alternatives that you can purchase today:
- OMTech K40 40W – Priced at just $549 on Amazon, this printer designed in China by a Chinese manufacturing company is considered a steal. Although this laser may not be the best for printing large objects, due to its 12×8 working area, it can still pack a punch and engrave multiple small to medium-sized objects.
In addition, the OMTech printer does not feature an on-board screen, so you must prepare your designs in advance on your laptop and make any changes necessary before. You can print your object. An excellent post-sale service that OMTech presents is a two-year warranty. This is great if you are looking for a cheap and reliable laser printer that can do the job just fine.
Furthermore, OMTech does give you the option to purchase upgrades such as a water reservoir and cooler and an air assist for an additional $2,000. Overall, this is a great laser printer if you are searching for something small, light, and reliable.
- FSL Muse 3D – This must be one of the strongest competitors for the Glowforge Pro models. The FSL Muse 3D offers the same 40W power as the Glowforge printers, but it is much more cost-efficient retailing at almost half the price of a Glowforge printer. One of the aspects of this FSL Muse 3 is its offline software technology.
Unlike any other laser printer in the market, this Muse 3D can function offline and that is a great advantage if you are a buyer that does not always have access to a stable connection for your laser printers. Some of the similar features that the FSL Muse 3D has concerning the Glowforge are such as the onboard LCD screen for better productivity, a rotating camera, and a laser cutter that is compatible with systems such as Mac, Windows, and Linux.
The main difference with the Glowforge printer is that the Muse 3D has its cooling system placed on the outside of the laser printer rather than the inside. This would make it a little harder for you to store and move your laser printer around. Therefore, if you don’t mind the mobility issue with the FSL Muse 3D, then it is the perfect laser printer to purchase as an alternative to the Glowforge Pro.
- Thunder laser Nova 24 – If you’re in the market for the most expensive and best laser printer in the industry, then do not look further than the laser Nova 24, this printer is a beast when it comes to functionality. It is an industrial-grade, so it will be bigger than the Glowforge, have more parts and features and cost more money.
The laser nova 24 comes with high-end durable materials that can engrave and cut any sort of material you can throw at it. The Thunder laser Nova 24 is meant for a business that would like to scale its operations.
This laser printer will give you all the features that Glowforge has, with additional elements that make it the best in the industry. Of course, with these premium features, you will be expected to pay $7,400 for a laser Nova 24.
In conclusion,
there are plenty of great alternatives to the Glowforge that offer various features from being lightweight and easy to store, to being cheap with fewer features but extremely reliable and efficient. The decision you make on the choice of laser printer you would like to purchase will depend on what your objectives are and how much you are willing to spend on a laser printer.
The following section of this article will contain any FAQs that you may have regarding Glowforge and its competitors.
FAQs:
- How is a Glowforge different from a 3D printer?
Glowforge and its alternatives are printers that use solid objects to carve out the vision you had for that object. A 3D printer can print objects by gathering a bunch of pre-loaded material and building this projection from scratch.
- What hardware or software is needed to run Glowforge printers?
If you have a Windows MacBook laptop, you can use the Glowforge interface using the internet. Additionally, if you would like to design any of your items that are meant for printing, you can use apps such as Photoshop, Adobe, and Gimp to edit all your images and final constructions of the object. The Glowforge app can print material in various file formats such as PNG, JPG, or PDF, all you have to do is drag and drop the document onto the app.
