A colleague is making an extravagant party invitation in the style of [1] laser print, [2] cut out, [3] fold together to form 3D shape and [4] glue together.
During the many trial prints, cutting out the shape has become really tedious and when she finally finishes it it will become a real hassle as all of us have to cut them all out.
What we need is a laser printer with a laser cutter in it so that any pattern could be cut out as desired-- goodie, Dec 18 2000 Baked! http://www.sgi.com/grafica/lasercut/Laser cutting machines were already in common use in 1996, when Paul Haeberli wrote this account (part of the wonderful Grafica Obscura). Make sure to follow the links at the bottom. [egnor, Dec 18 2000, last modified Oct 04 2004] AJT Laser http://www.ajtlaser.com/These folks specialize in the hobbyist market. You can send them drawings or CAD files (obviously you pay more if they have to work from drawings) and they will laser-cut balsa to your specifications. They don't say anything about paper, but that's probably just because it's not useful for modern airplane building (their core market); I suspect they'd be happy to cut paper shapes for you. [egnor, Dec 18 2000, last modified Oct 04 2004] SL4200 Series Laser Cutting System http://www.lasermac...s/sl4200_series.htmIn case you wanted to buy your own cutter rather than using a service bureau. [egnor, Dec 18 2000, last modified Oct 04 2004] Plotter/Cutters http://www.carlsondesign.com/This is a low-tech solution to the same problem: put a cutting blade on an ordinary pen plotter. [egnor, Dec 18 2000, last modified Oct 04 2004] Low Cost Laser Cutting http://www.media.mit.edu/~yarin/laser/"Laser cutters are versatile tools for cutting for prototyping and low-volume manufacturing. This project examines the feasibility of constructing a laser cutting device with a cost comparable to that of an inkjet printer." [egnor, Dec 18 2000, last modified Oct 04 2004] Printed-and-cut business cards http://www.cgl.uwaterloo.ca/~csk/phd/I've done this for business cards as part of my thesis work (see page 100). I printed the cards with the laser printer, then cut a pattern out next to the text. Summary: a real pain, about 4 hours for 32 cards. I could do it faster next time, but registering the printed cardstock in the laser cutter bed is tedious detail work. I don't object to using two machines, but perhaps the laser cutter could recognize and calibrate to printed registration marks. [isohedral, Oct 04 2004] Bumper Sticker: "How do I set my laserr printer to stun?"
Peter: I believe the multiple print-trick doesn't work because the papers aren't put into the feeder in exactly the same manner. Also, in my expericence the overlays don't differ by more than 2mm. So, while the cutter might not trace the picture exactly, it would be 'close enough for government work.' Have you ever noticed how a lot of times the colors in the sunday funnies will be a bit askew of their outlines? Same thing.
One more idea: with a small hand mirror, the Slasher doubles as a means of self-defense.-- nick_n_uit, Feb 24 2001 See links.
The laser and mechanism of a laser printer is sufficiently different from a laser cutter that I doubt you'll see any hybrid designs. Instead, laser print your paper and take it to a laser cutting service bureau.
A plotter/cutter can swap between pens and slicing tools, though.-- egnor, Feb 24 2001 random, halfbakery