The Advantages of Having Your Artistic Stencils Laser Cut
Stencils are an integral parts of many artistic disciplines, ranging from simple screen printing to the creation of enormous outdoor murals. As such, you will want to ensure that the stencils you use are of the best possible quality, and choosing laser-cut stencils is one of the best was to guarantee that your new stencils meet your expectations.
While laser cutting was once a service open only to industrial businesses, now practically anybody, including visual artists, can benefit from the many advantages of laser cutting over other stencil-cutting methods. Here are some of the best reasons to choose this high-tech cutting process for stencil creation:
Precision
The laser beams used by laser cutting machines to cut materials are incredible narrow and precise, creating superbly straight lines and smooth curves for a precise stencil design. Laser-cut stencils will not suffer from bumpy or uneven edges on their cut-out sections, allowing you to create designs with exacting precision. This high degree of precision is particularly useful for smaller-scale artistic projects, such as wallpaper prints and spray paint stencils.
Choice of materials
Laser cutters are capable of working with a vast array of materials, so you should be able to have a stencil cut in the material of your choosing. Commonly chosen materials include flexible, weather resistant plastics, such as mylar (ideal for outdoor work and easy stencil maintenance) and more durable metals such as stainless steel (suitable for large scale projects executed on unforgiving media, such as concrete and brick).
No stencil distortion
Because a stencil remains entirely flat during the cutting process, a laser-cut stencil will always lay flush against your chosen media. This is in stark contrast to many cheaper, mass-produced stencils, which are stored in tightly-packed conditions and have a tendency to curl at the edges during work.
Computer-aided design
Laser stencil cutting is a particularly useful service for the CAD-savvy artist, allowing them to translate their virtual creations directly into tangible stencils. Using specialist software, artists can create virtual models of their stencils, before uploading their models to the laser cutter which etches their designs into their chosen physical media.
Most laser cutting services use cutters that are compatible with most CAD and 3D software, and many allow you to upload your creations directly to them where the can be ed instantly into the laser cutter. Other services use their own proprietary imaging software, and offer its services for free to prospective customers. Either way, this thoroughly modern stencil creation process makes for highly precise stencils that can be produced quickly and in large numbers.
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