Southern Trophy House, Inc. is not a new name to Nashville. The shop has been around since 1960 and was even owned for a time in the 1980s by Bill Pace, a retired NFL and college football coach. Eventually, it ended up in the Brown family’s hands in 1990, where it’s remained ever since.

The first thing to know about Moonlight Laserworks, LLC, is that it’s off the beaten path.

Plastics might have a reputation for being tame or average looking, but that’s not the case anymore. Retailers are creating advanced plastic designs that can rival other finishes.

By all accounts, Mike Westbrook’s Mile High Laser Engraving shop is new, having just opened in 2014. But there’s nothing new about the day-to-day work for Mike: For years prior to the business’ opening, his various jobs had him trekking the industry’s familiar terrain of engraving products, hunting down sales and overseeing online product distribution.

True, fiber lasers aren’t exactly new. After all, they’ve been used for decades in industrial applications. But fiber lasers have recently gained ground in the personalization industry, with smaller shops even reaping benefits from investing in such equipment. That’s in part because fiber lasers offer more versatility with metal applications than CO2 lasers and are faster and easier to use than mechanical engravers. The global fiber laser marking machine market is projected to have a 10.9% compound annual growth rate from 2017 to 2024, according to research that Research Nester compiled and released last year.

Where’s the beef? It’s in this very beefy project that, among other things, will detail a process for creating table tents with call numbers on them like those used by many fast-food locations.

Large franchise operations order these by the millions at a super cheap price, but smaller, local establishments often require quantities that can be profitable for laser owners, UV printers, sublimators, and other smaller-run personalization professionals.

Combine UV-LED printing and laser engraving to create a one-of-a-kind keepsake that can be presented as an award or given as a cherished keepsake.

We’re going to create a full-color product with dimension and texture. Each element—from the photo to the text to the graphics—is personalized for the recipient. Creative pieces like these impress customers and make you stand out from the crowd.

Thinking of adding a UV printer to your lineup, but unsure of what to expect?

We asked four Awards and Personalization Association member retailers to tell us all about their first experiences with UV printers, from researching the purchase and learning how to operate it to how they’re marketing their new capabilities.