A look at some of the most significant laser industry trends of 2017 – 2018

At Lasit we have always considered the importance of global industry trends in order to satisfy specific market needs as manufacturing continues to expand worldwide up in  a multitude of industries.

In so doing we wanted to share  some of the  trends  we have seen over 2017 that are  now continuing into 2018.

The laser industry continues its expansion in India

In the month of September, 2017 over 6000 attendees visited the Laser World of Photonics  India Fair in Pragati Maidan, Delhi with over 160 exhibitors. Some of the highlights of the Fair were exhibits  and demonstrations featuring  many  fiber optic lasers with varying wavelengths and power.  Several companies presented new pulsed fiber and continuous wave ( CW) lasers. In addition other technologies on exhibit included femtosecond lasers and 3 D functionality. 

The increased demand in the market has created this rapid growth in India as evidenced by the continued expansion  and attendance at  the Fair. The next event in India will take place from Sept 26- 28 and will be held at the Bangalore International Exhibition Center ( BIEC)  for those interested in attending.

Laser marking used for personalized leather gifts

Another emerging trend in the laser marking sector is personalization of products and gifts. With many of the newer technologies and lower costs of lasers, now hobbyists and small businesses are able to start job shops and open a business to provide these types of services.

This type of service has expanded within the ad specialty sector, decorating leather, garments,  drinkware, pens, many types of gifts both with  metal or organic products suitable for laser marking.

• Bags

• Portfolios

• Watches

• Necklaces

• Bed sheets

• Planners and magazines

As the laser marking industry continues to grow, and more and more companies and hobbyists are starting to use laser marking systems, we expect custom leather goods to continue to be a strong niche market for the industry.

Natural branding

We discussed the topic in depth in our blog post about packaging waste earlier this year, but some key details of the article include:

• Natural branding has the ability to reduce or eliminate consumables from the packaging / labeling process, such as inks, adhesives, paper, liquids and more

• It is expected that less energy will be used during the process compared to traditional means

• Marking and tracking of products and other foods will be easier and buyers will appreciate the elimination of adhesives

• Less plastic materials and other packaging materials will be required which means less waste in the environment