CHOOSING A COLD LASER: GREEN LASER MARKING VS. UV LASER MARKING

If you’re considering an alternative to infrared laser marking systems, you’ve probably done your research on UV laser marking machines as well green marking lasers. These technologies are similar in that they are both used for marking soft products. But there are also some important differences to consider when you're making a final decision. 

UV lasers are often used for intricate, precise marks on the micro level. Their focused wavelengths allow for a high beam intensity and miniscule spot size.

Both green and UV lasers emit less energy than infrared lasers. However, when your infrared laser is not marking effectively, in my experience, a green laser is the next logical step.

Why?

Achieving clean, readable marks on soft products requires less power. That’s a given. So, we need to compromise somewhere.

Take a typical fiber laser, which operates at a 1064 nm wavelength. Green lasers operate at half that wavelength, or 532 nm. Most UV lasers emit even less power, about 355 nm or one-third that of fiber lasers.

As a result, a green laser gives you more power than a UV laser yet is still delicate enough to mark a wide variety of soft products. You get a high quality mark without significantly decreasing your marking speed. Think of it as that Goldilocks-like quality of not too rough or too slow, but just right.