Lots of stuff is called HTV (heat transfer vinyl) and hence a Glowforge killer. However, with that caveat, I am thinking of lots of other techniques if someone has tried them. If the material is put on the back of the Acrylic will it still reflect through the acrylic? Can it be put on wood? Will wood glue to the front of it?
Even after all the glowforging is done could the HTV be ironed to the wood and cut out by hand? There are a lot of interesting color tricks there that could use some exploring.
A lot of stuff that’s called “HTV” is not actually vinyl and does not contain pvc. Most is polyester or polyurethane.
Always check with the individual manufacturer to be safe, but remember that it is the “Chloride” in Polyvinyl Chloride that we need to be concerned about, not the “polyvinyl”.
Some says HTV, others have in parens Heat Transfer Vinyl and still others just call it Plastic. For myself, I would not risk any that did not specify that they were not vinyl or not PVC as it would take only one to be wrong and you do not even have a nice desk sculpture.