July 2021 Update

Hello from unseasonably warm Seattle!

If you were watching the news lately, you probably saw two things:

  1. It was 116º in Seattle the other day

  2. On the weather map, Seattle is so far away from everything else.

The first one means that, as far as records go, Seattle now gets hotter than Miami.

But the second one means that tucked all the way up here in the Pacific Northwest, you can’t just casually take a detour to visit us. There are plenty of reasons to pity the Seattle Mariners, and here’s another one: they have to spend more time on airplanes than any other professional sports team.

That physical separation means we’ve had to figure things out for ourselves more than most other cities. 150 years of people going to the farthest city they could find on a map and saying “I’ll make it work” definitely shows.

Street vendors who put cream cheese on hot dogs is the first example that leaps to mind, but there are others.

When things are made where they’re needed, wonderful new things can happen.

I’m curious to see what you’re making work in your neck of the woods. Local materials, local celebrations, local creation. Everyone here is making it very hard for me to look away from glowforge tags on Instagram.

Feed-scrolling aside, we’ve been up to plenty this last month:

  • A brighter and clearer print experience
  • Cardboard, at the push of a button!
  • A major discount on Proofgrade acrylic (and why)
  • Writing big checks to Glowforge owners makes me happy (and how you can get yours)

Time for the long version:

The Glowforge app is now easier to use

We’ve made important improvements to Glowforge App workspace. It’s now easier to select, resize, and move objects. Your artwork now appears in brighter colors that make it easier to see your artwork in the workspace. And in the Preferences menu (3 dot More> Preferences) you can select from five color schemes with accessibility options for people who have trouble seeing colors, too.

Save those cardboard boxes - you can now print on corrugated cardboard

You can now easily upcycle unused cardboard boxes into amazing creations like this Decorative Layered Vase:

Last month, Premium subscribers got early access to corrugated cardboard settings. Thanks to all of your feedback, we’re now ready to release this to the whole community. You’ll find settings for cutting, scoring, and engraving for two common thicknesses of corrugated cardboard. We tested the settings with plain, unmarked cardboard commonly used by retailers (like Amazon) for their shipping boxes.

To get the settings, when you open a design, just search for “cardboard” in the materials menu. To decide which material to select, measure your cardboard (we recommend using your Gift of Good Measure!) to find its thickness.

We can’t wait to see what you make with these settings. Here’s a life-size surfboard a teammate’s son built out of cardboard using Pro Passthrough!

50% off select Proofgrade acrylic this month

Acrylic has been incredibly scarce during the pandemic. It’s the material of choice for those sneeze guards you see everywhere from banks to reality TV shows. It’s also a spectacular material for lasering. It’s brilliant, colorful, durable, and useful for so many purposes - and this month, we’re able to make it more affordable.

Our supply team managed to source a large purchase of acrylic at lower cost, and that means we can put it on sale for this month. And acrylic’s heavy, so as an extra benefit, you’ll get free shipping on orders (of any material) over $99. You can choose your favorite discounted color of acrylic here. Personally, I’m stocking up on clear because it’s so versatile - signs, planters, and a forthcoming Sea Monkeys tank are on the list. Plus some 5x10 pieces of different colors to add a splash of magic to different prints.

One word of caution: while this sale is scheduled to run all month, we’ll have to end it early if there’s high demand.

If you do miss the sale, or if you need to stock up on additional materials, keep your eye on these announcements (or get announcements emailed to you).

Amazing new catalog designs, created by you

Opening the catalog to see the latest designs is my new favorite thing. First, because they’re awesome and I get to make them. And second, because it means that Glowforge owners like you are receiving big payments for their incredible creations!

If you’d like to add your own designs to the Catalog, there’s no better time. Just make sure you’re a member of Glowforge Premium and apply through Early Access.

Made by you; made for you

When you have your Glowforge, every problem turns into a laser problem.

I’ve been paying attention to glowforge on Instagram lately, checking out what people are making this summer, and I realized why everything seemed so special: it is all so specific.

Black walnut utensils printed on Glowforge, from trees felled in the backyard in Georgia. Glowforge-engraved corn husks for tamales in Texas. And maybe my favorite? Glowforge-printed chopsticks for Seattle sushi.

Is there anything better than something that could only be made by you?

– dan

PS: join the discussion of this update here!

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