Early birds get a discount on this budget-friendly laser machine.
(Image credit: Glowforge)
If you're big-time into crafting then you'll love this offer. Right now, you can preorder the latest Glowforge Spark laser machine for a lower price of $599, saving you $100 on the full in-store price, which will increase to $699 at the time of release (this is still a great price if you ask us, compared with other popular laser cutters and engravers).
If you act fast and preorder the Glowforge Spark within the next 20 days, you'll not only save yourself some money but have the privilege of being one of the very first dedicated crafters to have your hands on the newest Glowforge laser cutter machine, with additional peace of mind from a one-year included warranty.
(Image credit: Glowforge)
But who is the Glowforge Spark really for? It looks pretty similar to the Glowforge Aura machine with simplified features and a compact enclosed design – intended for home projects like paper greeting cards, personalised signs, or acrylic accessories. According to Glowforge, you can quickly get set up and running with the Spark in less than 30 minutes, making it perfect for crafting at home.
Key features include a wide-angle camera provides to keep a close eye on your project with a view of the entire print area, plus you can benefit from an AI assistant to transform your ideas into custom designs to cut, score, and engrave. It also boasts automatic settings for perfect cutting and engraving, ideal for crafting beginners.
(Image credit: Glowforge)
This new Glowforge Spark craft laser machine is a more affordable alternative to the powerful Glowforge Pro and the Glowforge Plus performance series. But despite its smaller form factor, the Spark should help you explore tons of new creative projects, and can cut materials up to 1/4" thick, and engrave materials up to 3/4" thick with the cutting tray removed.
It can engrave hundreds of materials including wood, acrylic, leather, veneer, rubber, cork, stone, marble, and even food! Keep in mind that the Spark uses a blue, 6-watt, solid-state diode laser, and so Glowforge advises that it is not compatible with glass, clear acrylic, white acrylic, blue acrylic, vinyl, or Draftboard materials.
The main difference we can find between the Spark and the Aura Glowforge machine (released only last summer) seems to be the speed, with the Spark being on the slower side in comparison. However, the Glowforge Aura is far more expensive, retailing at $1,200 / £943.90, which is almost double the price of the Spark machine. With this in mind, the Glowforge Spark could become one of the most budget-friendly laser cutting and etching tools on the market.
If you're looking for a desk gadget rather than a larger-scale worktop machine then the Glowforge Spark is a great Cricut alternative and sounds like a winner to us! And we can't wait to get our hands on it for a full review.
Alternatives to Glowforge machines that we've already reviewed include top rivals from Cricut, of course, plus other enclosed machines like the excellent xTool M1 which comes in at around $1,499 / £1,199 for the 10W laser model, and there's also the neat LaserPecker 4 desktop machine which provides the full package of engraving, cutting, and scoring for a premium $1599 / £1,533 price.
Be sure to preorder the Glowforge Spark before April 04, 2024, to benefit from the early bird $100 preorder discount.
Not quite sold on the Spark? Take a look at these deals below.
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Beth is Creative Bloq’s Ecommerce Writer. An avid music photographer and previous staff writer for Digital Camera World, Beth has a keen eye for content and knows just how to create it. Her background working as a tester for CeX has provided extensive knowledge surrounding the latest tech and gaming trends, and she studied Music Journalism too, so you'll probably find her at a gig. Basically, she's a total nerd with a Snorlax tattoo and a Master's degree in Photography, forever wishing she was Peter Parker.
