PrairieDog

I have a Glowforge. Purchased it last fall after using one of the mini lasers for a year. The Gowforge is a major investment, so working with something less expensive for a while before making the investment as a "proof of concept" for what you are doing is a good idea. I purchased mine for engraving on leather, I do a lot of personalized items using the laser - I can tool some things but not with the clarity of the laser, and not without spending many more hours than the laser. I also, wanted to be able to use it for creating durable patterns for my work. Lastly, I was interested in being able to create embossing plates, for embossing highly detailed images into the leather - again without the time involved with tooling it by hand. The Glowforge has done a wonderful job with all I wanted from it. Additionally, I have used it to make various one-off plaques and other pieces I would never have thought of before starting to work with it. There are cheaper (much) options, but the reason I chose the Glowforge was I wanted something which would do what I want without me needing to try this and adjust that, also, I wanted an interface that would allow me to visually place the image I was engraving and have the accuracy that I could literally engrave right next to stitching, etc. and have it turn out exactly as I wanted. To me, that justified the expense.

I just read a news story on this today. They say the virus would only last a few hours on the surface of an item and that it would die before the package could be delivered.

Check out Springfield Leather Co. They have started offering some of this type of thing. You will see their banner at the top of the page.

I have the 4ton, while very helpful and adequate on smaller dies, it does struggle on anything larger. If you have the room and the budget, I'd suggest considering the 8ton, if you are going to be doing larger pieces.