Wine and spirit: which is the best solution for bottle engraving?
Discover how to engrave personalised bottles for liquor, wine, and spirits.
Event agencies, wine merchants, prestigious houses, and wine and spirits producers: are you looking to offer bottle engraving to create a memorable customer experience or implement a customisation strategy for a specific clientele?
The best solutions for personalised bottle engraving are laser and mechanical engraving machines that transform a simple champagne or liquor bottle into a rare and invaluable gift, perfect for celebrations.
The choice depends on your environment (in-store, workshop, event), the volume to be produced, and the desired aesthetic finish (sandblasting or engraved relief).
Gravotech solutions are not limited to glass: they also customise labels, corks, packaging, or plates for spirit boxes.
Explore our laser and mechanical customisation solutions for personalised bottles, ensuring precise, durable engraving that won't fade with washing.
What solutions for custom engraved liquor bottles and wine bottles?
Our mechanical wine, champagne and whiskey bottle engraving stations can engrave bottles, glasses, and metallic accessories such as champagne buckets or box labels. The rotary device provides the ability to engrave flat or curved surfaces.
- The M40 is ideal for engraving drinking glasses or wine bottles. This engraving machine is the size of a printer, making it perfect to use it instore or in the backrooms.
- For bigger items, the IS400 is available in two versions: the standard version that allows champagne bottle engraving, and the Volume version that can engrave bigger bottles (up to 20 kg) like Magnum (1,5 L) or Jeroboam (3 L) bottles. The IS400 is recommend for a backroom or workshop use.
The expert tip: highlight your whisky or champagne bottle engravings with our gilding wax, available in gold and silver.
Our LS100, LS100 EX and LS900 laser engraving tables are ideal for customising bottles one by one and accessories in bulk (such as corkscrews, coasters, etc.) thanks to their large engraving area. These solutions have an optional rotary device that allows cylindrical engraving on different bottle sizes.
LS100 and LS900 are ideal to engrave standard and magnum-sized bottles, while the LS100 EX allows standard and Jeroboam-sized bottles. These laser machines will easily fit into a shop backroom, workshop, or an e-commerce warehouse.
Small CO2 laser engraver and cutter for personalisation, signage and creative.
LS100
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Medium CO2 or Fiber laser engraving and cutting machine for signage and small series.
LS100 EX
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Large laser engraver and cutter that can do everything.
LS900
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The WeLase™ laser engraving station is perfect for quick unit engraving. Its three glass sides allow your customers to witness their special message engraving process live.
It is recommended for creating small custom engraved liquor bottles and for flat engraving on glasses, flasks, and small accessories.
The WeLase is a portable laser machine: bring it to events and create an unforgettable buzz!
Laser or mechanical: which technology for glass bottle engraving?
Glass laser engraving
Creating a whiskey or champagne bottle engraving with a laser is very fast, as the material absorbs the laser beam without heating up or damaging its content.
The result of laser engraving is polished, resembling a sandblasting effect.
Several techniques exist to achieve high-quality laser engraving on a wide range of glass and crystal products:
- The most common method involves placing a wet paper on the surface before engraving to lower the temperature on the glass surface and prevent splinters.
- Gravotech recommends using the Halftone mode in the Gravostyle™ software. The laser heat is distributed more evenly, thus avoiding overheating points that could cause splinters. This mode eliminates the need for wet paper when proceeding to a wine, champagne or whiskey bottle engraving.
Glass mechanical engraving
When using a mechanical wine bottle engraving machine, there is no risk of breaking the bottle or glass as the machine pressure is adjusted accordingly.
The use of engraving gel helps prevent glass splinters and extends the life of your tools.
The engraving result is white. As a groove is carved in the glass by the diamond tip, mechanical engraving gives a handmade appearance to the personalised gift. It is particularly well-suited for stroke fonts or unfilled logos. Combine mechanical engraving with Gravotech gilding wax on your custom engraved liquor bottles to enhance the elegance of the engraving.
Laser engraving advantages
- CO2 lasers can mark glass, wood, cork, leather, and generally all organic materials (paper, cardboard, etc.), allowing a single laser to offer multiple customisation possibilities without the need for a second machine.
- The laser beam is 0.1mm wide, enabling high-precision engraving. This makes it easy to engrave special designs on objects with complex shapes.
- During laser engraving, there is no need to securely hold the piece, as the engraving is done without contact. Therefore, there is no risk of damaging the item or the tool with incorrect machine settings.
Mechanical engraving advantages
- As the engraving is carved, it is possible to add colour with gilding wax to enhance the engraving and achieve an elegant finish on the engraved gift.
- Mechanical engraving technology provides an authentic appearance to personalised bottles and accessories.
- Mechanical engraving machines are versatile tools that can engrave various materials, eliminating the need for multiple machines.
- The engraving process becomes part of the customer experience. The viewer sees the engraving appear before their eyes.
| Want to know more about personalisation and |
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Which technology is best for glass bottle personalisation?
| Feature | Glass Laser Engraving (CO2 Laser) | Glass Mechanical Engraving (Diamond Tip) |
|---|---|---|
| Aesthetic result | Polished, sandblasting-like effect | White, carved groove, authentic/handmade look |
| Process | Very fast, non-contact, low risk of splinters (using Halftone mode) | Moderate speed, contact process, requires engraving gel for tool life |
| Finish Options | Fixed finish (no colour addition) | Colour enhancement is possible using gilding wax in the carved groove |
| Setup | No need to hold the piece (non-contact) | Machine pressure adjusted; no risk of breaking the bottle |
| Versatility | Excellent for glass, wood, cork, and leather (organic materials) | Excellent for glass and various materials (versatile machines) |
| Price | $$-$$$ | $ |
Engrave your bottles under any circumstances
In-store, online, during events:
- For wine merchants and producers, offer personalised bottles through in-store engraving and transform your products into memories. You can evoke emotion tied to an event through engraving.
- Online wine and spirits businesses, stand out by allowing your customers to buy custom engraved liquor bottles or wine bottles from your website for events or celebrations. Your bottles become unique and unavailable in competing stores.
- Leave a lasting impression at your events (brand or vintage launches, anniversaries) by offering personalised bottles to your guests.
Flat or rotary engraving
Our spirit and wine bottle engraving machines can perform flat or rotary engravings.
Customise your packaging, gift boxes, medallions, flasks, and more using the flat engraving mode of our engraving machines.
Engrave your glasses, bottles, champagne buckets, and more with our rotary device accessory, which allows engraving while the bottle is on rotation.
To find the solution that suits you best, below are the technical specifications of the rotary devices depending on our machines.
Rotary device technical specifications
| Mechanical | Laser | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| M40 | IS400 | IS400 Volume | LS100 | LS100EX | LS900 | |
| Max object weight | 5 kg | 5 kg | 20 kg | 5 kg | 10 kg | |
| Min. and Max. diameter | 4 - 160 mm | 110 - 350 mm | 2 - 110 mm or 110 - 350 mm (for large cylinder chuck) | 3 - 130 mm | 3 - 200 mm | |
| Max. length | 450 mm | 200 mm | 500 mm | 290 mm | 500 mm | 415 mm |
Wine and spirit accessories engraving
The versatility of our laser and mechanical bottle engraving machines gives you the ability to easily engrave a variety of accessories related to the world of wine and spirit, such as corkscrews, coasters, and accessory boxes.
A mechanical machine like the M20 X is ideal for unit engraving in a store, backroom, or workshop. Easily expand your product customisation offerings for all kinds of events (birthdays and personal events, Father’s Day, Christmas and more) regardless of the material thanks to its versatility.
Are you an e-commerce reseller? We recommend considering our CO2 laser tables like the LS100, LS100EX, or the LS900, capable of engraving numerous materials in bulk.
| FAQ: the 5 questions most frequently asked of our experts |
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🔽Which engraving machine can handle large-format bottles, such as Magnums and Jeroboams?
The IS400 Volume (mechanical engraving) handles heavy bottles up to 20kg. By adding/using a rotary device, it is possible to engrave large-format personalised bottles..
The LS100 and LS900 laser engravers are suitable for Magnums. The LS100 EX and the LS900 can handle Jeroboams, offering personalised service for large wine and spirit beverage containers.
🔽Does engraving the bottle affect the quality of the wine or spirit inside?
No, engraving only scratches the glass surface and does not contact the wine and spirit inside. The content remains unaffected.
🔽What is the best engraving machine for personalised bottles?
The M40 (mechanical) is compact for standard wine bottles in-store, while the IS400 is a versatile machine, better suited for workshop use, capable of handling champagne and larger bottles.
A CO2 laser table like the LS100 is also great for individual bottles, as well as wood box engraving and other objects like corkscrews.
🔽How can a glass bottle be engraved without damage?
To avoid damage while engraving a glass bottle, proper settings are key: control the laser's power or mechanical pressure, and speed. Also, always ensure the bottles are held securely using a rotary device or jigs.
For laser engraving, we recommend using damp paper, engraving gel, or Gravostyle's halftone mode to manage heat, prevent chipping or breakage, and extend the life of the tool.
These measures protect the glass for your personalised gifts and celebration items.
🔽Is laser engraving or mechanical engraving better for glass bottles?
It depends on the desired finish. Laser engraving gives a polished, sandblasted effect, not in relief. It can handle any design, including logos and detailed images.
Mechanical engraving carves into the glass for a whiter result, allowing colour to be filled with gilding wax. Both offer excellent results for custom champagne or liquor bottles.
