There are currently two very large boxes sitting in my house.
Inside them is something I have been ridiculously excited about getting my hands on: a new EufyMake UV printer, along with its various accessories.
I’m not opening either of them yet, though.
Partly because tomorrow I’m heading to The Print Show at Birmingham NEC, where I’ll be able to see demos of UV printing technology in person, talk to the people who make and sell the machines, and also have a look at what some of the other manufacturers are doing.
But the main reason I haven’t opened the boxes yet is because EufyMake sent me an email this morning, saying:
Autumn’s Biggest Savings on eufyMake E1! Up to £700 Off!
…less than a week after I paid full price for mine. The cheeky buggers.
So before I start ripping open boxes and covering every available flat surface* with UV-printed experiments, I think I should have a conversation with the EufyMake salespeople tomorrow.
There is a real possibility that my exciting new printer is going to go back without ever making it out of its packaging, and that I will come home and order another one for considerably less money.
We’ll see.
In the meantime,
What is a UV printer, and why have I bought one?
My “LaserSister” business has, unsurprisingly, been mostly about lasers for more than a decade. I can cut and engrave wood, paper, card, acrylic and other materials, to create personalised gifts, decorations, cards, artwork, jewellery, and loads of other objects.
But UV printing opens up a different set of possibilities. The official UK eufyMake site describes the E1 as a compact UV printer capable of full-colour printing, raised textures up to 5 mm and use with 300+ materials.
Instead of cutting a design into a material, a UV printer can print full-colour artwork directly onto a huge range of surfaces. EufyMake says its E1 can print on more than 300 materials, including wood, acrylic, metal, ceramic, glass, leather and stone. It can also build up ink to create raised textures rather than simply printing a flat image.
That immediately gives me far more options for combining printing with the things I already make.
Fridge magnets. Coasters. Bookish gifts. Artwork. Signs. Keepsakes. And products that combine laser-cut materials with full-colour illustration.
Plus a load of things I haven’t thought of yet.
What could UV printing mean for author merch?
In November, I’ll be speaking at Author Nation 2026, in a session called “From Low-Hanging Fruit To High-Tech Magic: Exploring The Boundaries Of Author Merchandise”.
I’ll be mentioning something authors often overlook:
Authors often already own far more creative IP than just the words in their books.
What Can Authors Turn Into Merchandise?
Depending on the what rights you own or control, this could include:
- Characters
- Objects
- Maps
- Quotes
- Creatures
- Magic systems
- In-jokes that only your readers understand.
All of those things can potentially escape from the pages of a book and become something else. A fictional object in a story could be turned into a physical object. A fantasy creature might become a sticker, bookmark or piece of artwork (2D or 3D). An emblem from a fictional organisation could become a pin badge, magnet or notebook. A map could become a print. A particularly lovely piece of book artwork might work on a coaster, ornament, tote bag, T-shirt, mug, phone case, etc…
And modern manufacturing technology (like AI, lasers, and UV printers) makes more of that possible than ever before.
Over the next few weeks I’m going to be experimenting with the UV printer as part of a much bigger project: exploring the boundaries of author merchandise. So by the time I give my talk at Author Nation in November I will hopefully have learned all about what UV printing can offer to authors.
Should authors buy their own UV printers? (or laser cutters, or 3D printers)
In fact, my advice to most authors is: don’t. These are tools I use because I am a maker first, rather than an author. An author’s job is to write (and market. And do all the socials. And the admin/communication/newsletters. And the bookkeeping.) A maker’s job is to design and make (and do all of the above, plus technical troubleshooting).
What I would like authors to know, though, is what these machines can do. That’s what my session will be about at Author Nation. Because once you know what is possible, you can start thinking differently about your own intellectual property.
Authors don’t need to know how to operate a UV printer… but it would be great if they knew that someone with a UV printer could make that thing they just imagined.
That’s the experiment I want to explore between now and Author Nation.
First stop: The Print Show
So tomorrow I’m off to Birmingham.
I’m particularly interested in seeing the EufyMake machine actually working, but I’ll also be looking at other printing technologies and manufacturers — not just from the point of view of LaserSister, but with authors in mind.
What could we make?
Which materials can we use?
What kinds of products become practical in small quantities?
And what could an author create from their fictional world that readers might actually want?
I’ll report back.
And by then I’ll also know whether the UV printer currently sitting in its box is going back to its own makers, or if it’s staying with me. Whatever happens, LaserSister will soon be able to create a whole new range of amazing stuff.
eufyMake UK website
eufyMake E1 information
eufyMake events and official social links
*(and curved surfaces, because I also ordered the rotary tool attachment thing),