If you’ve been in the laser engraving business for more than five minutes, you’ve worked with Rowmark. The Ohio-based manufacturer produces the most widely used engraving plastics in North America — and for good reason. Their products are consistent, available in hundreds of color combinations, and engineered specifically for laser engraving.

This guide covers the Rowmark product lines most relevant to laser engravers, how they work, what settings to use on Epilog machines, and where they excel in production applications.

What Is Rowmark Engraving Plastic?

Rowmark produces two-ply and multi-ply engraving plastics — sheets where multiple layers of material are laminated together. When you engrave the top layer, you expose the contrasting color underneath. The result is a crisp, permanent mark with clean edges and no ink or coating required.

This is different from painted metal or coated materials where you’re removing an applied coating. In Rowmark products, the cap layer and substrate layer are true plastics — acrylic or cellulose acetate butyrate (CAB) formulations — bonded together during manufacturing. The mark is as permanent as the material.

Rowmark also produces single-color products for applications where surface texture or material properties matter more than two-color contrast, as well as multi-layer products for special effects.

Product Lines at a Glance

LaserMax

LaserMax is Rowmark’s flagship two-ply acrylic. It’s the most popular choice for:

Award plaques and trophies — crisp text and graphics, matte or gloss finish options
Corporate signage — office nameplates, door signs, directional signage
Equipment labels — durable, professional-looking identification in indoor environments
Trophy plates — color combinations designed for award applications

LaserMax is available in over 300 color combinations, including metallic cap layers (silver, gold, bronze) over black or colored substrates. The acrylic construction is rigid, takes sharp details, and has a professional appearance.

LaserMark

LaserMark uses a different formulation optimized for high-contrast engraving with a slightly different surface texture. It’s commonly used for:

Indoor signage where a non-reflective matte surface is preferred
Applications where deeper engraving is needed for tactile effect
Environments where LaserMax’s gloss finish creates unwanted reflection

Ultra-Mattes

Ultra-Mattes is Rowmark’s non-reflective two-ply product line, designed specifically for environments where glare is a problem: healthcare facilities, museums, architectural installations, and high-end retail. The matte surface photographs well and reads cleanly under varied lighting conditions.

For ADA-compliant tactile signage, Ultra-Mattes is frequently the preferred substrate — the matte finish is easier to read for visually impaired users and meets ADA aesthetic guidelines for room identification signs.

Metallex

Metallex is a two-ply product with a genuine metallic appearance — not metallized plastic, but a material that replicates the look of brushed metal in various colors (silver, gold, brass, copper, pewter). It’s used for:

High-end award plaques where the appearance of metal is desired without the cost or weight of actual metal
Architectural signage with a premium aesthetic
Executive nameplates and personalized items

Metallex engraves cleanly to reveal the substrate color underneath, creating a two-tone effect on a metallic-looking surface.

Speed and Power Settings for Epilog Machines

Settings vary by machine wattage, but here are reliable starting points for common Rowmark products on Epilog CO₂ systems. Always run a test on a scrap piece first — material batches can vary slightly, and settings that work perfectly on one color combination may need adjustment on another.

General Principles:

Rowmark plastics engrave best at moderate speed with controlled power — high speed / high power tends to melt edges rather than cleanly ablate them
Lower power with multiple passes generally produces cleaner results than high power in a single pass
Vector cutting through two-ply requires going through both layers cleanly — too slow generates heat that discolors the edge

Epilog Fusion 36 / Fusion Pro (60-80W CO₂):

Application	Speed	Power	Frequency
Light engraving (cap removal)	80-90%	40-50%	500 Hz
Standard engraving	70-80%	50-60%	500 Hz
Deep engraving	50-60%	70-80%	500 Hz
Vector cut (2-3mm)	15-20%	90-100%	500 Hz

Epilog Zing / Helix (30-40W CO₂):

Application	Speed	Power	Frequency
Standard engraving	50-60%	60-70%	500 Hz
Vector cut (2-3mm)	8-12%	90-100%	500 Hz

These are starting points, not final settings. Run a test matrix on scrap material with your actual machine — vary speed in 10% increments and note where the cap layer removes cleanly without burning the substrate.

ADA Signage Applications

Rowmark’s Ultra-Mattes line, combined with a laser’s ability to produce Grade 2 Braille, makes it the go-to substrate for ADA-compliant room identification signage — a significant market for engraving shops.

ADA signage requirements (under the Americans with Disabilities Act and Canadian equivalents) include:

Raised characters minimum 5/8” high (produced with a secondary cut or routing process, or pre-formed inserts)
Grade 2 Braille cells
Non-glare finish (Ultra-Mattes satisfies this)
High contrast between text and background

Laser engravers typically handle the Braille dots using raster engraving of the raised dot pattern, followed by a tactile overlay or direct plastic routing process. Some shops use a combination of laser-cut text with applied adhesive Braille.

For high-volume ADA signage production, Rowmark’s pre-formatted sheets and consistent sizing make batching straightforward. With an Epilog Fusion or similar mid-format machine, a shop can produce dozens of door signs per hour.

Where to Source Rowmark in Canada

Synergy Products supplies Rowmark engraving plastics across Canada. The full range — including LaserMax, LaserMark, Ultra-Mattes, Metallex, and specialty products — is available through our engraving plastics page.

For smaller orders, individual sheet purchases, and a curated selection of popular Rowmark SKUs, laserengraving.ca offers online ordering with shipping across Canada.

Tips for Consistent Results

Keep your optics clean. A dirty lens distributes power unevenly and makes engraving inconsistent across the bed. Clean your lens before production runs on critical jobs.

Use consistent Z-height. Rowmark’s two-ply products have a defined thickness — verify your table height is set correctly, especially if you’re switching between thin and thick sheet variants. Most Epilog machines have autofocus, but verifying manually for production runs is good practice.

Run a color test before production. Even within the same product line, different color combinations may require slightly different settings. What works on black/silver may need adjustment for white/black. Test on scrap before committing to a full sheet.

Store sheets flat and covered. Acrylic products can warp slightly if stored vertically or exposed to temperature variations. Keep sheets horizontal in the original packaging until ready to use.

Rowmark engraving plastics are the backbone of the North American awards and signage industry — and for good reason. With the right machine settings and a consistent process, they produce professional results reliably at volume.

If you’re sourcing Rowmark materials in Canada, or looking to add a laser system to your engraving operation, contact Synergy Products — we’re Canada’s dealer for both Epilog laser systems and the full Rowmark product range.

Browse engraving plastics and materials or explore Epilog laser systems for engraving applications. Shop individual Rowmark sheets at laserengraving.ca.

The Complete Guide to Engraving Rowmark Plastics