Making engraved bookmarks with the Bookmark Generator

Difficulty: easy. Time: 10 minutes design, 5-10 minutes on the laser. Best method: laser engraving on plywood or acrylic.

This is the rigid-bookmark sibling of the leather version: a wood or acrylic blank with engraved lines of text stacked down its length. Click Add Phrase to stack as many lines as you like - a name, a quote, a book-and-chapter reference - each with its own font, and control the spacing between them with Row Gap. Add a Symbol, choose a Corner Style (Square, Rounded, or Beveled), set the Bookmark Size and Hole Size for a tassel, and export.

Open the Bookmark Generator

What You'll Need

Laser cutting: 3 mm laser-grade plywood - the classic - or acrylic for jewel-tone translucent bookmarks
Finishing: embroidery floss or thin ribbon for the tassel, a wipe of finishing oil for wood

Step 1 - Build the text stack

Add phrases one per line - a strong combo is a short name line in a script font over a quote line in a clean serif. Use Row Gap to breathe; cramped lines engrave into each other on small bookmarks. A Symbol at the top or between lines anchors the design.

Step 2 - Shape the blank

Set Bookmark Size - 40 x 150 mm is the comfortable standard.
Pick a Corner Style: Rounded survives pockets and page corners best, Beveled looks sharpest in acrylic.
Set Hole Size to 4-5 mm so a folded tassel cord passes through.

Step 3 - Export the SVG

Download the SVG - text and symbol on the engrave layer, outline and hole on the cut layer.

Choose Your Build Method

Laser cutting

Engrave the text first - on plywood, aim for an even dark burn; on cast acrylic, a light pass gives a frosty engraving.
Cut the outline and tassel hole after engraving so the part never shifts between passes.
Mask plywood if you want zero smoke staining around fine fonts.
Oil or wax wooden bookmarks; it deepens the engraving contrast dramatically.
Add a floss tassel through the hole and it is gift-ready.

Make It Yours

Teacher thank-you set: each one engraved with a different line the class voted on.
Book club editions with the club name on line one and the year's reading list as tiny lines below.
Clear acrylic with white engraving looks like etched glass between pages.
Beveled corners plus a monogram symbol makes a sharp groomsman gift.
Engrave reading milestones - 10 Books! 25 Books! - as kids' reading rewards.
Walnut plywood with gold-painted engraving (paint fill after engraving) is the deluxe upgrade.
Pair with the Reading Guide Generator for a literacy gift set.

Open the Bookmark Generator

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