These 3 projects immediately justified my new UV printer

Did you just get a UV printer? I did, and I've already been making and working on selling things that I've made. UV printers are insane machines, and they deliver the ability to make almost anything your mind can imagine. Here are some of the first projects that I designed and made with my UV printer, along with what I am selling them for, or what I plan to list them for.

Raised-print challenge coins

It's actually crazy how premium this feels

I've seen UV-printed challenge coins everywhere lately, but I've never actually held one until I printed one myself—and it's way more premium than I expected it to be.

Challenge coins are all the rage right now in the customization scene. From companies giving them out as retirement gifts to churches handing them out to men's groups, or just for a fun reminder of an event, challenge coins have all sorts of uses.

Challenge coins are fairly affordable to make, and you can get blanks from just about anywhere for around $1 each. As far as ink goes, at the cost I pay for ink, it's about $0.48 total.

I sell these coins for $25 shipped, or $20 with local pickup, and have had a lot of interest in them so far. There are so many different avenues you could go with a challenge coin, and I'm only just scratching the surface myself.

Reverse-printed acrylic magnets

It's the perfect gift

Whether you're looking to make a wedding gift, birthday present, or just something to give to grandma for her fridge, magnets have to be one of the most giftable items out there. If you have a UV printer , they're an easy item that you should definitely make.

I've made a handful of magnets in different styles and love all of them. One of my favorite styles is a reverse-printed magnet. This means you print on it from the back side, printing color first, then white.

For a simple 70x70mm magnet on 1/4-inch thick clear acrylic, my UV printer (with an I3200 print head) took just over five minutes when doing one layer of color and five layers of white. I've tried fewer white layers with my printer, but it doesn't always come out great, especially with the magnet behind it, so I stick to five.

This is a really cheap project to make. I happen to have a laser cutter, so I make my own 70x70mm square acrylic magnet blanks from 1/4-inch clear acrylic, but you can find clear acrylic magnet blanks from Amazon and many other suppliers in various sizes.

For me to print the 70x70mm magnet, it takes about $0.20 worth of ink. For the acrylic itself, it costs me about $0.41 if I'm estimating on the high side. The magnet sheets are pennies, as well.

So, for well under $1, you can make a fully custom magnet for someone. For a magnet that's around three inches in size, I charge about $15. Plus, people rarely want just one magnet, so this is something great to sell in batches, offering discounts for someone to order in a larger quantity.

I'm personally going to be aiming my magnets at weddings or anniversaries because they're the perfect thing for that. Plus, you can then print on the front of the magnet with something else, like a wedding date or phrase, for a more unique look.

Small family-focused puzzles

Take precious memories and turn them into forever keepsakes

Everyone loves a good puzzle, especially if it's customized. There are all sorts of sizes and shapes of puzzle blanks out there, but I typically use something around an A4 size. Sublimation puzzles are cheap and easy to find, and they can be UV printed on easily.

Coming in at around $1.50 each, the puzzles themselves are fairly cheap. Since the puzzle is already white, you don't need to lay any white ink down, so they're incredibly cheap to print.

The puzzle above, which is a bit smaller than a normal A4 size, cost me just under $0.17 in ink to print, which is pretty great considering it's a much larger print than the small acrylic magnet above.

These puzzles are definitely going to be a bestseller of mine. I've not fully settled on pricing for my puzzles, but I've had a lot of interest since launching them, and I think they'll land between $15 and $20 or so. Puzzles are great ways to remember a family vacation, wedding, childbirth, or even a birthday.

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UV printers can do almost anything, so don't let these projects limit you

I only just got my UV printer myself, so I'm still learning the ins and outs of what can and can't be made with them. Spoiler alert: very little "can't" be made with a UV printer.

I've made way more projects than just these, but these are the items that I expect to be my biggest sellers and highest profit margin, so I definitely think these are a great place to start.