What is Truflat Plywood (& Why Is It So Amazing for Crafting)?

Forget everything you thought you knew about crafting with wood.

Truflat plywood is about to change everything. 🤯

Seriously. If you're into laser engraving, you know how a little warping in your wood or uneven wood grain can ruin a project you've worked hard on.

Truflat plywood is a premium pre-finished MDF laser plywood with the flattest surface in the industry that you can use for laser engraving, sublimation, resin, and more.

In this post, we'll share everything you need to know about Truflat. You'll learn why it's so unique and all the cool crafts you can make with it.

Get ready to say goodbye to crafting frustration and hello to professional-looking wood crafts with this amazing material!

What is Truflat Plywood?

Truflat is made of 100% recycled or recovered medium-density fiberboard (MDF) core coated with designer faces in multiple colors and wood grains. Its designer faces are painted on in a 6-step process to create a natural wood grain look.

It's known for being the flattest laser plywood in the industry with a tolerance of just +/- 0.015" over a 19" span. To compare, a standard sheet of Baltic Birch has a tolerance of 0.215" (14x more warping).

Plus, it's pre-finished for sublimation, laser engraving, cutting, and more.

Sheets are 1/8" thick and come in multiple sizes. (We sell the most standard size of 12" x 19".)

Truflat plywood sheets are easy to engrave or cut with a CO2 or diode laser, and if you use the required settings, you won't get burn marks. (AKA no masking needed.)

And because the wood is pre-finished on both sides, it's easy to do paint fills on engraved areas. The paint wipes away from the surface and only stays in the engraved areas.

What is laser plywood? It's a type of manmade wood made for laser cutting and engraving. Laser plywood is thin and easy to work with and avoids the natural defects found in real wood. Truflat is a type of laser plywood which is made of MDF and finished with wood-like designer faces and an acrylic coating.

What Is Truflat 2.0?

Truflat has recently upgraded their Truflat plywood in white! This new product is called Truflat White 2.0 and it has dry erase capabilities on top of all of the same features as before.

Now if you order white Truflat plywood from us, you will automatically get the 2.0 version.

Learn more about it in our guide to Truflat 2.0!

What is Truflat Paint?

There's another new version of Truflat that you should know about called Truflat Paint!

This is a new product line with a slightly different purpose as the original Truflat plywood.

This new version has the same MDF core and ultra-flat surface, but it's finished with a layer of primer so it's ready for you to paint!

Learn more in our guide to Truflat Paint.

What Crafts Can You Make with Truflat Plywood?

• Laser Engraving: The ultra-flat surface and designer wood grain mean you won't have to worry about warping or defects in your final product. And since it's an engineered wood, you'll get the same results every time you engrave.
• Sublimation: Truflat plywood is finished with an acrylic coating on both sides that works with sublimation prints. That means you can use these as sublimation blanks with no modification!
• Paint Fills: After engraving, you can add paint to your design to fill it with any color. Because of the acrylic coating, the excess paint wipes away without a trace!
• Resin Fills: After engraving, you can fill the engraved areas with resin to create even more cool effects.

What Colors Does Truflat Come In?

Truflat comes in 6 different finishes.

• Maple - Resembling the light wood and soft wood grain of maple wood.
• Oak - A slightly darker wood color with a more visible grain.
• Walnut - The darkest wood finish that gives an elegant look to an engraving project.
• White - A plain white finish. This is the best choice for clear sublimation prints. This one has been upgraded to Truflat White 2.0 with dry erase capabilities!
• Linen - A light beige finish that resembles a natural fabric.
• Black - A rich, black finish that works best with paint-filled engravings.

Here's a close-up of each finish for your reference 👇

From left: Black, Linen, White, Maple, Oak, Walnut

Why Choose Truflat for Crafting?

Truflat plywood brings you so many advantages as a crafter or customization business! Here are the main benefits:

• Easy to Cut. The extremely flat surface and man-made wood core and surface mean no surprises when cutting. And the thinness is easy to engrave and cut even with an entry-level laser like the xTool F1.

• Pre-Finished. There's no need to sand or finish this before working with it. Sublimation ink sinks into the acrylic coating, so it's ready for sublimation prints out of the box. And paint for paint fills will wipe right off the coating.

• Works with Sublimation! Most wood doesn't work for sublimation unless you apply a special coating. But Truflat doubles as a sublimation blank without any extra modification.

• No Need to Mask. When engraving wood, you need to watch out for burn marks. But if you use the recommended settings for Truflat, you won't need to worry about that. No masking needed!

• Affordable. With such a high-quality board and finish, you might wonder if these are on the expensive side. Well, we're happy to report that they're still one of the most affordable plywood brands out there! (And we offer them at below MSRP if you buy them by the case or with our new Engraving Blank Build-a-Bundle!

• Made Locally. Truflat makes their plywood in Ontario, Canada. We get shipments in quickly, and it's more eco-friendly than overseas shipping.

We can't think of a better type of wood to use for your laser engraving and sublimation crafts.

Next, we'll show you some real crafts made with these amazing plywood sheets.

Project Ideas: What Can You Make With Truflat?

First up, here's a laser-engraved project made with every color of Truflat to create a scenic mountain view. (Snag a similar file on Etsy here.)

Here's a sample of the white Truflat customized with sublimation prints to make custom wall art.

Here's a laser-cut Christmas ornament made with Truflat plywood in Linen.

Here are two cute laser-engraved and cut latte cups made with Oak and Maple finishes that hold gift cards:

And finally, a custom table marker made with Truflat in Maple and Black.

These are only a few of the many things you can make with Truflat. We're excited to experiment a lot more and come up with new ideas to share with you!

Level Up Your Laser Engraving & Sublimation Projects with Truflat

So there you have it! Truflat is a total game-changer for laser engraving, sublimation, and more.

No more warped wood, burn marks, or tedious prep work. Truflat makes it easy to get professional-looking results at an affordable price.

Ready to try it out for yourself? You can order by the sheet or at below-MSRP prices by buying them in bulk below 👇

If we're sold out, make sure to subscribe to our mailing list so we can notify you when we restock AND when we have our next big sale or promotion (we do those a lot!) 🎉

Don't wait—try out Truflat plywood and see the difference for yourself. Your customers (and your sanity!) will thank you.

Before you go, head on over to our Official MakerFlo Facebook Community to meet other crafters, find craft ideas, and ask us any questions you might have! See you inside!