Every guide answers the question people actually ask — can you laser it? — then gives tested starting settings for each applicable laser type, prep notes, and the safety points that matter. Looking for the materials that must never go in a laser? They live in the safety section.
Yes — laser-grade Baltic birch plywood is the single most popular hobby laser material.
Settings & guideMATERIAL GUIDEYes — hardwoods engrave beautifully and are the standard for premium products like chopping boards and plaques.
Settings & guideMATERIAL GUIDEYes, MDF cuts and engraves reliably and it's cheap and flat — but it's the smokiest common material.
Settings & guideMATERIAL GUIDEYes on CO2 (any colour including clear), partially on diode (dark/opaque cast only — the blue beam passes straight through clear acrylic), and UV lasers can surface-mark clear acrylic directly.
Settings & guideMATERIAL GUIDEYes — but only vegetable-tanned leather.
Settings & guideMATERIAL GUIDEYes — slate is one of the most satisfying beginner materials.
Settings & guideMATERIAL GUIDEYes — three different ways.
Settings & guideMATERIAL GUIDEYes — glazed tile engraves directly on CO2, and the Norton White Tile method (paint the tile white, engrave through, seal) produces near-photographic black-on-white results on cheap tiles.
Settings & guideMATERIAL GUIDEYes — one of the friendliest metal-adjacent materials, because you're marking the anodised coating rather than the metal.
Settings & guideMATERIAL GUIDEYes — fibre lasers mark, anneal and deep-engrave bare stainless directly, and it's the professional standard for tags, tools and industrial marking.
Settings & guideMATERIAL GUIDEYes on a fibre laser — brass takes crisp black marks and deep engraving.
Settings & guideMATERIAL GUIDEYes on fibre — with one expectation to set: aluminium engraves grey-white, not black.
Settings & guideMATERIAL GUIDEYes — and it's the show-off metal.
Settings & guideMATERIAL GUIDEYes on fibre — straightforward etching and marking.
Settings & guideMATERIAL GUIDEYes — CO2 lasers cut natural fibres (cotton, felt, denim, linen) cleanly, and synthetic fibres like polyester cut with melt-sealed edges that never fray.
Settings & guideMATERIAL GUIDEOnly laser-grade stamp rubber, sold specifically for the job (usually 'low odour' grades).
Settings & guideMATERIAL GUIDEMarking, yes — cutting, no.
Settings & guideMATERIAL GUIDEYes — lasers cut paper and card with a precision no blade matches, which is why laser-cut wedding stationery is an industry.
Settings & guideMATERIAL GUIDEYes — cork is a lovely, forgiving material that engraves with warm contrast and cuts easily up to a few millimetres.
Settings & guideMATERIAL GUIDEYes — and it's everywhere in the gift trade, from chopping boards to cutlery and phone stands.
Settings & guideMATERIAL GUIDEYes — corrugated cardboard, greyboard and mount board all cut fast and clean, which makes them the perfect prototyping and packaging-mockup material.
Settings & guideMATERIAL GUIDEYes on a CO2 laser — EVA foam is the cosplay and prop-making staple, cutting cleanly and taking texture beautifully.
Settings & guideMATERIAL GUIDEYes on CO2, with care — Delrin cuts to crisp, precise edges that make it a favourite for gears, jigs and mechanical parts.
Settings & guideMATERIAL GUIDEYes — Corian and other acrylic-mineral solid surfaces engrave to a clean frosted white that's ideal for signage and inlay work.
Settings & guideMATERIAL GUIDEYes — and it's one of the most popular products in the whole craft.
Settings & guideMATERIAL GUIDEYes on a fibre laser — but copper is the hardest of the common metals to mark.
Settings & guideMATERIAL GUIDEYes — and the trick catches everyone out: you engrave the back, not the front.
Settings & guideMATERIAL GUIDEYes — polished marble engraves light-on-dark much like slate, giving elegant results for coasters, plaques and keepsakes.
Settings & guideMATERIAL GUIDEYes — dark, polished granite gives some of the strongest light-on-dark contrast of any stone, which is why it's the staple for memorial plaques, house signs and awards.
Settings & guide