What Our 150W CO₂ Laser Can Do For You

There's a reason our 150-watt CO₂ laser is the centrepiece of everything we produce. At this power level, the machine moves well beyond hobby territory. It cuts thick, engraves deep, moves fast & handles a material list that surprises most people. Whether you're a business after something bespoke, an individual wanting a personalised gift, or a creative who needs precision work done properly — understanding what this machine can do, & which materials suit your project, puts you in a much stronger position to get exactly what you want.

This guide walks through every major material category we work with, what we can achieve on each one & what it costs to get the results you're after.

Wood & MDF

Wood is where most people start, & with good reason. It's a natural material that responds beautifully to laser work. The heat vaporises the surface fibres cleanly, leaving a darkened engraving with a natural charred contrast that no paint or ink can replicate. On MDF, the result is even more consistent because the material is uniform throughout — no grain variation means predictable, repeatable results across large batch runs.

At 150 watts, we can cut cleanly through hardwoods & softwoods up to around 20mm thick in a single pass, and MDF at similar depths. Plywood cuts cleanly too, though the adhesive in cheaper boards can cause slight discolouration at the edges. For cutting, we'd generally recommend birch or poplar ply, or quality MDF — both give the cleanest finished edges without much post-processing.

Engraving on wood can range from a light surface mark that catches the light, all the way down to a deep, tactile carve. The depth is fully controllable through power & speed settings. Fine photographic detail translates remarkably well onto pale woods like maple or ash, where the contrast between the natural surface & the engraved area creates something that genuinely looks like artwork.

Wood products suit almost anyone. Popular choices include corporate gifts, commemorative plaques, awards, signage, home decor, packaging inlays, children's toys & keepsakes. Compared to most other materials, wood is also one of the most cost-effective starting points. The material itself is affordable, the machine processes it quickly & the results are consistently impressive. Not sure where to start? Wood is where we'd point you first. Browse our signs & home decor for ideas.

Acrylic (Cast & Extruded)

Acrylic is arguably the material that shows off what a CO₂ laser can do better than anything else. Cut edges come off the machine polished to a flame finish — glass-clear, smooth to the touch, with no sanding or secondary finishing required. This happens because the laser vaporises the material so quickly that the edge re-solidifies in a clean, optically clear state. It's one of the few materials that looks better laser cut than when machined by other methods.

We stock & work with acrylic in virtually every colour, opacity & finish: clear, frosted, mirrored, metallic, fluorescent, opal & more. The 150-watt tube cuts through 20mm thick cast acrylic with ease & thinner sheets at high speed. Engraving on acrylic produces a bright frosted white appearance against the base colour, which makes it ideal for illuminated signage, logos & lettering. Backlight a piece of clear engraved acrylic & the engraved areas glow while the surrounding material stays clear.

Acrylic is dominant in commercial signage, point-of-sale displays, awards & trophies, nameplates, LED light bases, menu holders & retail fixtures. It's also popular for personalised gifts. Cast acrylic gives the best edge quality for display work. Extruded acrylic is cheaper & cuts well but doesn't engrave as cleanly — worth knowing if your project needs both cutting & engraving on the same piece.

Leather

Leather engraving is one of the more specialised services we offer, & one that produces results that are difficult to achieve any other way. The laser burns away the surface layer, creating a permanently darkened mark that is tactile, precise & fade-resistant. Unlike embossing or screen printing, the engraved mark won't wear off, peel or crack.

We work with genuine leather, suede & most synthetic leathers (though we always recommend testing a sample first, particularly with cheap PU leathers, which vary considerably in their chemical composition). Cutting leather with the laser produces clean, sealed edges that don't fray — invaluable for garment components, accessories & any application where you'd otherwise need to stitch a cut edge to stop it degrading.

Custom leather goods such as wallets, bags, belts, journal covers & watch straps benefit enormously from laser-personalised logos or initials. Corporate leather gifts are consistently popular because they read as premium without necessarily being expensive. For personalised leather gifts in particular, the result-to-cost ratio is excellent & the perceived value to the recipient is typically much higher than the cost of production. Take a look at our Italian leather coasters to see the quality up close.

Glass

Glass behaves differently to most laser materials. The CO₂ laser doesn't cut glass in the traditional sense — instead it frosts & etches the surface through micro-fracturing, leaving a bright, opaque white mark against the natural transparency. The result is elegant, permanent & optically striking.

This is a surface process rather than a deep cut, but at 150 watts we have enough control to produce highly detailed work. Fine line drawings, portraits, logos, signatures & typography all translate well onto glass. For cylindrical items such as glasses, bottles, tumblers, decanters & flasks, we use a rotary attachment that spins the object under the laser head, allowing full 360-degree coverage.

Glass engraving is a natural fit for branded barware, wedding gifts, commemorative awards, memorial pieces & corporate hospitality gifts. It's also a growing area for bespoke gifting, where a personalised whisky glass or champagne flute carries a sentimental weight that generic gifts simply don't.

Slate & Stone

Slate is one of the most satisfying materials to work with. When the laser hits the dark grey surface, it turns the engraved area white — a clean, high-contrast result that looks almost painted. Because the mark is made by the laser physically altering the stone surface rather than depositing anything onto it, it's entirely permanent & weatherproof. No ink to fade & no coating to peel.

At 150 watts, we have the power to engrave slate with speed & consistency, which makes batch production commercially viable. Typical applications are memorial plaques, house signs, garden markers, kitchen boards & decorative gifts. Our reclaimed slate house signs are consistently among our most reordered products.

Marble & granite engrave by the same principle, & both produce beautiful results for prestige applications. Memorial headstones, architectural details & high-end corporate awards are all candidates for stone engraving. Stone ages gracefully, which is why it's such a popular choice for anything meant to last.

Rubber & Foam

These are less glamorous materials but commercially significant ones. Laser cutting rubber produces clean, precise edges on gaskets, seals, stamps & custom pads. Custom rubber stamps are a popular application — the laser engraves the rubber to create a relief surface that holds ink, with a level of detail that supports fine text & complex logos. Foam cutting for packaging inserts, presentation cases, cosplay props & theatrical applications is another consistent use case. The laser cuts cleanly without compressing the foam or leaving frayed edges, & complex shapes can be nested efficiently to minimise material waste.

Fabric & Textiles

Fabric cutting with a CO₂ laser has some real advantages over mechanical cutting. The laser seals the cut edge as it goes, preventing fraying on most synthetic fabrics. It cuts through multiple layers at once, making batch production practical. Polyester, nylon, felt, denim & most synthetic blends cut & engrave well. Applications include custom clothing components, cosplay & theatrical costumes, branded fabric patches, soft furnishing components & fashion accessories.

Paper & Card

Paper might seem like overkill for a 150-watt industrial machine, but precision paper cutting is something we genuinely do for commercial clients. The laser cuts intricate shapes in paper & card at speeds & detail levels that no mechanical die can match for short runs or complex geometry. Architectural models, bespoke invitations, paper decorations, greeting cards & packaging prototypes are all applications where paper is the primary material. Card stock & thick mounting board cut cleanly without compression or tearing, & the ability to score without cutting through is particularly useful for packaging design.

A Word on What We Can't Do

A CO₂ laser operates at a wavelength that's absorbed well by organic & non-metallic materials. Bare metals such as steel, aluminium, brass & copper reflect the CO₂ wavelength & can't be directly engraved or cut without specialist coatings. We can achieve metal marking on anodised aluminium, coated metals & powder-coated surfaces, or by using a marking compound that reacts with the laser to leave a permanent black mark on stainless steel. If you specifically need steel or aluminium sheet cut, that's outside what a CO₂ laser does. But for marking, branding & personalisation on metal items, we have solutions worth discussing — see our metal engraving service.

Choosing the Right Material for Your Project

The right material depends on three things: what the product needs to do, how it needs to look & what you're prepared to spend. If permanence & weather resistance matter — for a house sign, a garden marker or something that'll live outdoors — slate or treated wood are the right answers. If visual impact & display quality are the priorities, acrylic is hard to beat. If you're personalising a gift & want something that feels warm & handmade rather than manufactured, wood & leather both deliver that quality far better than synthetic alternatives.

Not sure what works best? Bring the idea to us. The machine's capabilities are broad enough that there's almost always a good answer, & we'd rather give you honest advice upfront than have you order something that doesn't quite hit what you were imagining.

Getting Started

We work from vector files (SVG, DXF, AI) for cutting & engraving paths, & from raster images for photographic or detailed tonal work. No design files? We can work from a brief, a logo or even a sketch — setting up the artwork is part of the service. The best starting point is a conversation via our custom laser engraving service. Tell us what you're making, who it's for & what you're hoping to spend. From there we can suggest materials, confirm what's achievable & give you an honest quote with no surprises.