What Can You Laser Cut? A Materials and File Guide
Most people who contact us about laser cutting have a rough idea of what they want and no idea whether it is possible. This is the short version of what a CO₂ laser will and will not do, and what makes a file cut cleanly.
What we cut
Acrylic
The material most of our work is in. It cuts cleanly and the edge comes off the machine polished, which is why clear acrylic has that glassy edge without anyone sanding it.
We hold over 20 colours in gloss and matte, plus gold and silver mirror, frosted and clear. 3mm is standard. 6mm is available where a piece needs rigidity or a deeper shadow line, and it is worth the extra for standalone wall lettering.
Timber and MDF
Cuts and engraves well, with a characteristic darkened edge that suits rustic work and looks wrong on anything meant to read as clean. MDF that comes pre-laminated in melamine gives a finished white face straight off the sheet, which usually beats painting raw MDF yourself.
Engraving
Everything above can be engraved as well as cut. Logos, names, dates and line art. Engraving is also how we get detail into a piece that is too fine to cut out.
What we do not cut
Metal. A CO₂ laser cuts non-metals. If you need steel or aluminium cut, that is a fibre laser or a waterjet, and it is a different supplier.
Anything that off-gasses dangerously. PVC is the main one. It releases chlorine gas when lasered, which damages the machine and is not something anyone should be breathing. If you are supplying your own material, tell us exactly what it is.
How big
Our bed cuts up to roughly 370 by 580mm in one pass. That covers most signage, lettering and decor work.
Larger is not a problem, it is just built differently. Oversized panels are cut with a router and other tooling and finished by hand, with laser cut detail applied afterwards. That is how pieces up to 2.1 metres get made, and it means curves and shaped profiles are available at any scale.
What to send us
We accept SVG, AI and DXF. Send your file before you commit and we will check it at no cost.
These are the problems worth checking for before you send a file.
Open paths
A cut path has to be a closed loop. Outlines that look joined on screen often have a gap of a fraction of a millimetre where two lines nearly meet. The laser cannot cut an open path as a shape.
Live text and stroked lines
Text needs to be converted to outlines before you send it, otherwise the font has to exist on our machine and it usually does not. Stroked lines need to be expanded into shapes, because a stroke is a visual style rather than a cuttable outline.
Islands and counters
The middle of an O, the hole in an A, the dot of an i. Once the surrounding material is cut away, those pieces are loose.
This does not matter if the lettering is being bonded onto a backing panel, because each piece is placed by hand. It matters a lot for standalone wall lettering, where the design needs bridges or a font choice that avoids the problem.
Detail too fine to survive
Very thin strokes cut cleanly and then snap when handled. Hairline serifs and delicate scripts are the usual offenders. Scaling the piece up or moving to 6mm generally solves it, and we will flag anything at risk before cutting.
Duplicate overlapping lines
Two identical paths stacked on top of each other means the laser cuts the same line twice. It wastes time, scorches the edge and occasionally sets material moving. Easy to miss in a file, easy for us to spot.
No file at all
That is fine and it is how a large share of our work starts. Describe what you want, or send a photo or a sketch. We draw it, send you a mockup, and revise it a couple of times before anything is cut.
What people have us cut
Signage and lettering is the bulk of it. Beyond that: business logos and reception lettering, keepsakes and awards, small production runs of identical parts, prototype components, jigs, templates and replacements for things that broke and are no longer sold.
If you are wondering whether your thing is cuttable, it probably is. Ask.
Get it checked
Send us the file or the description. We will tell you whether it works, what it will cost and how long it will take.
More detail on our laser cutting page, or see custom lettering if it is words you are after.