Avoid Burnout: Tips for Laser Cutting Thick Materials

when cutting small, detailed designs from thicker materials like wood, challenges can arise. Thicker materials need more laser power and slower speeds, leading to heat buildup. This heat is necessary to cut through wood but can also cause fine details to burn out, leaving the design charred.

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Sarah Pike
How to laser cut paper without burning

As artists, we want our work to shine through without the (annoying and distracting) discoloration of a laser burn.

What do you do when you’ve dialed in your settings and you’re still getting some discoloration? Read more for the solution.

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Sarah Pike
Laser Cutting Paper Designs with Abigail McMurray

When it comes to laser cutting paper designs, one of the artistic concerns is the fear of "burn" residue discoloring the paper. This was true for paper-cutting artist Abigail McMurray.

Contrary to popular belief, paper can be laser cut without burning.

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Dancing Between Success and Failure

Printmaker and workshop participant Jamie Wainright came to me with a tricky project. She wanted to turn a couple of her etching prints into woodblocks (right). With this type of laser engraving, the area around the image is engraved away, leaving the image raised. For images with fine lines, this can be a problem.

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Sarah Pike