Test, test, test. We can’t stress it enough. Whether you’re purchasing blanks for practice, like slate coasters, or engraving common items around your home or shop, such as a kitchen cutting board, the more you experiment with different materials and settings, the faster you’ll learn to perfect your technique and achieve your desired results.
Most laser manufacturers include recommended settings for common materials, but the more you experiment and test, the more intuitive it will become to select the best parameters for different substrates – we find our more seasoned users rarely consult their manual for setting recommendations.
—Epilog
