What are good laser settings for cardboard?

TwoTrees cuts 3 mm cardboard at 300–400 mm/min and 100 % on a 5.5 W diode and at 800 mm/min on its 10 W TS3. AtomStack cuts 6 mm “carton” at 150 mm/min and 80 % on the 5 W P1 and at 600 mm/min on the 20 W Kraft — about 0.75–1.6 J/mm on these diodes. Its 55 W CO2 cuts 6 mm corrugated at 800 mm/min and 60 % (about 2.5 J/mm).

What laser settings work for kraft paper?

AtomStack’s diode kraft fill (raster) engravings run 6,000–30,000 mm/min at 20–80 % with a 0.08–0.1 mm interval (about 0.01–0.14 J/mm per line). Its 0.6 mm kraft cuts run 700–9,000 mm/min at 80–90 % power (about 0.34–1.15 J/mm). Scale a row to your machine and test on the same paper.

Can a diode laser cut cardboard?

Yes. Paper and cardboard are cut by both diode and CO2 lasers in the sources behind our laser-type matrix; fiber lasers are not suited. The maker rows here cut 3–6 mm board on 5–20 W diodes.

How do I stop cardboard catching fire in a laser?

Use the lowest energy that cuts through, keep air assist on, clean dust and scraps out of the machine before each job, keep an extinguisher within reach, and never leave the machine running (Trotec). MatEdU adds: keep the beam in focus and the machine well vented, and keep a fire blanket by the extinguisher. Stop the job if a flame does not go out at once.

Material · paper

Laser settings for cardboard and paper

Paper and cardboard cut on very little energy — and catch fire on very little too. Corrugated board adds hollow flutes between its liners. Here are the maker numbers, and the habits that keep a cardboard job from turning into a fire.

Laser-cut corrugated cardboard pieces and a kraft paper sheet with intricate cut-out shapes, slightly scorched edges

Safety first

Before you start With care

Never leave it running. Paper and cardboard cut well but catch fire easily (what not to laser cut). Trotec says a laser should never be left unattended, with an extinguisher within easy reach.
The maker flags it too. TwoTrees’ test list marks cardboard cutting on one of its machines with a fire warning.
Air assist on, bed clean. Air assist blows away dust and smoke that could ignite, and cutting residues left in the machine can catch fire (Trotec).
Heavy smoke. In a 2024 desktop CO2 study, cardboard gave the highest respirable particle level of the four materials tested and 23.9 ppm carbon monoxide inside the unventilated chamber (O’Neill 2024). Run your extraction (exhaust fan calculator).
Plastic-laminated board is not paper. A board with a plastic film or coating is a plastics job; find out what it is first.

Moving cross-section

What the beam does

Switch the material or laser and watch the same beam give a different result.

Kraft · engraveKraft paper · cutCorrugated · cutToo slow · flame

Blue diode ≈ 450 nm

Kraft liner
Browned fibres

The top fibres brown and char. Kraft engraves on very little energy — some maker rows put about 0.01 J into each mm of line.

Cross-section, not to scale.

Laser types

Which laser can process it

These are this material’s rows from our diode vs CO2 vs fiber matrix. (full matrix)

Blue diodeCuts & engraves

CO2Cuts & engraves

FiberNot suited

Organic materials are a CO2 job, not fiber.

Maker values

Maker settings on one scale

Every value is a starting point published by the maker, and the maker is the source; none of them were tested by us. Machines differ in optical power, so power % and speed are converted to the energy the beam puts into each millimetre of line (J/mm). Tap a point or a table row to see the original row, the math and a link that fills in the converter.

J/mm = optical W × power % × passes ÷ speed (mm/s) · J/mm² = J/mm ÷ line interval (mm)

This is the same formula as the converter. Between lasers of the same type, similar J/mm gives a similar burn. Cutting energy rises steeply with thickness, so compare rows of similar thickness.

AtomStack’s “Carton” rows are cardboard (the table does not say corrugated or solid); “Korrugated Cardboard” (sic) appears only for its 55 W CO2 Hurricane. The two Hurricane “Kraft Paper” cuts at 6 and 8 mm cannot be single sheets — probably kraft board — so read them as board. “Office Paper” rows are engraving only. TwoTrees’ 3 mm cardboard cuts are included. The A20 Pro V2 LaserGRBL kraft cut at 10,000 mm/min disagrees with its 1,500 mm/min LightBurn twin and is marked as a likely typo; the A40 Pro V2 LightBurn cut carries an S-value.

AllEngraveCut

▬ Half of Engrave rows: 0.0413–0.113 J/mm▬ Half of Cut rows: 0.576–1.6 J/mmEngraveCutDiodeCO2Hollow = row that looks like a typoA40 Pro V2 is calculated at 48 W (the table does not say whether it is the 48 W or the 24 W setting).

68 rows
Software	Maker label · thickness	Job	Speed mm/min	Power	Interval	Passes	J/mm
LightBurn	Kraft Paper	Engrave	6,000	60%	0.1	1	0.06	Convert →
LaserGRBL	Kraft Paper	Engrave	6,000	S600	0.1	1	0.06	Convert →
LightBurn	Office Paper	Engrave	3,000	30%	0.08	1	0.06	Convert →
LaserGRBL	Office Paper	Engrave	3,000	S300	0.0833	1	0.06	Convert →
LightBurn	Carton	Engrave	5,000	60%	0.1	1	0.072	Convert →
LaserGRBL	Carton	Engrave	5,000	S600	0.1	1	0.072	Convert →
LightBurn	Kraft Paper	Engrave	10,000	30%	0.08	1	0.036	Convert →
LightBurn	Kraft Paper · 0.6	Cut	1,500	80%	—	1	0.64	Convert →
LaserGRBL	Kraft Paper	Engrave	10,000	S300	0.0833	1	0.036	Convert →
LaserGRBL	Kraft Paper · 0.6mm	Cut	10,000	S800 ?	—	1	0.096	Convert →
LightBurn	Office Paper	Engrave	20,000	70%	0.08	1	0.042	Convert →
LaserGRBL	Office Paper	Engrave	20,000	S700	0.0833	1	0.042	Convert →
LightBurn	Carton	Engrave	3,000	80%	0.08	1	0.32	Convert →
LaserGRBL	Carton	Engrave	3,000	S800	0.0833	1	0.32	Convert →
LightBurn	Kraft Paper	Engrave	30,000	20%	0.1	1	0.0096	Convert →
LightBurn	Kraft Paper · 0.6	Cut	2,000	80%	—	1	0.576	Convert →
LaserGRBL	Kraft Paper	Engrave	30,000	S200	0.1	1	0.0096	Convert →
LaserGRBL	Kraft Paper · 0.6	Cut	2,000	S800	—	1	0.576	Convert →
LightBurn	Office Paper	Engrave	20,000	80%	0.1	1	0.0576	Convert →
LaserGRBL	Office Paper	Engrave	20,000	S800	0.1	1	0.0576	Convert →
LightBurn	Carton	Engrave	30,000	50%	0.1	1	0.024	Convert →
LaserGRBL	Carton	Engrave	30,000	S500	0.1	1	0.024	Convert →
LightBurn	Kraft Paper	Engrave	30,000	20%	0.1	1	0.0096	Convert →
LightBurn	Kraft Paper · 0.6	Cut	2,000	80%	—	1	0.576	Convert →
LaserGRBL	Kraft Paper	Engrave	30,000	S200	0.1	1	0.0096	Convert →
LaserGRBL	Kraft Paper · 0.6	Cut	2,000	S800	—	1	0.576	Convert →
LightBurn	Office Paper	Engrave	20,000	80%	0.1	1	0.0576	Convert →
LaserGRBL	Office Paper	Engrave	20,000	S800	0.1	1	0.0576	Convert →
LightBurn	Carton	Engrave	30,000	50%	0.1	1	0.024	Convert →
LaserGRBL	Carton	Engrave	30,000	S500	0.1	1	0.024	Convert →
LightBurn	Kraft Paper	Engrave	10,000	40%	0.08	1	0.115	Convert →
LightBurn	Kraft Paper · 0.6	Cut	2,000	S800 ?	—	1	1.15	Convert →
LaserGRBL	Kraft Paper	Engrave	10,000	40%	0.0833	1	0.115	Convert →
LaserGRBL	Kraft Paper · 0.6mm	Cut	2,000	S800	—	1	1.15	Convert →
LightBurn	Office Paper	Engrave	10,000	47%	0.1	1	0.135	Convert →
LaserGRBL	Office Paper	Engrave	10,000	47%	0.1	1	0.135	Convert →
LightBurn	Carton	Engrave	10,000	35%	0.08	1	0.101	Convert →
LaserGRBL	Carton	Engrave	10,000	35%	0.0833	1	0.101	Convert →
LightBurn	Kraft Paper	Engrave	9,000	30%	0.1	1	0.14	Convert →
LightBurn	Kraft Paper · 0.6	Cut	9,000	90%	—	1	0.42	Convert →
LaserGRBL	Kraft Paper	Engrave	9,000	S300	0.1	1	0.14	Convert →
LaserGRBL	Kraft Paper · 0.6	Cut	9,000	S900	—	1	0.42	Convert →
LightBurn	Office Paper	Engrave	10,000	27%	0.1	1	0.113	Convert →
LaserGRBL	Office Paper	Engrave	10,000	S270	0.1	1	0.113	Convert →
LightBurn	Carton	Engrave	8,000	25%	0.1	1	0.131	Convert →
LaserGRBL	Carton	Engrave	8,000	S250	0.1	1	0.131	Convert →
Bitmap	Kraft Paper	Engrave	24,000	40%	0.1	1	0.055	Convert →
Vector Line	Kraft Paper	Engrave	3,500	5%	—	1	0.0471	Convert →
-	Kraft Paper · 8mm	Cut	300	100%	—	1	11	Convert →
-	Kraft Paper · 6mm	Cut	250	80%	—	1	10.6	Convert →
Bitmap	Korrugated Cardboard	Engrave	24,000	30%	0.1	1	0.0413	Convert →
Vector Line	Korrugated Cardboard	Engrave	3,500	6%	—	1	0.0566	Convert →
-	Korrugated Cardboard · 6mm	Cut	800	60%	—	1	2.48	Convert →
Bitmap	Kraft Paper	Engrave	9,000	80%	0.08	1	0.0267	Convert →
Vector Line	Kraft Paper	Engrave	1,000	15%	—	1	0.045	Convert →
Bitmap	Carton	Engrave	8,000	65%	0.08	1	0.0244	Convert →
Vector Line	Carton	Engrave	1,000	15%	—	1	0.045	Convert →
LightBurn	Kraft Paper · 0.6mm	Cut	700	80%	—	1	0.343	Convert →
LightBurn	Carton · 6mm	Cut	150	80%	—	1	1.6	Convert →
Bitmap	Kraft Paper	Engrave	20,000	80%	0.08	1	0.048	Convert →
Vector Line	Kraft Paper	Engrave	500	6%	—	1	0.144	Convert →
-	Kraft Paper · 0.6mm	Cut	1,500	80%	—	1	0.64	Convert →
Bitmap	Office Paper	Engrave	18,000	80%	0.08	1	0.0533	Convert →
Bitmap	Carton	Engrave	20,000	80%	0.1	1	0.048	Convert →
Vector Line	Carton	Engrave	500	6%	—	1	0.144	Convert →
-	Carton · 6mm	Cut	600	80%	—	1	1.6	Convert →
-	3 mm cardboard · 3mm	Cut	300–400	100%	—	1	0.943	Convert →
-	3 mm cardboard · 3mm	Cut	800	100%	—	1	0.75	Convert →

Why cardboard catches fire

Focus and a clean lens

An out-of-focus beam is MatEdU’s main exception to paper’s low ignition risk

Air assist and exhaust on

Blows away smoke and dust (Trotec); stale air makes soot that overheats the spot (MatEdU)

Clean bed and tray

Leftover residue can catch fire (Trotec)

Extinguisher, fire blanket, and stay

Never leave it running (Trotec, MatEdU)

In the lists we track, paper and cardboard carry the same warning: they cut well but catch fire easily (what not to laser cut). Trotec’s fire article lists the usual causes of laser fires: wrong power settings, and dust and cutting residues left inside the machine. MatEdU adds an important nuance: paper does not conduct heat well, so the risk of it reaching its flashpoint away from the laser spot is very low — the exceptions are a beam that is out of focus and air in the machine that is not vented properly. Starved of air, the burn makes soot and smoke that cloud the beam and overheat the spot (MatEdU). Corrugated board stacks two liners around hollow flutes, so a cut passes through paper, air, paper.

Lowest energy that cuts through. Compare your row with the maker rows below before you add power.
Focus on the top face and keep the lens clean (MatEdU).
Air assist and exhaust on for cuts (Trotec, MatEdU).
Clean the bed and tray before every job (Trotec).
Extinguisher and fire blanket in reach, and stay with it (Trotec, MatEdU, Stanford EH&S).

Kraft paper, office paper and corrugated board

P1 (5 W diode)diode · Kraft Paper · 0.6 mm · 700 mm/min · 80%0.34

A70 Maxdiode · Kraft Paper · 0.6 mm · 9,000 mm/min · 90%0.42

A24 Prodiode · Kraft Paper · 0.6 mm · 2,000 mm/min · 80%0.58

A24 Ultradiode · Kraft Paper · 0.6 mm · 2,000 mm/min · 80%0.58

A20 Pro V2diode · Kraft Paper · 0.6 mm · 1,500 mm/min · 80%0.64

Kraft (20 W diode)diode · Kraft Paper · 0.6 mm · 1,500 mm/min · 80%0.64

A40 Pro V2diode · Kraft Paper · 0.6 mm · 2,000 mm/min · S8001.15

TS3 (10 W)diode · 3 mm cardboard · 3 mm · 800 mm/min · 100%0.75

TTS-55 (5.5 W)diode · 3 mm cardboard · 3 mm · 350 mm/min · 100%0.94

P1 (5 W diode)diode · Carton · 6 mm · 150 mm/min · 80%1.6

Kraft (20 W diode)diode · Carton · 6 mm · 600 mm/min · 80%1.6

HurricaneCO2 · Korrugated Cardboard · 6 mm · 800 mm/min · 60%2.48

HurricaneCO2 · Kraft Paper · 6 mm · 250 mm/min · 80%10.6

HurricaneCO2 · Kraft Paper · 8 mm · 300 mm/min · 100%11

0.1110100 J/mm

J/mm for each maker cut row, thinnest first (log scale; LightBurn/LaserGRBL twins counted once, likely typos left out). Passes are included in the total.

On the J/mm scale, paper is the cheapest material on this site. AtomStack’s diode kraft fill (raster) engravings put about 0.01–0.14 J into each mm of line, and its office-paper fill engravings 0.04–0.14. Cutting 0.6 mm kraft takes about 0.34–1.15 J/mm; 3–6 mm cardboard about 0.75–1.6 J/mm on the diodes and 2.5 J/mm on the 55 W CO2 (chart). For comparison, 3 mm plywood cuts at roughly 0.9–1.7 J/mm in the plywood & basswood rows — so cardboard is not much cheaper to cut than thin plywood, only quicker to burn.

Engrave the front, cut from the back

1 · Engrave the front

Air assist off

2 · Flip the sheet

Keep it registered on the honeycomb

3 · Cut from the back

Air assist on

The order in Trotec’s cardboard chair project (2 mm corrugated, 30 W CO2).

Trotec’s cardboard chair project (2 mm corrugated board, 30 W CO2) engraves the front, then flips the sheet and cuts it from the back, with the sheet held down on a vacuum table over a honeycomb. Air assist is off for the engraving and on for the cut (Trotec). Its power and speed are percentages of its own machine, so they do not convert to J/mm here — use the method, not the numbers.

Smoke from cardboard

Wood, no ventilation31.8 ppm

Cardboard, no ventilation23.9 ppm

With ventilationbelow 0.1 ppm

ACGIH TLV 25 ppmOSHA PEL 50 ppm

Carbon monoxide inside a desktop 40 W CO2 laser’s chamber, 5-minute samples (O’Neill et al. 2024). Inside-the-machine values, not room exposure; the limits are for 8-hour workplace exposure and are shown for scale.

O’Neill and colleagues ran a desktop 40 W CO2 cutter on cardboard, wood, plastic and glass. Cardboard gave the most respirable particles (253.9 mg/m³ inside the chamber with no ventilation) and the smallest ultrafine particles, and carbon monoxide reached 23.9 ppm. With ventilation, respirable particles fell by 61 % on average across the materials, and carbon monoxide fell below the detection limit. These were 5-minute samples inside the machine, not room exposures (O’Neill 2024). Size your fan with the exhaust fan calculator.

How to run a cardboard test

Cardboard tests are short, but every one is a fire test. Do them with the lid closed, the exhaust on and the extinguisher in reach.

1
Clean the bed and tray first (Trotec).
2
Same board, same batch — flute size and liners differ between boxes.
3
Start fast. Cut small squares at a fixed speed, then slow down or add power until they drop out.
4
Air assist on for every cut.
5
Stay at the machine. If a flame does not go out by itself at once, stop the job. Do not open the lid onto a flame (general practice); keep the extinguisher and a fire blanket within reach (MatEdU).

FAQ

What are good laser settings for cardboard?: TwoTrees cuts 3 mm cardboard at 300–400 mm/min and 100 % on a 5.5 W diode and at 800 mm/min on its 10 W TS3. AtomStack cuts 6 mm “carton” at 150 mm/min and 80 % on the 5 W P1 and at 600 mm/min on the 20 W Kraft — about 0.75–1.6 J/mm on these diodes. Its 55 W CO2 cuts 6 mm corrugated at 800 mm/min and 60 % (about 2.5 J/mm).
What laser settings work for kraft paper?: AtomStack’s diode kraft fill (raster) engravings run 6,000–30,000 mm/min at 20–80 % with a 0.08–0.1 mm interval (about 0.01–0.14 J/mm per line). Its 0.6 mm kraft cuts run 700–9,000 mm/min at 80–90 % power (about 0.34–1.15 J/mm). Scale a row to your machine and test on the same paper.
Can a diode laser cut cardboard?: Yes. Paper and cardboard are cut by both diode and CO2 lasers in the sources behind our laser-type matrix; fiber lasers are not suited. The maker rows here cut 3–6 mm board on 5–20 W diodes.
How do I stop cardboard catching fire in a laser?: Use the lowest energy that cuts through, keep air assist on, clean dust and scraps out of the machine before each job, keep an extinguisher within reach, and never leave the machine running (Trotec). MatEdU adds: keep the beam in focus and the machine well vented, and keep a fire blanket by the extinguisher. Stop the job if a flame does not go out at once.

Sources

Sources for the laser-type verdicts

Last checked 2026-11-02 · Maker values and calculations; we did not process this material ourselves.

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