I looked at your site. Wow! You have the hard part of this laser thing mastered. The other half of the equation has to be learned, but that will come a lot quicker than someone like me ever achieving the skill you demonstrate on your web site. So many times I come to the, “I see what I want in my mind, and I know how it has to go together in the software, but that’s not something I can do.” So I’m left to search the web for something that will do.
Because of the inherent physical properties of those materials and for manufactured materials you get to add the unknowns of each manufacturer’s manufacturing process. It won’t be long and you’ll be profiling your most commonly used materials and then you’ll be able to make solid guesses at what settings to start with for new materials to you.
You’ve probably already been directed to this post, but it is considered the place to start for photo engraving:
Given your skills with making images, you’ll probably pick it up very quickly once you learn the impact the laser settings have on the final outcome. Learning means experimenting a lot on scrap material. When I engrave every new image is a new adventure. I don’t expect it to come out perfect on the first try. And where cutting is just a matter of finding the settings you like best, different materials can react very differently to photo engraves. If this is what you want to do, be prepared to create a fair amount of scrap.