Wood is the most forgiving laser material for beginners, but settings vary wildly by species, coating, and machine. Here's a starting baseline for diode lasers. Use it to center your first test grid, not as a guarantee: no published number is a guarantee for your lens, your material batch or your machine's condition.
| Wood | Speed (mm/min) | Power (%) | DPI |
|---|---|---|---|
| Basswood (uncoated) | 4000 | 45–55 | 254 |
| Maple (light) | 3500 | 50–65 | 300 |
| Walnut (dark) | 4000 | 40–50 | 254 |
| Plywood (birch) | 3000 | 60–75 | 254 |
| MDF (painted) | 2500 | 70–85 | 300 |
*Baseline for 20W optical power diode (e.g. xTool D1 Pro, Sculpfun S30 Pro Max)*
How to read the numbers
Speed and power pull in opposite directions: slowing down and adding power both put more energy into the wood, so change only one at a time. DPI sets the spacing between engraved lines, about 0.10 mm at 254 DPI and about 0.085 mm at 300 DPI. If your focused spot is wider than that spacing, extra DPI only adds heat and darkens the whole area. Watch the units as well: this table uses mm/min, while the Parameters Library records speed in mm/s. Multiply mm/s by 60 to compare, so 100 mm/s is 6,000 mm/min.
Why two sources disagree
The Parameters Library shows how widely baselines vary. Its 20W diode hardwood (oak) record starts at 70% power and 100 mm/s with a 0.1 mm line interval, and its 10W diode softwood (pine) record starts at 65% and 120 mm/s. Its 40W CO2 records run 15–20% power at 300 mm/s with a 0.08 mm interval across maple, cherry, walnut, basswood plywood and MDF. None of these is wrong. Each came from a different machine, lens and material batch, which is exactly why a test grid beats copying a number from any table, including this one.
Fine-tune tip: Always run a power/speed matrix test first — the Laser Lab test-grid builder lays one out for you, and the Parameters Library lists the recorded baselines by material and machine. The Reticle Red AI Design Assistant can suggest a starting test matrix for your machine and wood combination.
Run the grid the same way every time
- Focus on the surface of the actual board, and keep focus, air assist, DPI and line interval fixed for the whole grid.
- Bracket the baseline: step power across the columns and speed down the rows, in steps large enough to see a difference.
- Engrave the grid on scrap from the same board, not just the same species. Grain direction, resin pockets and moisture content move the result more than the numbers do.
- Let the grid cool, clean off the smoke residue, and judge contrast and edge quality under the light the finished piece will be seen in.
- Record the machine, lens, focus, air assist, board and final settings, with a photo of the square you accepted.
In LightBurn, the free material test grid generator builds this as a .lbrn2 project with up to 30 cells, each on its own layer with its speed and power already set.
Photos on wood
For photographs, tone preparation matters as much as the burn. The "Wood (Operator Spec)" preset in Image Lab is tuned for 150 DPI engraving on hardwoods and plywood and uses Jarvis-Judice-Ninke dithering. The dithering guide compares the algorithms if the preset does not suit your wood.
Grain direction matters: Engraving perpendicular to grain gives sharper lines. With the wood grain gives a more natural "burnt in" look.
Coatings, plywood and MDF: Paint, lacquer and oil change the result more than species does, so test the finished board rather than raw stock. Plywood and MDF contain glue and binders, so run extraction; the library's MDF cut record flags strong fumes and makes ventilation essential.
Frequently asked questions: Settings
What are the best laser engraving settings for basswood?
For a 20W optical power diode laser on uncoated basswood, start at 4000 mm/min speed, 45–55% power, and 254 DPI. Basswood is the most forgiving species — it burns cleanly and tolerates a wide power range. Always run a 50×50mm power/speed matrix test first, since actual results vary by brand, moisture content, and surface finish. The Reticle Red AI Design Assistant can suggest a starting test matrix for your machine and wood.
What DPI should I use for laser engraving wood?
For most wood species, 254 DPI produces excellent results with efficient run times. Use 300 DPI for fine-detail portraits or intricate designs on light, tight-grained woods like maple or cherry. Avoid going above 300 DPI on softer woods like MDF or basswood — the dot spacing becomes smaller than the laser spot size, leading to over-burning and loss of detail. Lower DPI (200) works well for large-format signs where viewing distance reduces the need for fine detail.
Why do laser engraving settings vary so much between wood species?
Wood species differ in density, resin content, moisture, and surface texture — all of which affect how quickly the material absorbs laser energy. Dense hardwoods like walnut or maple generally need more energy to reach the same depth than soft, porous MDF or basswood, and resin-rich softwoods like pine burn unevenly between early and late grain. Coatings like paint or lacquer also dramatically change the burn characteristics. The safest approach is always to run a power/speed matrix test on a scrap piece of the exact board you're using before starting a final project.