Laser cut silhouette
Follow this tutorial to learn how to create your own paper silhouette artwork. These finished pieces make great gifts and decorations.
Preparation
Materials required
- 1 Sheet Laser Paper Orange-Red
- 1 Sheet Laser Paper Slate Grey + self adhesive
- 1 Sheet Laser Paper Blue + self adhesive
- 1 Sheet Laser Paper Dark Blue + self adhesive
- 1 Sheet Laser Paper Black + self adhesive
- Material to cover the laser bed, such as plain paper
The LaserPaper range is available for purchase on our engraving supplies webshop.
Laser machine used
- Speedy 360, 80 Watt
- 1.5" lens
- Honeycomb vacuum table
Any Speedy laser engraving machine can be used to create this sample. .
Tip
We used the 1.5" lens as we wanted to make very delicate and detailed cuts.
Step by step
Step 1: Design
Import our pre-created graphics and adapt it to your requirements. Send the 5 various graphics to your Trotec Laser with the following settings:
Process mode | Resolution | Cut line |
---|---|---|
Standard | 500dpi | none |
Halftone | Others |
---|---|
colour | Enhanced geometries, Inner Geometries first |

Step 2: Laser cutting and engraving the paper
Lay the respective coloured paper sheets in your Trotec Laser, covering the rest of the working surface with plain paper to get a strong vacuum. The parameters are likely to vary betweenlaser machines and the power available.
Laser Engraving Parameters
Black | Engrave CO2 | 40 | 70 | 500 |
---|---|---|---|---|
Colour | Process | Power % | Speed % | ppi/Hz |
1 | ON | 0mm | High Quality |
---|---|---|---|
Passes | Air Assist | Z-offset | Advanced |
Laser Cutting Parameters
Colour | Process | Power % | Speed % | ppi/Hz |
---|---|---|---|---|
Red | Cut CO2 | 15 | 1 | 1,000 |
Passes | Air Assist | Z-offset | Advanced |
---|---|---|---|
1 | ON | 0mm | - |

Step 3: Assembly
Take the orange rectangle as a backing plate, and then stick the remaining colours in the following order:
- Slate grey
- Blue
- Dark blue
- Black as finishing
Why Trotec Materials?
Our Laser Paper range is ideal for a range of applications, having been specifically developed for laser cutting and engraving. This means you can achieve the highest contrast wtih your laser machine, with a clean cut mark from laser cutting. This quality paper, which is available in a variety of different colours, can be used in many applications including invitations, brochures, business cards, greeting cards and much more.
Inspiration
- Cut spacers from thin TroLase ADA which you can stick between the paper sheets. This adds additional depth and spaciousness to the final piece.
- Depending on the design, the laser cut silhouette could be used as a gift card.