A laser marker used as a stone engraving machine engraves pieces up to 300 × 300 mm (about 12 × 12 in): photo plaques, pet memorial stones, urns, slate coasters and signs, agate. Polished black granite and slate turn white on their own. Marble and light granite need paint fill. Full headstones need sandblasting or a flatbed laser.
At HeatSign, stone engraving machine questions come from two kinds of people. Some want to engrave a whole headstone. Others make small stone products and want them faster and sharper. This page is for the second group, and it is honest with the first.
Three machines come up below. A fiber laser marker writes very fine lines, a CO2 laser marker covers a larger area quickly, and a UV laser marker puts very little heat into small, delicate stones.
Not sure your stone will mark well?
Send us a photo of the stone and the size of your biggest piece. We will tell you which machine fits. Or jump to the machines and prices ↓
Which laser works on which stone?
Dark, polished stone gives the best result. The laser breaks the shiny surface and leaves a frosty white mark, so black granite and slate need no paint. Light granite and white marble barely change color, so they need paint fill.
Look at the stone first and the laser second:
Stone | What the mark looks like | Paint fill? | Which laser marker |
|---|---|---|---|
Polished black granite | Frosty white, high contrast, fine enough for photos | No | Fiber (finest photos) or CO2 |
Light or grey granite | Light grey, weak contrast | Yes | CO2 or fiber, then paint |
Black marble | White | No | Fiber or CO2 |
White or light marble | Hardly visible | Yes | CO2, then paint |
Slate | Grey-white, good natural contrast | No | CO2 |
Clay brick, sandstone, river pebbles | A lighter, glassy mark; depends on the color | Sometimes | CO2 |
Jade, agate and other small stones | Fine white lines | Sometimes | UV |
Engineered stone, solid surface (Corian type) | Varies by brand and resin | Test first | CO2 or UV, after a test |
Laser makers say the same thing about light stone. Trotec calls light granite “only suitable to a limited degree”, and Gravotech notes that marble does not darken by itself. That is why memorial shops that sell laser photos almost always use black granite.
Not on the list? Natural stone varies from quarry to quarry. Send us two or three offcuts and we will mark them for you.
Which stone businesses use a laser marker?
Shops that make small stone products. Memorial makers engrave photo plaques, pet stones and urns. Slate, brick and sign shops engrave coasters, plaques and donor bricks. Craft makers engrave jade and agate. Each item fits inside a 300 × 300 mm marking field.
Memorial products: photo plaques, pet stones and urns
Monument dealers, urn makers and pet memorial brands sell black granite pieces in fixed sizes. Typical listings we found are 7 × 5 in (178 × 127 mm) and 8 × 8 in plaques, and pet stones up to 10 × 10 in (254 mm). All of them fit on a laser marker.
A common setup: the shop engraves a photo plaque flat on the machine, then sets it into a larger headstone. In a customer story published by a laser maker, a monument maker in Tokyo works this way on one machine with a CO2 and a fiber source. The CO2 beam engraves, the fiber beam finishes the fine detail, and large stones still go to sandblasting.
Machine: a fiber laser marking machine for fine photos and small text; a CO2 marker for plaques up to 300 mm.
Slate, brick, sign and award shops
Gift and award shops engrave slate coasters, hanging signs, house numbers, garden stones and 4 × 8 in (100 × 200 mm) donor bricks. Orders often come in batches, such as coasters for a wedding or signs for a company event. Slate needs no paint, so a piece is finished when it comes off the machine.
A galvo CO2 marker suits this work. Galvo means two fast mirrors steer the beam, so nothing moves across the table and short jobs run quickly. One size to watch: a 12 × 12 in (305 mm) paver is just bigger than the 300 mm field.
Machine: a CO2 laser marking machine.
Jade, agate and small stone crafts
Pendant, seal and souvenir makers engrave small stones a few centimeters across. A UV laser puts very little heat into the stone, which suits thin and brittle pieces. HeatSign’s 5 W UV marker engraving agate is in the video below.
Machine: a UV laser marking machine.
A 5 W UV laser marking machine engraving agate.
If you are starting a stone product line, our guide to starting a laser engraving business covers pricing and first orders.
What size of stone fits a laser marker?
Up to 300 × 300 mm (about 12 × 12 in) on HeatSign’s CO2 markers, and 110 to 300 mm square on the fiber markers. The mirrors move the beam, not the stone, so one job can only cover the lens area. Anything larger needs a flatbed machine.
The marking area comes from the F-theta lens, the lens that spreads the beam over a flat square. A bigger lens covers more stone but makes a bigger spot. For photos, pick the smallest lens that covers your plaque. A 110 mm lens gives finer dots than a 300 mm lens.
Can you engrave a bigger stone in parts? It is possible, but the joins tend to show on polished granite. We do not recommend it for photos or for lettering that runs across the join.
How do you laser engrave a photo on black granite?
Use polished black granite, turn the photo into a black-and-white dot image, and test on an offcut first. The stone and the photo prep decide most of the result. Fiber gives the finest lines, and CO2 is the traditional choice.
- Pick the stone. The blacker and glossier the granite, the whiter and sharper the photo. Grainy or speckled black stone shows its grain through the picture.
- Prepare the photo. Convert it to a black-and-white dot pattern (dithering) at the plaque’s real size. Our list of photo engraving software shows which programs do this.
- Test on an offcut. Start with low power and change one setting at a time. Use the smallest lens that covers the plaque.
- Clean the plaque. Brush and vacuum off the stone dust before you judge the result.
Fiber or CO2 for photos?
Both camps exist. One engraver on a laser forum put it this way: “The fiber laser can do way finer detail, cleaner lines.” CO2, on the other hand, has a long track record on memorial photos. Our advice: send us your stone, and HeatSign will engrave the same photo with both and send you the pictures.
More on photo work, on stone and other materials, is on our photo engraving machine page.
A CO2 laser marking machine engraving granite and marble.
Can a laser marker engrave a full headstone?
No. A full headstone is far bigger than a 300 × 300 mm field. Headstones are usually sandblasted through a rubber stencil, cut on a CNC machine, or engraved on a large flatbed laser. A laser marker makes the photo plaques and small pieces that go on them.
Method | How big | How deep | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|
Sandblasting through a rubber stencil | Any size, also on site | Deep lettering | Names and dates on headstones |
CNC stone engraving | Large slabs | Deep cuts, carving | Deep letters, relief work |
Flatbed (gantry) CO2 laser | Large beds; size set by the machine | Surface | Large photos and text on granite |
Galvo laser marker (HeatSign) | Up to 300 × 300 mm | Surface to shallow | Photo plaques, pet stones, urns, slate, small items |
We have not tested our portable markers on headstones that are already standing in a cemetery, so we do not offer that. If you need both large and small work, the difference between the two CO2 machine types is explained in galvo vs gantry CO2.
Is stone dust from laser engraving a health risk?
It can be. Stone dust carries crystalline silica, which damages the lungs. OSHA limits breathable silica to 50 µg/m³ over an 8-hour shift. Engineered quartz is about 90% silica or more, and natural granite about 10–45%. Use extraction with a HEPA filter.
- Pull the dust away at the source. Use a fume extractor with a HEPA stage, placed close to the marking spot.
- Clean with a vacuum, not compressed air. Blowing or dry sweeping puts the fine dust back in the air.
- Check local rules before marking engineered stone. Australia banned work on engineered stone benchtops, slabs and panels from 1 July 2024.
Want the details of how extraction is sized? Our guide to choosing a fume extraction system walks through it.
Which HeatSign laser fits your stone work, and what does it cost?
HeatSign’s CO2 laser marking machines cost about $3,000–6,500 and suit slate, brick and plaques up to 300 mm. Fiber markers cost $1,950–5,000 and suit fine photos on black granite. UV markers cost $3,000–5,900 and suit jade, agate and small pieces.
Slate, brick and plaques up to 300 mm: CO2 laser markerHS-CL 40 / 60 W. About $3,000–6,500.See the CO2 laser marker → 
Fine photos and text on black granite: fiber laser markerHS-FL 20–50 W, lenses from 110 to 300 mm. About $1,950–5,000.See the fiber laser marker → 
Jade, agate and small pieces: UV laser marker3 / 5 / 10 W. About $3,000–5,900.See the UV laser marker →Prices change with power, lens size and options such as a rotary axis for round items.
FAQ
Can a laser marker engrave a full headstone or a standing gravestone?
No. A laser marker covers up to 300 × 300 mm, so it makes the photo plaques and small pieces that go on a headstone. Full headstones are sandblasted or cut on large machines. HeatSign has not tested on-site work on standing stones.
Why does laser engraving turn granite white?
The laser breaks up the polished surface of the stone. The rough, frosty spots scatter light, so they look white against the dark polish. That is why black, glossy granite gives the strongest contrast.
Can you laser engrave white marble or light granite?
Yes, but the mark is pale and hard to read. Shops fill the lines with paint, or set a black granite plaque into the light stone.
Fiber or CO2 for photos on black granite?
Both work. Fiber gives finer lines on small plaques, and CO2 is the long-standing choice for memorial photos. Test both on your own stone before you buy.
Does a laser engraving on stone last outdoors?
The mark is part of the stone, so it does not peel like paint. It is shallower than sandblasting, though, so shops use sandblasting for deep outdoor lettering and lasers for photos and fine detail.
Can I send a stone sample for a free test?
Yes. Send HeatSign two or three pieces of your stone and the design. We will mark them with the CO2, fiber or UV machine that fits and send you photos of the results.
What should you know before you choose a stone laser?
Write down four things: the stone type and color, the size of your biggest piece, how many pieces you make a day, and whether you engrave text, logos or photos. Those answers pick the laser and the lens.
Then send them to HeatSign by email or WhatsApp, with a photo of the stone. We will reply with a machine recommendation and a price.
Sources
- OSHA 29 CFR 1910.1053: respirable crystalline silica, permissible exposure limit of 50 µg/m³ (8-hour average)
- OSHA and NIOSH hazard alert: worker exposure to silica during countertop manufacturing, finishing and installation
- WorkSafe Queensland: engineered stone ban in effect from 1 July 2024
- Trotec, stone laser engraving help page; Gravotech, engraving stone, granite and slate (laser makers’ application notes)