Laser power necessary to cut/etch paper

Question

I want to cut/etch (would be satisfied with just etching, though prefer both) paper with a laser. I have on hand several laser diodes salvaged from various disk drives and a 633 nm 10 mW CO2 laser. I know that any infrared laser with more than 10W of power (and probably many with less power) should be able to cut paper easily, and have been told that my 10 mW laser will not be powerful enough, which suggests to me that my laser diodes will likely be lacking as well.

The only thing approaching a suggestion for laser power for paper cutting that I've been able to find online is a physics stack exchange question about cutting plastics that mentions un-cited that a 808 nm 2 W laser is standard for paper cutting.

Is any of the above likely to be true? Is there a way to get a laser that will etch/cut paper cheaply (< $100, say)? The closest thing to the 808 nm 2 W laser that I've been able to find is a number of ~450 nm 2 W lasers on Amazon. Should this be sufficient? Does restricting the paper in question to being white/black/green/whatever color change the answers to any of the above questions?

And a note to head off some possible responses- I have had laser safety training, I do not intend to use this laser recklessly or even myself- I intend to mount it on an X-Y table in an enclosed, ventilated space during operation.

Answer 1

I have a 405 or 445nm laser diode that I run at ~1.5A.

It can easily burn darker paper but has issues if the paper is very glossy or white.

I did get it to burn white paper once but since it is more dangerous (a lot of the laser reflects so I had to wear special glasses) and it was more of a novelty I only did it once.

EDIT

I know you didn't ask for a schematic. But for completeness here is the setup I used. The laser still works and it has been 3 years.

Answer 2

Alright, I'm going to give you three options to compare among yourself. The best, better, the nominal and the alternative.

Best Ultrashort pulse Lasers.
Lasers such as Ti:Sapphire, or a Ruby lasers are Ultrashort pulsed lasers, which can machine the waste material away without transfering much heat into the remaining work piece. Normally non absorbing materials such glass, scattering materials (paper), and polished metal can easily be machined. Cost of ML laser is significantly higher than CO2 laser.

Better: CO2 gas lasers
CO2 lasers are the highest power IR lasers that are commercially available. they pour out Infra-red wavelengths which the carbon in paper is more than happy to absorb. What you would have to consider is Gas upkeep and High Voltage Power supplementing.

Nominal: 780nm Diode
These diodes are found inside of DVD burners, and are easily salvagable. They will scorch paper well, as these lasers are still well within the IR spectrum. They are cheap and easy to make, as all of the parts are available inside of a DVD burner. Typically, a x4 burner will be at 200mW, x8 at 500mW, and x16 at 1W+. For this application, x8 is the nomminal power, however x4 will work, and x16 will scorch faster. Typically, you need a constant current source to drive these diodes.

Alternative: 450nm Diode
Although cheap, The 450nm gives you the most wattage/Dollar, and eventually, you will be able to singe paper, although you will need to focus the beam.