Laser engraving has the strangest cost structure in craft: materials are cheap, the machine is expensive, and the product customers actually pay for (their name, their logo, their date) weighs nothing. Pricing it well means charging for the two invisible things: machine time and customization.
The visible cost of a coaster
- Slate coaster blank: about $1.15
- Laser time (8 min at a $30/hour shop rate): about $4.00
- Padding feet: about $0.10
- Sleeve + kraft box: about $0.30
$5.55 all-in before your hands-on time. $10 retail is a 45% margin. The laser-time line is the biggest one, and it should be: a shop rate of $20–40 an hour that covers power, lens and tube wear and the machine's payback (we use $30) makes long engraves cost what they should. A 25-minute detailed burn is $12.50 of machine time, not a 5-minute monogram's $2.50.
Personalization is the product
The same $5.55 coaster sells at $10 plain and $14 with a name: the name nearly doubles the margin. Customization is made-to-order work: it can't be shelved in advance, it can't be returned to stock, and customers happily pay the premium. Never price personalized at ready-made rates.
The formula for laser work
- Blank + (burn minutes × shop rate) + packaging + margin, then the personalization premium on custom pieces
- Bulk orders: one setup + N blanks; 50 wedding coasters is materials × 50 plus one file prep, not 50
- Mixed materials: slate, wood, acrylic and metal blanks each carry their own cost; quote by material, not by "a coaster"
Laser pricing mistakes to avoid
- Machine time at zero: the laser wants its money back, per minute
- Flat prices across burn times: detailed art burns long and should cost more
- Personalized at catalog prices: customization is the premium, charge it
- Quoting bulk as N × single: setup spreads; whoever spreads it wins the order
Blanks, burn time and premiums: Keepsel for laser engravers keeps every material's blanks counted, and from the Maker plan puts machine and labor time into each product's cost. The free pricing calculator will tell you if your shop rate is real or aspirational.