PVC-free adhesive films (polypropylene or polyester) let you cut stickers and stencils with a laser safely. The word "vinyl" on the label is not enough: you need the "PVC-free" statement.
Settings: what really matters
The whole point is the kiss-cut: through the film and its adhesive without cutting the backing paper. That needs a very fine setting, found with a rising-power test grid on an offcut.
Work at high speed and minimum power. The film is thin: a few percent too much power and the backing is cut through.
Molten adhesive can redeposit on the edge: high speed and air assist markedly reduce that tackiness.
Risks and finishing
A PVC-free film releases no chlorine, but burnt adhesive smokes and smells strongly: extraction needed. The backing paper ignites easily if power is too high.
Never run an unknown film, even sold as "cutting vinyl": most sign-making vinyls are PVC.
After cutting, let the sheet cool before peeling the stickers, otherwise the still-warm adhesive stays on the backing.
Every figure on LaserSettings comes with the machine, the laser source, the material and the thickness it was tested on. A setting published for a 10 W diode says nothing about a 40 W CO2, and a setting for 3 mm says nothing about 6 mm: check those four things before you copy any number.
Settings are confirmed or disputed by the members who reproduce them, so reliability comes from cross-checking rather than popularity. Photos of the result — cut edges, engraving shades, scorching — tell you more than a single number found on a forum.
Whatever the material, treat a published setting as a starting point: run a small power/speed test grid on an offcut, clean the lens, redo the focus, work with fume extraction and air assist, wear glasses rated for your wavelength and never leave the machine unattended.