Titanium is the metal of colour marking: depending on the energy applied, the oxide layer that forms takes blue, purple, gold or brown hues. A spectacular result, reserved for fibre sources.
Settings: what really matters
Only a 1064 nm fibre source marks titanium. The colour does not come from a pigment but from oxide thickness: the power / speed / frequency combination sets it, and a 5 % drift changes the hue.
In practice you do not guess a colour: you engrave a test matrix on an offcut, note the parameters of each cell, and pick. This is the textbook use of a test grid.
Titanium conducts heat poorly: energy stays at the surface, which makes marking very crisp but also very sensitive to the slightest focus change.
Risks and finishing
Certified 1064 nm goggles are mandatory, lid closed: polished titanium reflects strongly. Titanium dust is also flammable — clean extraction and regular tray cleaning.
Colour marking is a very thin oxide layer: it resists corrosion well but not abrasion. Never polish a colour-marked part.
Degrease with alcohol before marking: a fingerprint locally changes the colour you get.
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.