The issue is then speed, you can't engrave at anywhere near the same speed as you can print.

I would not consider an engraver for which you have to call to ask the price as "routine". From what I could find, the cheapest trotec is $16k second hand on ebay (and there is another from their cheap line for $56k second hand). You can hire somebody to handwrite everything you need for that kind of money.

Also, high power lasers are consumables.

I didn't suggest using an engraver. I was suggesting engraver tech for this thing we're proposing here. The real question is can you get a good result marking paper with a laser? Maybe I worded it poorly first time.

Or we could get rid of paper and just print everything on plywood.