Laser etched blue jeans and dark fabric

[aocarving]

If you check Youtube for "Laser etched fabric" you can see several posts of lasers marking fabric. A few had portraits on blue jeans. Can the laser power be set low enough and the speed set fast enough to just "Bleach" the color out of the cloth, without destroying the threads? They were photograph quality etchings and I was wondering how long they would last before starting to fray? Thanks for any insite that you could offer. I'm looking at a 40 watt laser, if that helps. Thanks again. AO

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[twehr]

If you check Youtube for "Laser etched fabric" you can see several posts of lasers marking fabric. A few had portraits on blue jeans. Can the laser power be set low enough and the speed set fast enough to just "Bleach" the color out of the cloth, without destroying the threads? They were photograph quality etchings and I was wondering how long they would last before starting to fray? Thanks for any insite that you could offer. I'm looking at a 40 watt laser, if that helps. Thanks again. AO

I have tried this in the past. My first try worked quite well - although it was simple wording and not a photo image.

My second try did not do as well - I got it too hot - scorched the material so ended up with a brownish color rather than the white/gray it should be.

One difference was the material. You want the darkest color denim you can find. I found some interesting items at HobbyLobby, but even there the shade of color varies from one batch to the next.

I haven't taken the time to try again (but I should). My smallish machine (40 watt Chinese box before upgrades) doesn't give me a lot of room to get the material laid out flat, so haven't put much time into it. Guess I should just cut some material and run tests till I get acceptable results, then worry about doing "product" later.

I just looked at my notes and see that, when I tried it, I used the following settings - 350mm/s at 12% (about 2-3 ma - the lowest I can go and make it still fire). Try something along those lines and let us know how it goes.

[zax15uk]

I've done designs on jeans several times, just use the lowest power possible and a high speed. If you can't get the power low enough you may be able to adjust focus to reduce power density.

It easily removes the pigment from cotton fibers but doesn't cause any significant damage.

The most difficult part for me is getting the jeans in the machine and flat.

Zax.

[aocarving]

twher,
Thanks for the feed back. Did you wash the material a few times? Did it start to fray? I wonder if pocket/hole patches would work? (The kind that you find in fabric stores) I bet the younger crowd would love that! Will get a laser soon. Thanks, AO

[aocarving]

zax15uk,
Good idea about the focus! I can see how getting it flat would be a concern. Thanks for the info. AO

[twehr]

twher,
Thanks for the feed back. Did you wash the material a few times? Did it start to fray? I wonder if pocket/hole patches would work? (The kind that you find in fabric stores) I bet the younger crowd would love that! Will get a laser soon. Thanks, AO

As I said, I did two pieces. First one worked great and held up well to normal wear (it was a denim bag). I did not wash it.

The other one was over powered and even without washing, began to separate at the border line between the unmarked area and the design. Since I literally "burned" some of the fabric, rather than just removing the dye, it weakened the material, I am sure.

[aocarving]

twehr,
Thanks, Zax said if you back off of the focus a little, it might help with the burning problem. Experimentation will be the key. Thanks, AO