Just goofin' around again

[Dee Gallo]

I was cruising my new favorite store, Yankee Dollar, for more cork when I spotted iron-on denim patches: 10 for $1. Had to buy them and try them out.

They "engraved" very easily, stayed flat on the table (except the grey ones each had one corner coming up - doubleface taped it down) and decided not to use air assist to keep them from being blown around. With settings of 100sp/40p on my 25w, it went fast and easy. No fixture or hold downs, just placed and burned!

I didn't expect the light colors to come out well, but they are fine. Obviously the most contrast is on the black and the white actually looks good too.

Just something to play with. This might be a good fundraiser, club/team thing, etc. They are easy to iron onto hats, bags, jeans, shirts, whatever's not moving, really. I'm using them for our family reunion. That's the Shanghai city seal and the family name.

cheers, dee

[David Harvey]

Hey Dee, that's a great idea!

....and they came out looking good. Here's a thought that came to mind when you mentioned 'iron on'...why not engrave a 'stitch-like' pattern as an inset border on them? ...might make it look like they were actually sewn on...

[Dee Gallo]

Funny you should mention that, Dave. The original design did have that, but I decided against it in the end.

:) dee

[Pat Shirkey]

Great job, Dee. You sure come up with some cool ideas!!

[Samantha Trafny]

Very neat idea, thank you for sharing.

[Frank Corker]

They came out excellent Dee. Iron on! I think you might be onto a winner with that one.

[Tom Bull]

Ditto from me.

[Gary Nicholls]

That is a really cool idea, Dee. Thank you for sharing.

[Larry Bratton]

Dee:
How do you come up with all this cool stuff???? Those are really nice.

[Bill Cunningham]

Did a bunch of these iron-ons for a bike club few years ago. I found the blue ones etch nice. The black that I have done etched to a brownish white colour. Don't forget to reverse your image if your lasering a photograph. The denim will also cut as well as any other fabric.. Yours came out nice Dee I sure you will come up with all kinds of ideas for this stuff..

[Keith Outten]

I'm pretty sure that laser engraving on denim is a copy protected technique.

I remember Epilog had an article in their sample club about this and they removed it.
.

[Ron Chapellaz]

Way cool Dee! You sure have a knack for new ideas.... My wife will want me to do work on her jeans now...

[Niklas Bjornestal]

I'm pretty sure that laser engraving on denim is a copy protected technique.

I remember Epilog had an article in their sample club about this and they removed it.
.
Can you really copy protect a technique?
At least here in Sweden i dont think that's possible.
Or do you mean patented?
If so is it possible to patent the use of a tool on a certain material? Can you patent the use of a hammer to destroy plates...

[Dan Hintz]

Keith,

They sell machines specifically geared towards lasering denim.

That said, I can't imagine any court upholding such a patent. You may not be able to afford even a short fight, but it would be one worth fighting. Even so, I can't find such a patent... several about denim "designs", but nothing specifically limiting denim itself.

[Dave Johnson29]

Even so, I can't find such a patent

Dan, try this...
6140602
October 31, 2000

A unique method imparts laser induced patterns and other designs on thin fabrics and leathers. The method uses a laser beam to slightly penetrate the surface of the product at a controlled specific speed. The laser beam is directed at the product either directly or through mirrors, shutters or...
Inventor: Darryl Costin
Assignee: Technolines LLC

What is claimed is:1. A method of using a laser for forming a design on a product selected from the group consisting of fabrics and leathers, comprising:
determining, for a specific material of the product, a maximum speed of said specific material relative to the laser, for a given laser power, that will result in a perceivable change for a given laser power, that will result in a perceivable change being formed to said product, and a threshold speed below which at least one of carbonization, undesired burn through or undesired melting of the material of the product will occur; andcontacting a surface of said product with the laser beam to form a design on said surface which changes the surface of the material, and controlling the speed of said laser beam relative to said surface to a range between said maximum speed and said threshold speed.

[David Harvey]

A quick search I found these. I haven't read them so I don't know if they apply or not....



United States Patent 6,858,815
Costin February 22, 2005
Denim designs from laser scribing


and then this one....

United States Patent 6,777,643
Bowker , et al. August 17, 2004
Apparatus and method for laser etching wear patterns into denim pants



....and this one....


United States Patent 6,753,501
Costin, Sr. , et al. June 22, 2004
Processing of textile materials using laser beams and material sized in larger widths

...This one looks interesting
US 6,685,868 in that it describes a way to 'transfer' images to denim without carbonization, burn thru etc. using a laser.



There appears to be a 'lot' of patents concerning lasers and fabrics....

[Gordon Kircher]

Dee,
Really Cool! Thank you for sharing.

G

[Scott A Whitehouse]

Thanks for sharing Dee. You always have inspiring ideas.

[Ron Hartl]

Very nice Dee, you are amazing!

[Adam Orton]

an awesome idea!!

[Randy Digby]

I recall hearing that the patent regarding laser marking of denim was owned by one of the principals of TroTec and that his intention was to not restrict it's use, thus promoting laser use and sales.

I know, no real facts in my statement but if I don't see the actual documents or hear it from the horse's mouth, I try not to quote it as fact.

Denim is fun to engrave. I did a couple of patches and a little purse for my granddaughter.

[Mike Chance in Iowa]

Some other tips when experimenting with denim:

Keep your dpi in the lower range around 200. The higher the dpi, the higher the chance of the denim shredding when it is put in the washing machine and dryer.

Wash new denim several times before lasering. If you wash it after engraving, the dye released in the wash will darken your engraving.