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Liesl Dexheimer
05-19-2010, 4:18 PM
Created a pattern for a tshirt & tried laser engraving it. This is actually the second attempt. The first shirt I engraved had too much power and ended up creating holes in parts of the shirt, whoops, lol!

This one came out better although I still wish there was more contrast, of course the picture doesn't really do much justice either.

Chris DeGerolamo
05-19-2010, 4:33 PM
what were your settings? are you going to do any others, possibly on a shirt that is darker for better contrast?

Liesl Dexheimer
05-19-2010, 4:52 PM
I used 100 speed, 25 power on a 35 watt @ 600 dpi. The first one I engraved it was 100 speed, 60 power but the shirt was a lighter pink so when I engraved it, it came out a yellowish color. I actually engraved a red cloth napkin awhile ago that came out much better. I've also bought some paint for tshirts and I might cutout some sort of pattern and then paint it on.

Dee Gallo
05-19-2010, 6:19 PM
I like the subtle effect, it's not in your face like so many T designs. I wonder how it holds up to washing, if it will disintegrate or what.

Nice to see something new today, thanks!

cheers, dee

Tim Bateson
05-19-2010, 6:31 PM
Using 600dpi may be a bit dense. That's more dense then the fabric. You may want to try 150-300dpi @ 50 power.

Thanks for showing us something new & creative.

Liesl Dexheimer
05-19-2010, 7:05 PM
Yeah, I was actually wondering if I should have engraved it @ a lower dpi. Maybe I'll try part of it on a scrap piece of fabric.

Adam Orton
05-19-2010, 8:02 PM
If the wine is so poor you won't drink it why would you cook with it?? Along the sames lines, I had a tshirt that had been washed 1000 times then put to use as a rag needless to say it was wimpy, anyway after lasering a nice celtic design I pulled the tshirt out all 50 pieces of it. A lesson.

Larry Bratton
05-19-2010, 9:22 PM
Liesl, what kind of fabric is that? It looks like polyester or something man made. Cotton might work better? Denim, does well and I am pretty sure it is 100% cotton.

Liesl Dexheimer
05-19-2010, 9:26 PM
It is 100% cotton. The other shirt I engraved was also 100% cotton but a different brand and lighter shade of pink. Both shirts I bought brand new as well.

Larry Bratton
05-20-2010, 8:55 AM
It is 100% cotton. The other shirt I engraved was also 100% cotton but a different brand and lighter shade of pink. Both shirts I bought brand new as well.
Oh well..guess it was a thought. Nice looking cotton then.

Joe Peacock
05-26-2010, 12:09 AM
Anybody got any advice on how to hold a T Shirt in position so that you can focus on it and laser you art in the exact right place. I have a 12" x 16" Universal VLS230. Say I want to laser a name over the right upper chest. What do I put the T Shirt on to keep it flat so that I can focus on it and maneuver it around and how do I determine where the lettering is actually going to go?
Thanks for any advice you might can give me.
Joe

Andrea Weissenseel
05-26-2010, 2:52 AM
Use a board like the ones embroiderers use. That way the fabric stays flat and makes it easy to position - just google for "hoopmaster"

Andrea

Dan Hintz
05-26-2010, 6:12 AM
Boulders... biiiig, heavy boulders. It's how the ancient Sumerians did it, and ancient civilizations are never wrong. :)

Frank Corker
05-26-2010, 7:06 AM
I have to be honest and ask. Why? If it is to see just how delicate we can engrave, then that's understandable, but other than that... nope, I don't get it. There again, a lot of us have engraved biscuits so maybe I should just hush up.

Liesl Dexheimer
05-26-2010, 7:28 PM
Yeah it's not like I would engrave on tshirts all the time, or cloth for that matter. Just thought I would give it a try to see what it looks like.

Belinda Barfield
05-27-2010, 8:44 AM
Anybody got any advice on how to hold a T Shirt in position so that you can focus on it and laser you art in the exact right place. I have a 12" x 16" Universal VLS230. Say I want to laser a name over the right upper chest. What do I put the T Shirt on to keep it flat so that I can focus on it and maneuver it around and how do I determine where the lettering is actually going to go?
Thanks for any advice you might can give me.
Joe

Craft stores like A.C. Moore and Michaels sell cardboard T shirt boards. They fit inside the shirt and are mainly used when working with fabric paints to keep the paint from bleeding through to the back to the T shirt. Because they are designed in the shape of the T shirt they allow for accurate placement.

Bill Cunningham
05-27-2010, 9:05 PM
I have a little 12x12" four legged table that sits about 4" high in the machine, I can pin a garment (usually jean jackets) flat to the surface of the table, then stuff the extra under the table out of the way..

Jani Pedersen
06-05-2010, 11:59 AM
We did some tshirt engraving for fun a while back, had superb results, until we washed the items then voila, the design had gone lol.

Fun for one off wearing or for hanging on a wall to advertise something but no real use when they need to be washed we found. (unless that was because of our laser settings, which I dont recall ! )