Cermark for ceramics

[Jeff Belany]

I have used Cermark LMM-12 for ceramics in the past. Worked great, made a dark gray mark, not as black as I would have liked but acceptable. Last time I ordered I got LMC-6044P which I was led to believe was the newest formula. Had a couple tiles to do yesterday and tried the new can. Used 70s and 50p on my 45W Helix. (same as for the LMM-12) The first tile looked OK, nice black - thought it was OK. Did the second one (both sprayed together) and when I washed it off, only about 1/3 of the image stuck. Sprayed another tile, waited for it to dry and lasered it. This time almost the entire image didn't stick. After a couple more failures I increased the power and lowered the speed and finally got a couple acceptable times. But I still can't explain why the first tile I did came out OK with the lower power.

Any ideas? Anyone been using the LMC-6044P? Does it need lots more power? Any suggestions greatly appreciated.

Jeff in northern Wisconsin

[Jacob Peacock]

According to TherMark's Laser Settings Chart for LMC-6044P, a 45watt laser should 14p 28s. It might be less about power and more about duration of heat on the marking compound Try these settings and see what you get.

http://www.thermark.com/TM_Downloads/Settings/LMC6044P_Laser_Settings.pdf

[Tim Bateson]

I've had that same issue with Cermark LMM-12 for ceramics. Run 1 tile and it looks great, the next, not so much. All where prepared the same, so I'm guessing it's the tiles.

[Dee Gallo]

Obvious question: did you clean the tiles and dry before spraying?

[Bert Kemp]

Question. why are you using cermark on ceramic tiles. How R U doing the tiles.

[Mike Null]

Bert

The Cermark is specifically for glass and porcelain and makes a colored mark.

[Jeff Belany]

Thanks for the input. I should have checked the settings from their website. I just had done so many with the old formula I didn't think it would change that much. Running them that slow will sure take a bite out of a very small profit on these. Not sure if it will be worth it if I have to raise the price. I'll see once I try some more.

Jeff in northern Wisconsin