Page 179 - Industrial Cutting of Textile Materials

166 Industrial Cutting of Textile Materials

and leather labels. During the last years, laser labelling is successfully replacing traditional
but more time- and resource-demanding labelling methods – printing and embroidering.

10.6.3.4 Vector and raster mode in laser engraving/marking
Using vector mode, the laser beam at a fixed power level follows a continuous line
drawn in an image from the beginning of the line to its end. The laser treatment in the
vector mode is limited in reproducing shades and different effects of images. However,
different shades within the same image can be created by changing the power of the
laser and the number of laser beam passes. The laser treatment in the vector mode by
galvo laser systems is preferable in performing different texts, such as bar coding,
serialization, and data coding.
Using raster mode, the laser beam moves back and forth across the material in the
area of the image being engraved in parallel lines. The laser burns each pixel (point)
on the line with the preprogrammed different power to get different effects on the ma-
terial surface (different colour shades, deeper or lighter material surface damages, and
others). The laser treatment in the raster mode by gantry laser systems is preferable
creating complicated images, logos, and photos.

10.7 Denim laser finishing (denim laser marking,
fading, laser wash, discolouration)

Many techniques, such as sandblasting, stone washing, whickering, damaging/de-
stroying, and bleaching, are used for denim finishing to give a certain and unique
look (a vintage effect) to the jeans. Most part of them are very much time-, work-,
and recourse-consuming and harmful to environment and workers performing them.
To avoid these serious disadvantages, denim companies are developing new denim
finishing methods. Laser finishing is one of them. Using it, all desirable effects on the
denim surface are created by help of a laser beam (see Fig. 10.11).
11
The companies manufacturing laser equipment for denim finishing are Macsa ID
15
12
14
13
(Spain), Iberlaser (Spain), Jeanologia (Spain), SEI Laser (Italy), Golden Laser
10
16
(China), GBOS (China), ANT LASER systems (China), and others.
10.7.1 Process methodology
Laser marking equipment has its own database of different finishing effects. They can
be used unchanged or modified – creating new designs and combining them with the

11 https://www.macsalaser.com
12 https://www.iber-laser.com
13 https://www.jeanologia.com
14 https://www.seilaser.com
15 https://www.goldenlaser.cc
16 https://www.antlaser.com