Laser Fading of Denim Garments

Edited By
Mitu Gharami
Lecturer
Department of Textile Engineering
BGMEA University of Fashion and Technology
Introduction

• Laser fading (Marking) is a popular dry process for denim

now a days.
• It has been used extensively as the replacement of some
conventional dry processes which are potentially harmful
and disadvantageous in some manner.
• Apart from this, Laser systems are used in fashion design,
pleating, cutting and modification of fabric surface to
impart some special finish.
• Laser fading works with better precision but also have
some drawbacks.
Laser
• A laser system generates monochromatic, coherent photons in
a low-divergent beam.
• As monochromatic, the light is of a single color. As coherent,
all the emissions originate from a stable oscillator with a
uniform constant frequency and have the same wavelength.

Laser action can be compared with the focusing of sunlight through magnifying glass

Focused sunlight forms a high-density beam of around 7.5W over

an area of say 1-2mm in diameter. Lasers typically used in fabric cutting have
a focus area of 0.1mm in diameter and energy of 75W. The area is 100 times
less and the energy higher by a factor of 10 making laser processing 1000
times more energetic than sunlight.
History of Laser
• The first demonstration of a laser took place in a research
laboratory in California in May, 1960.
• Systems began to be manufactured commercially during the
late 1960s.
• The CO2 laser, commonly used in industry today for the
processing of textiles, was developed in 1964 at Bell
laboratories, New Jersey and first commercialized Coherent
inc. two years later.
• Adopted first by the automotive industry, laser fabricated
products came into wide use during the 1980s.
Laser Systems
 Basic Mechanism of Laser

METHOD FOR MARKING AND FADING TEXTILES WITH LASERS, United States Patent (No# 5,567,207), 1996, p-1
The laser system contains
• A system for delivering the beam
• The work bed on which the materials to be processed are placed
• Fume extraction systems
• A housing which encloses the system.

Laser Engraving Machine for Lens of laser Engraving Machine

garments for garments
Work Beds for textile processing
Honeycomb
Structure

Work Beds

Metal Slats (Containing Metal rods ( Containing

tiny holes) tiny holes)

The reason for this is that fume extraction often takes place from below the
work piece and the spaces or holes enable the gases to circulate and for
processing debris to be sucked away from the work area.
This also allows the fabric to be held through suction onto the work area
during processing.
Mechanism of fading
• Within the focused region, the
material is subject to very
intensive heating within a very
small region.
• Laser energy is absorbed as heat
and the material rapidly heats
leading to melting as a phase
change from solid to liquid takes
place. Some of the molten liquid
tries to move, driven by surface
tension of the liquid. The
remaining liquid heats very
rapidly, boiling and releasing
vapors another phase change
takes place from liquid to gas.
Use of Laser on Textiles

• Laser marking: Only the surface of the fabric is processed.

• Laser engraving: Controlled cutting to a depth.
• Laser welding: A molten material joins or welds two or more
layers of fabric together.
• Laser cutting: Cutting through a fabric.
 Parameters of Laser Intensity

Power Density (W/cm2)

Resolution (dpi)

Pixel Time (µs)

Technical study of the effect of CO2 laser surface engraving on the colour properties of denim fabric, C W Kan, C W M Yuen and C W Cheng,
2010
Laser fading procedure on Denim
• Creation of a design
pattern and development
of the pattern from
captured photo by using
graphics editing software
for the laser engraving

• Conversion of the pattern

into gray scale; .bmp
format (Bitmap image
format).
Laser fading procedure on Denim
• Inputting the design file into
the laser system

• Setting the parameters for

pixel time and resolution
Laser fading procedure on Denim

• Placing the garments on a

honeycomb cutting table, location
identification of the laser engraving
area and conducting laser
engraving onto the garments.

Samples developed at the laser section of Al-Muslim group

Comparison of Laser and Manual
fading of Denim

Manual fading
Laser fading

Samples developed at the laser section of Al-Muslim group

Comparison of Laser and Manual
destroying of Denim

Manually destroyed area

Laser destroyed area
 Enlarged view of Laser and
manual faded denim

Magnified (230%) view of laser Magnified (230%) view of manually

engraved surface of non-stretch denim brushed surface of non-stretch denim
Samples developed at the laser section of Al-Muslim group

Tools Used: Digital camera (Canon PowerShot A470) for taking picture, Picasa photo viewer and Snagit software for enlarging
SEM analysis of treated and
untreated Denim

Laser treated denim fabric surface Laser treated denim fabric surface
(100X , 35 dpi, 120µs) (100X , 75 dpi, 150µs)
Advantages of Laser Fading
ADVANTAGES
• Any design at any place
• Faster process
• High accuracy
• Suitable for wide range of material
• Comparatively less strength loss
• Low hairiness
• Environment friendly
• Zero water waste
• Requires no chemical
• Less manpower required
Disadvantages of laser fading
DISADVANTAGES
• Initial investment is very high
• Skilled operator is needed, which might be a disadvantage in
some particular circumstances
• Producing natural effect might be difficult
• The laser beam itself and the produced fumes are health
hazardous
• Maintenance and servicing of the laser system may be
troublesome in some circumstances
Some general aspects of Laser
and manual fading
• Effect quality is comparatively finer in Manual system
• Hand feel is comparatively finer in Manual system
• Hairiness is comparatively less in Laser system
• Production cost is higher in Laser system
• Working space required is less in Laser system
• Design consistency is high in Laser system
• Tearing strength is higher in Laser faded denim (May differ in
case of stretch denim)
• Rejection rate is 0% in Laser system whereas around 5% in
Manual system
• Manpower required - Laser: Manual= 1:3 (Approximately)
• Power Required- Higher in Laser system (approximately 7.5
Kilowatt hour)
Laser Safety
• A beam would be harmful if it came into contact with skin or eyes.
• Laser systems are controlled by international safety regulations (IEC
60825-1).
• These define categories of lasers according to their power. Lasers that
output more than 500mW are defined as class IV and safety regulations
ensure that users are prevented from directly coming into contact with a
beam by enclosing the laser and the work piece in cabinets controlled by
interlocks, which prevent the laser from being operated when the cabinet
is open.
• Fumes that are generated during processing may also be hazardous.
• Laser systems are fitted with extraction systems that remove processing
gases from cabinets.
• Particles are filtered out before the cleaned air is allowed to pass into the
environment.
• A suitable extraction system is a legal requirement.
Popular Laser Engraving
Manufacturers and Suppliers
Jeanologia Ronda Guglielmo Marconi, 12,
www.jeanologia.com 46980 Paterna, Valencia, Spain

Synrad Inc. 4600 Campus Place

www.synrad.com Mukilteo, WA 98275,USA

Rofin ROFIN-SINAR Laser GmbH

www.rofin.com Berzeliusstr. 87
22113 Hamburg, Germany
Coherent inc. 5100 Patrick Henry Drive, Santa
www.coherent.com Clara, CA 95054 USA

Universal Laser Systems inc. 7845 East Paradise Lane

www.ulsinc.com Scottsdale, AZ 85260, USA
Cad-Cam Technology Ltd. CadCam Technology Ltd
www.cct-uk.com 5 Crocus Street
Nottingham NG2 3DE, UK
Specification of Jeanologia
Marcatex
Conclusion
• Despite of having some limitations, Laser technology is being
extensively used as a replacement of some old denim
technology.
• Though high initial investment is a limitation, but the higher
productivity and higher degree of design accuracy can
compensate the problem in long run.
• Now a days we use CO2 laser for denim processing.
Researches are being done on UV laser and in near future UV
lasers will be in great use.
• In Bangladesh many factories are using laser technology as a
replacement of sand blasting, manual hand sanding etc. where
the sands are hazardous for body skin.
Thank You
for your
patience