I think notebook cover is good, especially over a stiff cover. Alone I’d worry more about the edges curling than tearing. Maybe if you folded over the edge and stitched it you would have a good soft-cover. I’d say, cut out an intricate shape and glue it to the front of a notebook, but when I used barge contact cement on my luggage tags the back side soaked up even the second coat quite a bit and I’m not trusting how well they’ll hold together.
I don’t know if a wallet would tear so much as just wear out quickly.
My tenant’s boyfriend does some leather work and he was at a show where people kept walking by with engraved leather patches on hats. He couldn’t figure out what was happening until I showed him this stuff. He was not sure if the patches were pre-made and sewn on before the show, or custom engraved and sewn on at the show.
@johnwills what do you think about engrave, cut and sew? Cheap canvas tote bags with an engraved patch sewn to the front?
That is similar to the idea I had in mind when I bought the sheets. Six months ago, I engraved my business logo onto veg tanned real leather, dyed it, sealed it, and then sewed it onto some pullover sweaters for a trade show. They didn’t look as good when they came out of the wash. I was hope this could be machine sewn onto shirts. I haven’t tried it yet (or, to be accurate, I haven’t asked my wife to try it yet). I think it will work well.
There are some posts about this in the Beyond the Manual section. I have found that the settings for the keychains and journals are a bit different than the flat pieces. You will probably have to experiment a little depending on which product you are using.
Just got my glowforge going today. I bought it just to laser the faux for a product I sell. Just not sure where to start with the settings. What speed and power would you suggest starting with.
Thanks
@clintc01, we’re not allowed to discuss settings information in any section other than Beyond the Manual (for legal reasons). A quick search in that section will get you what you are looking for in starter settings.
Having said that…some faux leather can be dangerous to laser depending on what it’s made of, so be sure to research the specific material you are planning to cut to make sure it’s not a vinyl that contains chloride.
Hello . I would like to try making lugged tags for my daughters send off party … I can only use either faux leather or vegan leather …
I’m not good with adobe illustrator… I have download a tag and text from Etsy … I just don’t know about the settings to cut on material other then GF proofgrade material . I’m trying to make this “ see attached “ any help would be greatly appreciated
Settings for non-proofgrade materials can only be discussed in the Beyond the Manual forum. Fortunately, there are many existing threads on working with leather, including JP faux leather.
Here is a link to settings for the Johnson Plastics Saddle Collection faux leather.
Here is a link to the Saddle Collection at Johnson Plastics. If you don’t have an outlet near you the shipping can be pricey. Another warning is that this material is very floppy, very stretchy and not at all like the stiff, animal leather you show in your picture. I made two tags from it and while they feel like they will tear off at the sight of the first luggage handler they see, they have made it through two six leg trips to Europe, a four leg trip to south America and a couple of domestic trips.
OMG! The first time I found them they just had four colors of faux leather. Now they have everything (except luggage tags). I guess it sells well.
Hi . I purchased a tag and a saying from Etsy .
I don’t know how to design a shape or even write text in adobe illustrator… this is what I’m trying to achieve… see attached … but the tag is a simple tag not one that wraps around I will add ribbon …
Text is pretty easy. Open your tag file, select your text tool and type in your text. Select your font and size and you are halfway there. For fonts where each letter is separate from the next letter you just have to convert your letters. Here is an example of separate letters:
For letters that intersect, usually script fonts, you have to first convert and then union. An example of touching letters:
I don’t use AI, but here are the steps in Inkscape. They should be similar in AI.
First I selected the text.
Then I went to Path → Object to Path.
To verify it worked I selected just the letter with the node tool and it showed up as a bunch of nodes with black fill.
For the script font do the above. Once it is converted to paths you’ll see that the letters overlap. When two objects overlap you are telling the glowforge “Don’t laser here!”. The red arrow below is pointing to where the r and the last a overlap. This is a poor quality example, but it’s what I have.
Here is an AI tutorial I found in the Glowforge Tips and Tricks section. It shows you how to convert separated text for engraving.
I know you have a file from Etsy, but I had to make one for this example so I may as well post it here. Note that you should be able to easily resize the hole for the ribbon or for the tags themselves. I made the ribbon holes black so they cut first; it’s my design practice. Right-click to download.
OMG! The first time I found them they just had four colors of faux leather. Now they have everything (except luggage tags). I guess it sells well.
