I have been working on a project using clear inkjet transparency film. I print my design with the inkjet printer, then cut the design out. To date, I have been cutting templates out of acrylic and using them to cut the designs with x-acto knives.
The film is made of PET, and has a “coating”, but I don’t know what the coating is made of. I have really looked through the forum and have seen tons of posts about PETG, but not much about PET.
Is PET laserable? Has anyone used this type product?
I can continue to do things the way I’ve been doing them, but, even with the learning curve of figuring out the right settings for the material, using the Glowforge could speed up my process a ton. Any help or advice would be appreciated.
So it’s PET, but may be coated with something to help the ink adhere. Google the product with “SDS” and that may help you figure out what the coating is made out of. It’s the safety information sheet. If you can’t find it with a quick search, reach out to the manufacturer and ask for it.
It’s so fun to branch out to new things and let them impact your creative process. Let us know what you find out!
Also, there are some people on here who are good help with deciphering the SDS in terms of what is/is not safe to cut. I have a basic idea, but never got far enough in chemistry (not that I remember much of what I learned in chemistry anway) to be able to do a deep dive.
But actually, there are many chlorinated compounds that can burn with corrosive byproducts, PVC is not the only one. The thing to look for in an MSDS or SDS is in the combustion products section, and if it says HCl or hydrogen chloride is a combustion product, keep it out of your Glowforge.
is PVC ( polyvinylchloride) which releases toxic and corrosive chlorine gas when burned.