Question- The marked graphic is not sharp; lines are thicker than in the picture. What could be wrong?

Answer- A common reason for this problem is that your laser is out of focus. When your laser is focus, the narrowest waist of the laser beam is the part of the beam which hits the substrate. When you are out of focus, a wider part of the beam is hitting the substrate. Despite being somewhat out of focus it is still possible to create a bonded mark. However, the excess beam width will reduce the resolution you can achieve. In order to fix this problem, re-focus your laser. Once you bring the laser into focus you may need to reduce your laser power setting.

Question- Can you screen-print the LMM-6000 or LMM-14?

Answer- NO! This is not recommended.

Question- The laser marking materials look great after laser marking them, but when I go to rinse them off they wipe clean. What am I doing wrong?

Answer- Usually this means you are not allowing the laser enough time to bond the materials to the substrate. You can adjust by lowering the marking speed (expressed in %, in/sec, or cm/sec). We recommend this be done in 5% increments. A power grid on a sample piece may help to visualize the settings better.

Question- I get inconsistent marks after marking. Different parts of the graphics have different contrast and quality.

Answer- This may happen when the coating of CerMark materials is not homogeneous along the surface being marked. This usually occurs when airbrushing or foam brushing our liquid products. Care must be taken to master a technique which works for you so you can evenly apply the ink along the whole target surface every time. 

Question- While laser marking my substrate I notice the laser marking materials are peeling back like a sticker. What is going wrong?

Answer- If the materials are peeling back, one of two things is occurring:

There may be a coating of some sort preventing the CerMark laser marking materials from bonding to the substrate. We usually see this with lacquer coated metals (these coatings are common on aluminum, brass, and pewter). If you are not sure whether or not your substrate has a lacquer coating, you can test by direct laser marking (to remove the coating), applying CerMark materials, and then re-laser marking on the same spot. If the materials bond, then you know a coating was causing your problem.

If you know your piece is not lacquer coated, the problem may be stemming from residue left behind by a cleaning agent such as an over the counter glass cleaner. Simply wash the substrate with warm water to remove any cleaning agent residue. Note: When marking with the TherMark LMC products on ceramic substrates, you should never use cleaning agents to wash or clean debris and oils off the substrate. Matte finished ceramics will hold the agents in the porous surfaces and will give you great difficulty when marking.

Speed. Peeling may occur when the correct amount of laser energy has been applied to the substrate but with too high a speed setting. The materials are bonding to themselves but have not had enough time to bond to the substrate. To fix this problem, slow down the laser marking speed until you achieve the Correct Settings.