I'm prototyping p8tch 2.0. I want these things to be like futuristic ranger badges, except by "futuristic" I mean like "original Star Wars futuristic", or "Syd Mead Alien futuristic", where stuff is actually heavy-duty and shows actual wear. That means incorporating industrial materials, leather, and hand stitching. Plus juxtaposing white plastic and leather, naturally.
Anyhow, here's a piece of Rowmark Reverse LaserMark. It's clear plastic, with a white backing. Mike from Hannah Manufacturing in Augusta, Maine took a design from me and cut away the white substrate using a laser table.
The result is a piece of plastic that's smooth on the front. It's white, except where it's MOSTLY clear (the laser leaves a bit of a rough surface.) The plan is to paint the back, leaving a nice, contrast-y black and white design. You can see the original blank here, and then after I spray-painted the back:
Here's the view from the front after the back has been painted:
In my mind, I had imagined a crisp contrast between pure white and de-e-e-e-p black. However, the laser leaves a rough surface, and so I get a kind of 70% gray showing through to the front, with some striation where the laser had passed back and forth.
I want to explore:
By the way, the URL on this prototype is http://p8t.ch/zesil, which at the moment is configured to redirect to Tikaro Interactive's main page. Using the p8tch system, I can change the redirect target on the fly. You can (ahem!) get your very own p8tch for the low, low price of clicking on this link! Plus money.
Anyhow, here's a piece of Rowmark Reverse LaserMark. It's clear plastic, with a white backing. Mike from Hannah Manufacturing in Augusta, Maine took a design from me and cut away the white substrate using a laser table.
The result is a piece of plastic that's smooth on the front. It's white, except where it's MOSTLY clear (the laser leaves a bit of a rough surface.) The plan is to paint the back, leaving a nice, contrast-y black and white design. You can see the original blank here, and then after I spray-painted the back:
Here's the view from the front after the back has been painted:
In my mind, I had imagined a crisp contrast between pure white and de-e-e-e-p black. However, the laser leaves a rough surface, and so I get a kind of 70% gray showing through to the front, with some striation where the laser had passed back and forth.
I want to explore:
- Maybe a slightly deeper engraving would reduce this? (update: Mike says "no")
- Maybe I need to apply the black paint with a brush, really grinding the paint into the irregular surface?
- Maybe I need to buff the laser-engraved surface before painting?
- Maybe I should explore engraving clear plastic, etching away the WHITE and leaving the black clear?
- Maybe laser engraving isn't really the way I want to go, and I should apply two layers matte vinyl to the back of clear plastic instead (first black, then white)?
By the way, the URL on this prototype is http://p8t.ch/zesil, which at the moment is configured to redirect to Tikaro Interactive's main page. Using the p8tch system, I can change the redirect target on the fly. You can (ahem!) get your very own p8tch for the low, low price of clicking on this link! Plus money.
