Natural Suede
Your supply only. We don’t hold stock of any natural Suede material. The fabrics gallery is to give an indication of how the laser reacts to different textiles. We recommend having your fabric sent straight to us from your supplier once a quotation is confirmed.
Thickness: Any thickness
Sheet sizes: Any size up to 3000×1500mm
See more on our laser cutting and engraving service for fashion and textile designers»
Material properties
Suede is a type of leather with a raised (fuzzy) surface finish. Similar characteristics as standard leather.
Laser cutting with protective backing
Each suede type will react differently to the laser. As a natural material, Suede tends to cut with burn marks. Where possible, we try to use protective backing or protective mask on the top and reverse faces to keep burn marks on the to a minimum. You will need to peel the protective backing off once you have received your job.
Laser cutting without protective backing
Please bare in mind that on some suede materials the protective backing can cause the top surface of the to rip slightly when peeled away. We will need to test a small area to determine if backig is suitable. If this is the case we won’t be able to use it. We will cut with a high pressure of compressed air to try and keep these marks as minimal as possible. The reverse side will also become marked from contact with the laser bed, particularly on honeycomb.
Thicker more coarse suede requires more power to cut through than thinner more flexible leathers resulting in stronger surface marks.
Cut edge
The laser cut edge will be a darker tone to the suede surface.
Cut widths & Kerf
The average cutting kerf (how much the laser takes away) for leather ranges from +/- 0.2mm depending on thickness. As a benchmark, we recommend that minimum cut widths be no smaller than the corresponding thickness of the material. For example, if cutting from 2mm leather, it’s best not to allow any widths less than 2mm. We can go smaller (see cut width image above) but this can make your pieces very fragile which might not be suitable for your application. See more on cut widths and Kerf (how much the laser takes away.)
Laser engraving
We have established an optimised laser setting as a benchmark for suede. The engraving is a surface marking and cosmetic in appearance. The results achieved differ depending on the type of suede you supply. If it is a natural suede, the engraving will usually appear darker / slightly burnt in appearance than the suede colour. If the leather is synthetic the engraving can be less contrasted.
Minor variation in engraved finish
As a natural material some suede can shrink or wrap slightly during the engraving process caused by the heat of the laser which can sometimes affect the clarity of the engraving.
Please be aware, a slight variation in the tone of the engraved finish can occur even on a different area of the same piece of suede. Minor variation in tone, density and non-uniform flatness of leather all have an impact on the engraving tone which we have little control over. Minor variation in tone can sometimes also be effected by power distribution if you have lots of pieces of artwork to engrave that vary in size.
