Glossy Printer Paper

[Clark Pace]

Hi. I was wondering if anyone here has laser cut glossy printer paper? I don't think it's PVC based. It fell more like polyester or maybe myler. Any ideas??

[David Somers]

Evening Clark!

I am afraid I have no experience with that type of paper on lasers, but for giggles I did some searches on some common brands of glossy papers to see if there were MSDS sheets on them. There weren't. Manufacturers did not list any MSDS data either. Then I went to some sites that list and categorize products for environmental fitness or "greenness." They showed many of the coatings used on papers and most of what I saw was silk coated or clay coated or polyethylene or polypropylene or other forms of organic coatings. I didn't see any papers listing a PCV based coating.

That certainly isn't a very definitive answer, but at least it is a start till someone in the know can get back to us.

Dave

[Michael Hunter]

I guess that you are talking about the type of "paper" that is really a plastic film with an ink-receptive coating on one side?
Test by tearing - if it tears then it is resin coated paper and the amount of plastics/resin is so small that it is not worth worrying about what type it is.

If it is truly plastic film, then -

There is a "plastics identification chart" on-line (sorry - can't remember where I downloaded it from) which helps tell the different ones apart by the way they burn.

The other way to confirm is the hot wire test :

Heat a piece of copper wire in a gas flame until any colouration of the flame is gone.
Let the wire cool a bit, and then press it into the suspect plastic (so a bit of the plastic sticks to the wire).
Put the wire back into the flame - if the flame turns green then there is chlorine present (usually from PVC, though there are a few other chlorinated plastics).

[Martin Boekers]

Try contacting the manufacturer, I cut Rowmark Mates for a lot of things, it's dye sub though and a bit more expensive....

[Mary Geitz]

I have and just like any paper, you may get some burn marks. The advantage to using glossy paper is that it's actually easier to wipe it off. Magic Eraser works well for wiping residue on the paper. Good luck!

[Clark Pace]

I have and just like any paper, you may get some burn marks. The advantage to using glossy paper is that it's actually easier to wipe it off. Magic Eraser works well for wiping residue on the paper. Good luck!

I found this MSDS. It says polyvinyl alcohol. Not sure if it's in the paper, or a part of the prep to make the paper.

http://www.usa.canon.com/cpr/pdf/MSDS/PF1011_0101.pdf

[Michael Hunter]

PVA is the resin as in "resin coated paper".
No chlorine in it so it is OK.

[Clark Pace]

PVA is the resin as in "resin coated paper".
No chlorine in it so it is OK.

I want to print my design. Spray adhesive the design to the acrylic and then cut out the shape. I'll post some pictures when I get this done. I thought it would be a neat way to add a service to my little business.