Hello from Norfolk!

[alpacachris]

Hi all, this is my first post and just quickie to introduce myself. I am Alpaca Chris, yes, Alpaca.... I have alpacas and I also process their fibre into yarn and felt. I use a 1290 to cut felt and engrave anything alpaca onto anything. I am currently looking into photo engraving. Any suggestions on the best software for the job?
Chris

[Daven]

Hi Chris,
Welcome

Sounds interesting - does Alpaca felt smell as bad as pure wool felt when you cut it?

I use IrfanView mainly for photos as its free.

Best

Dave

[alpacachris]

Hi Dave,
Alpaca felt does smell as you would expect, but it doesn't contain any lanolin so is easier to process. It also is much finer than sheep wool so it gives a better finish. The smell dissipates after a few days, especially if you buff the edges gently to remove the scorched bits.
The beauty is that the laser melts the edge and seals it as it cuts which prevents fraying and fibre loss.

I'll take a look at Irfanview.

Thanks for the welcome.
Chris

[Spooky]

hiya Chris

1290 is a great bit of kit

best wishes

Dave

[alpacachris]

Hi Spooky,
I agree, the 1290 is great. I got ours second hand over a year ago, but we have only recently had the time to get it set up. We did need a new set of optics and the software needed tweaking as I am running it on windows 8, but Andy (HPC engineer) did a fantastic job and taught me loads.

I needed a large bed for the sheet sizes that we produce.

Thanks for the welcome.