from being used on all dyed fabrics while also withstanding repeated washing the inventor believed that there must be some spray or surface treatment which could change the characteristics of the material here cotton to allow the scribed graphics to withstand repeated washings a variety of different surface treatments were investigated a specific product called permafresh was found from a chemical company called omnova the permafresh product is a total fabric treatment for stain and wrinkle resistance this treatment is meant to remain bound to the fabric for the life of the fabric and to withstand washing permafresh surprisingly proved to essentially eliminate the post wash characteristic problem when processing laser scribed graphics on many different dyed materials and colors other analogous materials may also be used which will have similar results the permafresh compound is applied and heat cured to alter the surface chemistry of the material in some way element 120 illustrates the fabric pretreatment process where the sprayer 120 sprays the material 125 on to the workpiece 99 prior to laser scribing the heat curing may be a totally separate step along the conveyor or may rely on the heat produced by the laser 105 itself this allows the laser written graphics to appear crisp and clean even after repeated washings this also made it possible and also facilitates the laser writing of the graphics on.