I need a good cheap laser printer for PCB's

[caxxxxxx]

This is the best looking deal for $80 + tax, anyone know of any cheaper?

Brother HL-2140

[dangus]

Freecycle! I got a Canon LBP-430 for free; it uses the same Canon engine as the HP 4L. A replacement toner cart might be about $80, or much less if you can find a discount source (toner carts appear to last a long time if in the original sealed package). I already had a dying LBP-430 with a near-new toner cart (kindly paid for by my employer since none of the office printers would handle the special label stock). Possible drawbacks... these were only 300 dpi printers, and need a real printer port. But, there's USB to printer adapters, and those old printers were well-made.

It's likely that an $80 printer only comes with a "starter" toner cartridge, so you may be looking at spending nearly as much for a real toner cart before too long.

[caxxxxxx]

I actually just bought that Brother printer yesterday. Hopefully it will last long enough to print out a few circuitboards since that's mainly what I will use it for. It doesn't seem to like the thicker photo paper I used, it's jammed up twice on me now. Did I get the right paper?

Canon Phopto Paper Plus Glossy II Link

[theAnonymous1]

Have you tried to transfer an image yet?

There has always been rumors that the Brother laser printers don't work well for toner transfer due to the type of toner they use.

I bought my Samsung ML-2525W wireless printer a few weeks ago for $99 with free shipping. It's a great printer, my transfers turn out absolutely perfect. You can pic up the wired version (ML-2525) for around $70.

Also, glossy presentation or brochure paper works much better than that thick photo paper.

[Spiny]

Originally Posted by caxxxxxx

I actually just bought that Brother printer yesterday. Hopefully it will last long enough to print out a few circuitboards since that's mainly what I will use it for. It doesn't seem to like the thicker photo paper I used, it's jammed up twice on me now. Did I get the right paper?

Canon Phopto Paper Plus Glossy II Link

I think that's an Inkjet photo paper if so it will jam when exposed to the heat in a fuser. these types of paper have a special ink receptive surface.

I use a toner transfer paper in my konica reliable but relativly expensive. Try to get a laser compatable gloss paper like this:-
HP Gloss laser paper

[caxxxxxx]

Originally Posted by theAnonymous1

Have you tried to transfer an image yet?

There has always been rumors that the Brother laser printers don't work well for toner transfer due to the type of toner they use.

I bought my Samsung ML-2525W wireless printer a few weeks ago for $99 with free shipping. It's a great printer, my transfers turn out absolutely perfect. You can pic up the wired version (ML-2525) for around $70.

Also, glossy presentation or brochure paper works much better than that thick photo paper.

Yes, I have already created a circuit board, the ink seemed to do fine wherever the paper would stick. Unfortunately it is so thick that I couldn't manage to get it to stick everywhere. Worked good enough for my first ever circuitboard, though.

Where did you get your printer?

Originally Posted by Spiny

I think that's an Inkjet photo paper if so it will jam when exposed to the heat in a fuser. these types of paper have a special ink receptive surface.

I use a toner transfer paper in my konica reliable but relativly expensive. Try to get a laser compatable gloss paper like this:-
HP Gloss laser paper

Thanks for the info, I'll try to find it. Oh, and the rollers were jamming up the paper wouldn't even make it to the toner cartridge it is so thick.

[theAnonymous1]

Originally Posted by caxxxxxx

Where did you get your printer?

It was on sale at tigerdirect. The ML-2525 sells on ebay for around $72 with free shipping.

Would you like to try some glossy presentation paper? It's super thin, so if it jams your printer there's something else wrong.

I have ~300 sheets of this stuff and will never use it all. PM me your address and I'll send you some.

[dunndatt]

Something for the long term record...

I'll confirm that the official Brother toner in my HL-2140 is great for printouts that will be in a hot car or attic...

...but SUCKS for toner transfer etching. It seems that once the toner is fused, it will not become sticky again under an iron at any heat for any length of time. Once again, great for office work, but not for PCB's.

I bought it this weekend from newegg for just under $85 shipped with an extra USB cable.

Of all the things I excessively researched, toner was not one of them... and it bit me hard. :-(

The printer does work nicely with debian/lenny, but not all of the advanced features are there from windoze. That doesn't bother me much.

The printer does seem to print out 10mil traces cleanly. I hope to not have a project ever that excessive.

Google searches seem to indicate cheap refill kits will fix the toner transfer problem. uni-kit.com has one I may try for $15. I emailed them but got the standard "we don't know" answer back. They seem to be higher quality, so I may look for an even "cheaper" refill kit.

My old Minolta toner acts like glue when just partially heated. I'd use that laser printer, but the drum is going out and has bad snow and ghosting problems (it was cheaper to buy a new printer than try and fix this one). I've considered trying to swap toners between the printers, but I've heard that can be dangerous. I got the Minolta used a long time ago. Considering the drum wear, it has probably been refilled a few times. I just don't know the brand or the specs.

Back to my googling...

[aardvarkash10]

dang. You can get a shutload of high density printing done at a print agency for $85...

[dunndatt]

Originally Posted by aardvarkash10

dang. You can get a shutload of high density printing done at a print agency for $85...

There is some truth to that, but here it costs $0.40-0.50USD per page at the print shops. There's also no guarantee they'll use the correct toner and paper that will be PCB etching compatible. Over the life of a cheap laser printer, the cost per page on standard paper is about $0.02-0.05USD depending on how it's used.

As a dying cripple, I'd also have to make my way out and back to the print shop multiple times at sometimes very odd hours of the day/night. Since I'm developing my own PCB's, that could mean multiple back to back trips if I screw up or do a board revision update. The stuff I'm making I only do small runs, so by the time I have a finished and tested design, I don't need to make any more.

So, this is the best option for me. I was really hoping to make my old laser printer work, but life sucks sometimes... and then it sucks again on top of that. There's also an old DeskJet in the other room that will be "recycled" once its ink cartridge goes. Two HP ink cartridges equals the price of this printer... and no more rabid ink streaking problems to deal with.

I just ordered an "ebay special" toner refill bottle at the $10 level. The seller is pretty big with high ratings, so I don't think I'll get screwed. We'll see how that goes next week.

A side note while on the subject of toner refill: Brother's are notorious for short cycling and being a royal pain when it comes to toner. It seems toner is the cash cow as razor blade sales are to the shaving companies. For those suffering "Sudden Tourette Syndrome" with their laser printer, here are 3 tips to search for to prevent the problem. These will help you get what you originally paid for (for all you capitalists) and help save the environment (for all you hippies out there).

1) Cover the clear plastic windows on the side of the toner cartridge (or the corresponding sensors in the cartridge bay) with pitch black electrical tape. This will prevent the notorious false alarm (or even cartridge kill) when 60% toner is left. It also helps to take the toner cartridge out and give it a gentle level side to side shake (as per the manual) to even out the toner.

2) The "flag gear" on black and color toner cartridges will advance as a counter even if toner from that particular cartridge isn't used. This often leads to color cartridges being declared empty when they're hardly used and still 90% full. A good refill PDF document from one of the refill seller sites will explain the details and how to properly reset this. Proper is a key word as the gear also seems to affect the toner charge voltage.

3) The more advanced printers keep a page count in their little brains. If the first 2 options don't work, there's a maintenance menu to reset the various counters. Getting to the menu varies by model, so do a search for it.

* Now the warning: Doing these can mess with the printer warning functions. This isn't a big deal IF you pay attention to printer output quality. When the output starts going wrong in some way, it's time to replace the relevant cartridge. Do NOT let the cartridge(s) go empty. There are some reports that it could damage the rollers and drum. The way Brother does toner in its low end printers, it is recycled into the main hopper instead of going to a "used/dump hopper". Recycled toner only works for so long before it starts failing. In these cartridges, there WILL be some left over that's junk.

Hopefully these tips will help someone. Now I'm in wait mode for replacement toner.