Banned
Joined 2002
Banned
Joined 2002
My exeriences so far...just transfer done, no actual etching yet. No pictures of the result either...my digital camera is "somewhere else"...
I have allways done this the old way with photoresist in the past, but this is time consuming and boring.
I figured out that I should try the "toner transfer method".
I got hold of the paper that was referred to as the best in a danish site some time ago (the one with the PCM1730 DAC designed by Lars Nielsen...)
The first laser-printer I tried was HP LaserJet 1010 and this one does NOT!!! work. It was allmost impossible to get the toner off the photopaper. Some places it became rather OK, and other places no trac at all.
The next printer I tried was an "older" Lexmark E210. This one was perfect. The toner sticked to the board, and the paper slipped away after 3 seconds !!! in water.....JUST PRFECT !!!!
So, there are definitely BIG differences when it come to laser printers when it come to this kind of use.
Think I should try the paper sold in ordinary grocery stores here...meant for printing of pictures in "standard" (6" x 9" ?) small format. This could be just perfect as my free copy of Eagle can't print out bigger formats anyway...
Lyra
I have allways done this the old way with photoresist in the past, but this is time consuming and boring.
I figured out that I should try the "toner transfer method".
I got hold of the paper that was referred to as the best in a danish site some time ago (the one with the PCM1730 DAC designed by Lars Nielsen...)
The first laser-printer I tried was HP LaserJet 1010 and this one does NOT!!! work. It was allmost impossible to get the toner off the photopaper. Some places it became rather OK, and other places no trac at all.
The next printer I tried was an "older" Lexmark E210. This one was perfect. The toner sticked to the board, and the paper slipped away after 3 seconds !!! in water.....JUST PRFECT !!!!
So, there are definitely BIG differences when it come to laser printers when it come to this kind of use.
Think I should try the paper sold in ordinary grocery stores here...meant for printing of pictures in "standard" (6" x 9" ?) small format. This could be just perfect as my free copy of Eagle can't print out bigger formats anyway...
Lyra
Performance can vary a lot depending on toner cassette. Its more about getting right toner casette than right printer.
For example I have stone-age Canon LBP-8III and something like 5 toner cassettes. 4 of them prints out just like most lasers do, but one refilled&recycled puts out denser black than orginals.
If you want to get REAL black and real sharp masks, try some local newspaper or printhouse that has offset printing equipment.
They should have special negative film used in offset printing. I just send board files for them in PDF or PS and pick them up later. Beats any laser printout by a factor of 5.
which model?
i have hp1020 laser printer.i have successfully used the prints from the printer for toner transfer as well as photographic method(wherein the print out is taken on transparency).
set dpi to 600 to get densest possible print outs from 1020.if u want denser prints go for model next to hp1020 that"ll supports upto 1200 dpi.
I'm probably a relic but i've had better results with an ancient HP flatbed plotter using etch resistant ink in the plotter pens.
My doc girlfriend gave it to me as a present, she found one in the dump a couple of weeks after i'd been boring her head off talking about using plotters for pcb making. The thing came in a cardboard box with all the pens, even the manual.
I still use it for little stuff.
My doc girlfriend gave it to me as a present, she found one in the dump a couple of weeks after i'd been boring her head off talking about using plotters for pcb making. The thing came in a cardboard box with all the pens, even the manual.
I still use it for little stuff.
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