I tried toner transfer today...

[gmikol]

I wonder if the issue with the annular rings around the drill holes is toner smearing or under-cutting. I etched for the bare minimum to clear all the copper, so I can't imagine it's under-cutting. I might have to bust out my pocket measuring microscope to check the actual dimensions. Those smallest rings are 8 mil, so it is pushing the limits of my process.

BTW--I got my laminator on sale for $60, and that makes it an even better deal, IMO. If you keep your eyes open, it might go on sale again. And Staples stores will price-match the web site, unless it's indicated to be a online exclusive.

--Greg

[gmikol]

So I checked out the board itself, and the image on the paper. The holes look a little gnarly even on the paper. It also looks like if you're using an HP printer, you should turn off their Resolution Enhancement Technology option (RET) in the print driver. The small octagonal holes were better formed when I did this.

The toner image also gets a little faint near the edges of the traces, so my 20mil traces were more like 18. That had a big effect on the narrowest pad rings. Turning off RET looks like it helps this a tiny bit, too.

I also agree with head_spaz. I think that a 1200 dpi output is probably better, but my printer driver for the other printer I have access to, a HP 5000N, is messed up and I can't select the 1200DPI option.

--Greg