PCB Artwork Transfer Paper

[Dear Daniel]

thanks, are you buy it on the internet?

is it reliable to buy Press-n-Peel in their site?

because i cannot find it in hong kong.

[timc]

I am able to bye it at local stores here in Australia (http://www.jaycar.com.au).

I have not tried ordering it over the internet (Press-n-peal site), but next time I need to buy some I might try it, the prices are a lot better than what I pay localy!

Regards,
Tim.

[swede]

I have a pile of Press and Peel here, that a friend of mine bought over the net. I'm located in Sweden, so appearently international shipping works fine from Techniks Inc (see link above).

My only problem with PnP was that I was too moderate on the heat (I believe) so I had to touch my PCB up a bit with a permanent marker.

Though, much easier than UV transfer.

Regards,
//magnus

[timc]

I find that I need the iron temprature quite high, higher than what the instructions imply and I iron continuously for a minute or so to get a good transfer (very minimal touchups required).

Regards,
Tim.

[kiwi_abroad]

As the cheapest method possible, I have had great success with ironing on standard ordinary printer paper. The thing is you must compensate for the cheapness with a lot of care and effort. A few rules

1. Roughen the plain PCB with coarse steel wool to give the toner something to 'grab' to
2. Make sure the PCB is immaculetly clean and dry. I use detergent under hot water, followed by window cleaner to remove all traces of finger grease etc.
3. Use a LOT of pressure on the hottest iron you can get. Get the board very hot, then press down on the edge of the iron with as much force as you can muster. Cover the entire board.
4. The most important thing is to realise the paper does not release the toner. You must soak the board in water, and RUB the paper off with your fingers. If you do this, the tnor will not lift. NEVER lift or peel the paper off (If anybody follows this method, then at some point they will be tempted to try lifting, they will only try that once...). Keep the PCB wet.
5. When you think you've finished, leave the board to dry, any remaining paper fibres become visible, and you can continue.

I can get 15 mil traces using this method. Remember, it's cheap, but a lot of effort, and a small amount of trial and error, but quite repeatable.

[macboy]

DearDaniel, don't use t-shirt transfer paper. It will not work.
I think that you misread seangoesbonk's comment. He said that the students were using Epson "Photo Quality Ink Jet Paper" (#S041062) and an Epson t-shirt thermal transfer press (that's a special, big "iron" for quickly doing the transfers to t-shirts). He did not suggest using the t-shirt thermal transfer paper!

As another alternative, try laser-printing onto plain old transparencies. Make sure to use the kind that are laser printer friendly; others will just melt and ruin the printer. You can even photo-copy onto them, although all but the best and most well-maintained photocopiers will add some 'noise' to the artwork, which you may have to clean up manually later.

[seangoesbonk]

Originally posted by macboy
DearDaniel, don't use t-shirt transfer paper. It will not work.
I think that you misread seangoesbonk's comment. He said that the students were using Epson "Photo Quality Ink Jet Paper" (#S041062) and an Epson t-shirt thermal transfer press (that's a special, big "iron" for quickly doing the transfers to t-shirts). He did not suggest using the t-shirt thermal transfer paper!

You are almost correct. I was using the Epson paper you described, (Epson "Photo Quality Ink Jet Paper" #S041062) but the thermal transfer press is not an Epson product.

The press is just a standard T-shirt press that is normally used either for fusing vinyl letters and numbers to the back of a sports jersey, or for transfering an iron-on image to fabric.

My high school had the luxury of such a thermal tranfer press, but I would imagine a standard household hand-held iron would work just fine. I would suggest placing something in between the iron and the photo paper to prevent the paper from burning onto the iron (otherwise your wife or mother will kill you!). The thermal transfer press had some sort of teflon sheet which would prevent the paper from burning. Another option would be to buy a cheap, used iron at a thrift store or garage sale.

[sss]

can this method work with ink jet printers ?
i know that t shirt transfer paper is working with regular printers ....

[seangoesbonk]

Originally posted by sss
can this method work with ink jet printers?

I haven't actually tried it, but as far as I know, ink-jet printers probably won't work.

I don't have a laser printer at home, so I usually export the PCB layout to a universal image file (such as *.jpg or *.pdf) and print it a friend's house. You could also get it printed at work/school or a print house (I don't think Israel has a Kinko's).

[jason101]

Hi friends, i am looking for a good color printer. I need to find a good B&W laser printer to print my response cards for my wedding invites. The paper is metallic cardstock. I need to find a good laser printer. Any suggestions? Are there printers that work with specialty paper or cardstock? What is a good laser printer for printing on metallic cardstock? Thank you so much in advance.