Theoretically if someone writes a shareware driver or interface to the
driver that allows a full area rectangle to be printed with the CD
tray, it could also handle a different ICC profile to make it print
using yellow and magenta even though the PCB/CAD program is sending it
as black.
In which case you can also continue to use the printer for regular
printing. With the added advantage (with the CD printers) that now the
prints are pigmented and therefore water and fade resistant. And MIS
pigmented bulk ink is -way- cheaper than Epson OEM ink!
Although I'm far from rolling in money, under $100 seems very cheap
for this kind of thing. The printers are often found with rebates, I
can import inexpensive autoreset refillable cartridges and build my
own bulk ink system.
Toner transfer requires at least $200 for a laser printer (less if
bought used) and $50 to $100 for a laminator.
Steve Greenfield
--- In Homebrew_PCBs@yahoogroups.com, Mycroft2152 <mycroft2152@...> wrote:
>
> Good points. Just other things to be tried.
>
> Another issue is whether pcb or drawing programs will
> print the pcb in colored ink rather than black. Again
> the issue of not dedicating a costly printer for just
> pcbs and refilling the black cartidge with colored ink
> mix.
>
> Myc
>
> --- Steve <alienrelics@...> wrote:
>
> > How about a modified CD tray? Or just making an
> > entirely new CD tray?
> >
> > The big issue there is probably that the software
> > will only allow ink
> > to be sprayed down within the CD area. Even though a
> > business card CD
> > is a rectangle, there is the hub area.
> >
> > But that would not require modifying the printer.
> >
> > Steve Greenfield