Archive of the former Yahoo!Groups mailing list: Homebrew PCBs

----- Original Message -----
From: "Lez" <lez.briddon@...>
To: <Homebrew_PCBs@yahoogroups.com>
Sent: Thursday, November 16, 2006 10:23 AM
Subject: [Homebrew_PCBs] Direct toner print


> Ok I had asked about direct toner print and was told of all the
> possible problems with the HV static holding etc so I stuck with TT
>
> well after doing all these boards
> (http://homepage.ntlworld.com/tinabriddon/pcb/boards.jpg)to get 2 good
> ones I decided I had had enough of TT.
>
> SO, using a sheet of a4 as a carrier, I sent a sheet of tin foil /
> baco foil / alu foil call it what you want, into the laser printer.
>
> I put my fingers in my ears for the inevitable bang, and waited,
> nothing, no error, paper fedd through......
>
> Print quaility looks good to me, have a look here.
>
> http://homepage.ntlworld.com/tinabriddon/pcb/
>
>
> Now I need to modify the printer to flat path and I think I can just
> feed boards through.
>
> may need to build a carrier for small boards but it should be ok for
> pieces of 8 inch in length as it is at the moment.

I think I've mentioned this before: Xerox had a technique for making PCBs
from 1:1 artwork using their original flat-plate copying system. When I
worked for Rank-Xerox (UK) some colleagues of mine tried it, and it worked
quite well. I think that the toner pattern was transferred first from the
photoreceptor plate to a sheet of paper, and then to the copper surface. It
was then fused. The technique was also useful for copying images from old
prints and photographs onto copper plates, to produce nice-looking
decorative pictures that could be framed. My boss did that once for his
favourite pub, copying an old photo of the building. They weren't etched,
the black toner gave a nice contrast against the polished copper.

Leon