The old HP 4Ls do deposit a LOT of material compared to more modern printers, but I've been using a Brother HL-5140 and Staples photo paper with plenty of success. Any previous troubles I've had woth toner transfer seem to have been the result of insufficient copper preparation. Since I've refined my surface-prep techniques and modified my toner-fusing process, I have almost 100% repeatable perfection.
The basics of my technique are:
∗∗Wear latex or similar gloves-- Protect your hands, the copper, and the toner∗∗
1) Use a dry, green 3M abrasive pad to scour the copper; first diagonal corner-to-corner, then opposite diagonal (perpendicular to the first pass,) then side-to-side. 3 different directions total.
2) Clean the just-scrubbed copper with acetone (painter's quality, not nail-polish remover as it can contain oils and emollients that will contaminate your fresh copper surface.) Wipe the board with acetone until there is no more ruddy residue left on a clean paper towel.
3) Allow a few minutes for your acetone to completely evaporate. I place my boards in front the draft from a small fan-driver heater to speed this up. Be careful with heaters and chemicals though. Do not leave anything unattended. Have a fire extinguisher handy just in case.
4) If you have a laminator, you�re probably better-assured to get repeatability for fine details. If you have only a clothes iron, the chance of 100% success is much lower. I use both tools as follows:
A) Mate your freshly printed pattern with your freshly cleaned copper and feed both into the laminator. Pass the board and pattern through the laminator a total of eight (8) times, rotating everything by 90 degrees for each pass. I do the first 4 passes right side up, flip the board/pattern and then do the final 4 upside down.
B) With your clothes-iron on the hottest setting, place the board/pattern (paper side up) onto a clean, flat, stable surface. I use an old piece of 2 x 6 lumber on the floor of the shop. Place a sheet of plain white paper over the board/pattern and then rest the iron on top of it. Wait about one minute and slowly glide the iron, sweeping, rotating, etc. across the paper, trying to ensure that you get the heat even. Apply a fair amount of pressure as you do this. Once the paper gets a little golden brown, remove the iron and let the board/pattern sit for a few minutes.
5) Soak the board/pattern in warm water for about 20~30 minutes-- The paper will swell and ripple.
6) Carefully peel the paper from the board. I find that doing this while the whole thing is still submerged in the warm water seems to help prevent accidental lifting of toner from the copper. With the board still submerged, use your thumbs to rub away any remaining bits of paper (it may take some patience and attention to detail for this step.)
7) I usually follow all of this up by lightly scrubbing �tight� areas (as where pads and traces are close) again, still submerged in the soak-water. I�ve found that this isn�t too critical of a step since the acid will soak into the remaining paper fibers and get to the copper anyway, but your etch will take less time and be more even the less paper you have remaining.
I suppose the bottom line to what I�m saying here is that proper preparation of the copper and fingerprint-avoidance are probably the ∗most∗ important factors in getting repeatable, high quality toner transfers.
Cheers,
SQ
----- Original Message ----
From: Lez <
lez.briddon@...>
To:
Homebrew_PCBs@yahoogroups.comSent: Wednesday, December 13, 2006 4:57:02 AM
Subject: Re: [Homebrew_PCBs] proven refill for toner transfer?
>. Does anyone have a
> toner that they have successfully used for toner transfer? I do all of
> mine on glossy magazine paper, not that it matters.
> Thanks again,
> Chester
>
I like the original HP toner in my 4l, seems quite thick, but the
caartridge is from 94! so dont know if they are still on the same
compound
I think some people have trouble with brother's.
Lez
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