--- In
Homebrew_PCBs@yahoogroups.com, "lcdpublishing"
<lcdpublishing@...> wrote:
>
> This is odd. I have been doing toner transfer for almost a year
now
> and can get very good results - fairly repeatable. Since learning
> more and more and since I have run out of the original photo papaer
> I was using, I have been working with two different papers of late.
>
> 1) HP Photo paper -glossy
> 2) Hammermill color laser paper - it's a semi-gloss
>
> Earlier this week I needed to make a board so I selected what I
> thought was the best working paper I had on hand, the Hammermill
> paper. I printed out the layout and could tell right away there
> were problems as the toner was VERY thin in some areas. So,
thinking
> I had it wrong in memory, I then grabbed the HP paper and all went
> well.
>
> As typical for me, I screwed up that PCB (forgot to make some
> changes) so I had to make it again (3 days later than the previous
> attempt). I grabbed the HP paper, printed out the layout and this
> time it had very thin deposits of toner on the traces. So, I
> grabbed the Hammermill paper and it worked perfectly.
>
> The only thing that changed from the first attempt and the second
> attempt is 3 days in time. Same printer, same cartridge (no, it's
> not low on toner), approximately the same outdoor
> temperature/humidity, and even the same layout for the most part.
>
> So, while I would like to think that toner transfer will work good,
> there are some hidden mysteries to it that seem to make you scratch
> your head in bewilderment!
>
> Chris
>
I vaguely remember hearing or reading somewhere, (I can't say
that it was on this list / group) that in order to get reliable &
consistent results with thick even toner distribution you first
needed to run a couple of pages thru the printer. From what
I recall it did not need to be a heavy coverage print, even
moderate text would do. I ran a couple of 'printer test / self test'
pages thru before attempting my next TT job (from a dead cold/ turned
off for days printer) and it seemed to improve results, or maybe I
just convinced myself it at the time. Something about warming up the
entire printer and dissipating / averaging stray static charges. On
the other hand the whole thing could have been a load of B.S.
(But not on my part)I've been low on toner in my HP4v for while now,
so I've been using up my stock of photo resist board. Been a long
time been a long since I did any TT boards.