I just returned a Brother HL-2040 and replaced it with a HP P1005
(today actually!). i spent about 30 hours trying to get a decent
layout with the HL-2040, it cant be done. i tried every magazine in
the house along with a large array of varying photo papers. I even
went to the extreme of going to the newsagent and buying a couple of
magazines of varying gloss/thickness etc.
I finally came to the conclusion when i tried using PnP blue which
produced worse results than the 30+ different paper types that the
brother cant produce any kind of usable PCB's. In fact the tectronix
website even states that some new model brother lasers are having this
problem with PnP Blue. I think it has something to do with some
brother toners, and the fact it has to be heated much higher than
other toners to bond.
Any way, the place i got it from (officeworks, AU) has a 7 day
satisfaction gurantee, i took it back with 2 days to spare and got a
no questions asked refund (awesome). I got the HP P1005 straight away.
And after a week of ironing/sandwich pressing about 100+ prints that
didnt work, the first one i made on the P1005 was a perfect print. you
could imagine my elation!
One thing i will note about the P1005, and this is only in comparison
to a large size office grade Canon laser printer/copier is that the
toner in the P1005 does not require as high a heat setting on your
iron when you are transferring. i use a medium-high setting for the
P1005, whereas with the canon i had the iron on flat out as any lower
would produce unsatisfactory results.
Hope this helps.
--- In Homebrew_PCBs@yahoogroups.com, "Luc Small" <luc.small@...> wrote:
>
> Hello,
>
> I'm wondering if anyone has used a HP P1005 or P1006 LaserJet printer
> for PCB toner transfer. It is currently possible to pick up a P1005
> for $54 (after $30 cashback) in Australia, which makes it very
> affordable.
>
> I currently have a Brother HL-2040. I am getting very patchy results
> and I have read plenty of accounts from people who have had trouble
> with using Brother printers for toner transfer.
>
> As such, I'm interested to know if the P1005 is likely to yield
better results.
>
> Best wishes,
>
> Luc
>