Exactly. The specific transparency film makes ALL the difference. I
use Pictorico premium overhead transparency film and it is absolutely
superb. Printing with four different Epson Inkjets (1160, 1200, C82,
and 2200) have yielded uniformly "perfect" result. Deep rich black
that's tack sharp. No problems at all with 10 mil lines and scaling is
consistent enough that I couldn't measure any error using a
micrometer.
I've tried only two lasers, and a variety of transparency film for
them and had no luck. As others mentioned, the scaling inhomogeneity
was intolerable (off by several mm over a few inches) as was the lack
of really black printouts. However, I'm not saying that lasers can't
do the job, just that the one's I've tried didn't work well.
I would think the most productive thing would be to keep a record of
all the printers and media that work or don't work. In this way, a
newcomer can simply refer to a chart and have an easy time learning
from the combined experience of those in the group.
-Ted
--- In
Homebrew_PCBs@yahoogroups.com, Adam Seychell <adam_seychell@y..
.> wrote:
> I've seen many poor prints from inkjets too. The trick is to use
> the corrct ink/printer and transparency combination. The
> differences between the worst and the best is incredible.
>
>
> rolanyang wrote:
> > It's not that I've had amazing success with laser, but I
> > haven't ever been able to make a quality transparency
> > with the inkjet (Epson 800). It may have been the print
> > mode or the plastic material, but the final art has
> > always been somewhat ... transparent :(
> >
> > --- In Homebrew_PCBs@yahoogroups.com, adam Seychell
> > <adam_seychell@y...> wrote:
> > Professionals use inkjets when
> >
> >>it comes to making photomask for silk screening, ect.
> >>If you have had good success with laser printed photomasks,
> >>then please tell us more.
> >>
> >>With the epson inkjet/epson transparencies I can expose
> >>boards at least five times the normal period and still have
> >>perfect masking of the image. The only problem with such
> >>long exposures is excessive light undercut.
> >>
> >>
> >>rolanyang wrote:
> >>
> >>>Laser printers can be bought for roughly $100 these days.
> >>>It's hard to beat the consistent output and quality
> >>>of toner on transparencies. Also, if you're adventurous
> >>>enough, they are good for direct iron-on transfer to PCB's.
> >>>
> >>>At that price, it's almost not worth hours of fiddling
> >>>with inkjets - unless someone figures out how to
> >>>do the direct inkjet resist to pcb method.
> >>
> >
> >
> >
> >
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> >
> >