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

----- Original Message -----
From: "Ted Inoue" <ted@...>
To: <Homebrew_PCBs@yahoogroups.com>
Sent: Monday, June 30, 2003 3:34 AM
Subject: [Homebrew_PCBs] Re: Inkjet Transparencies


> 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.
>

I've mentioned this before - I get quite good results (down to 10/10 mils)
with an old LaserJet IIIp and cheap tracing paper. Looking at the output
with a powerful magnifier it's not bad - the edges are quite sharp but there
are lots of small blank regions. For the record, it's got a standard HP
cartridge and the density is set to maximum. It's better with LaserStar film
but the stuff is a lot more expensive than tracing paper.

Laser printers vary a lot - I tried a cheap Oki we had where I used to work
and it wasn't really usable.

I've got an Epson Photo 870 which I've tried with tracing paper - very poor.
I'll try it with some decent film (Mega Electronics sells some especially
made for PCB artwork, as well as the LaserStar) and see what happens.

I used to have an HP inkjet printer, and that worked fairly well with
tracing paper, but not with film material.

Leon
--
Leon Heller, G1HSM
leon_heller@...
http://www.geocities.com/leon_heller