--- In
Homebrew_PCBs@yahoogroups.com, Simao Cardoso
<simaocardoso@...> wrote:
>
> Hi,
>
> Although i don't have experience in direct print pcbs i wish to
share
> some thoughts about it.
>
> If you print shirts maybe your are using sublimation ink. This ink
is
> glycerine and Polyethylene Glicol (PEG) with pigments and much
water. It
> polymerizes with heat and becomes a plastic film.
This is incorrect.
Sublimation is the process of a solid into a gas, or gas into a
solid, without a liquid state between.
Sublimation ink works by vaporizing from the paper carrier when
heated. The gas soaks into a polymer, which becomes porous when
heated. It then cools and is a permanent part of the polymer.
It only works on polymers. Fabrics must be polyester or contain
polyester. There are pretreatments for cottons that just spray a
polymer into the fabric. Plastic items are made of polymers, so as
long as they can withstand the heat, they can be sublimated to.
But all nonporous surfaces must be coated with a clear or white
polymer, or nothing will be transfered. Ceramic mugs and tiles, metal
mugs, all these things must be coated. But the coating itself
prevents etching, the sublimation does nothing to allow or prevent
sublimation.
http://www.polyphoto.com/tutorials/bulkinksystem/InkjetFAQ.htmlSteve Greenfield