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

I'm sure that there are 101 different opinions on direct toner transfer, and which papers to use. I don't proclaim expertise, but I will pass along a few observations and some tricks that worked for me.



I have not had luck with magazine paper. My printer, a Samsung ML2510, simply won't print dark enough on it for some reason.

Staples Photo Supreme (the lighter 200G/M paper) seems to work well, but there are some tricks to using it. I did not have problems with melting using this paper at high temperatures.

1. Board preparation is critical, I polish the copper with Flitz then rinse with acetone for a shiny polished surface. The matte surface left by a scouring pad did not adhere well.

2. Pressure when heating is critical as well. I'm using an iron on the highest setting and found that it took a good hard lean to provide sufficient pressure.

3. Soaking overnight in a solution of automatic dishwasher detergent did a good job of loosening the paper which can be peeled back as a single sheet revealing the mask on the copper.

4. The gloss coating will stick to the mask and copper and is not water soluble. Fortunately it is fragile and can easily be removed by laying down rows of packing tape and peeling them off. If the mask peels off as well then the mask was not properly fused to the copper and might not have etched well.


My first attempt with this paper took four tries before I got a fully successful transfer. Since then I have usually been successful on the first try.

YMMV, disclaimers, etc..

-Chris