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

I may have a possible solution to using Brother Laser printers for Toner Transfer PCB's. I was at Staples and was able to get a sample print out of a Brother HL-2240 laser printer. The paper was standard 20lb laser printer paper, nothing special. The MSDS for the toner cartridge says it is polyester based. I found that acetone dissolved the lettering on the printed paper and is a solvent for this toner. I tried the following experiment.

1. I took a sample of the printed paper and exposed it to acetone fumes for 20 minutes in a sealed plastic food container. The toner became slightly tacky to the touch.

2. I ran the paper and pcb through a GBC laminator 8 times.

3. I soaked the board in warm water for a few minutes and peeled off the paper. The toner fused to the copper very well. You can feel the raised toner on the copper with your finger.

4. The paper left a film on the toner which I removed with soapy water and a soft tooth brush. While the toner does have some pinholes, it is definitely fused to the copper.

If you have a Brother laser printer it would be interesting to experiment using a known good type of paper and finding an optimum exposure time to the acetone fumes.

The results are in the photo section in the Brother "HL-2240 experiment" folder.

Happy experimenting!