On Fri, 12 Mar 2004 20:20:44 -0800 (PST), pebo festus <
mebo31@...>
wrote:
> thanks to every one for the good words and ideas. i am
> having a little trouble getting my ink through the
> head now. maybe it is to thick, it will print--then
> have to clean the head, one instance i waited a bit
> and it printed ok, i think i am going to have to use
> thinner ink. i am hesitant to use the regular ink in
> my mixture because it has glycerene in it and it
> doesnt dry. i think it is a good idea to put some
> ammonia on the rest pad, iam aware ammonia will clean
> mop&glo.imho i think i need to add just a touch more
> percentage of alcohol to the mixture. it looks a bit
> hard to get the print heads off of this epson stylus
> color II, i cleaned the heads on an 880 and the holes
> were open but the printer didnt work. seems the epson
> stylus color II is easier to work with because it has
> manual paper feed and punch two buttons to clean the
> heads. I havent printed on a pcb yet, just got the
> epson II back cut out so could feed pcb through. then
> i was trying paper just to see if the printer still
> printed, then is when i started to have problems with
> the ink. as i have stated before i put a dot of
> mop&glo on a pcb and it appeared to be usable as a
> resist. we will keep trying
> mebo
>
I do not think mop&glow can be tested by putting a dot on a pcb.
i made this error myself, it always depends on the layer thickness also.
almost anything will work if you apply a relatively big amount..
To the drying-out problem:
Maybe really try staedtler red ink, it is advertised as "dry proof"
and they say a open ohp pen can lie around open for several days
and it will still work.
I observed that the surface of the ink gets slightly bluish if it is
exposed.
it might be that this ink makes a very thin hide on the srface which
prevents further
drying, but it might also be that the "dried" ink is just "thickened" and
still "sucks in"
solvent from the wet ink. this would mean that the tip of the pen only
dries completely
at the moment all the solvent is spent.
I do not know if it will inkjet well, but i would guess so.
it seems thin enough and i do not think it has particles.
It also is colored already, which makes that unneccesary.
I would put a drop of alcohol or ammonia on the rubber lid which seals the
head,
and then you simply print the board on a piece of paper before the actual
pcb print.
this gives the head time to start working properly and you can check the
board a final
time.
ST