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

Hi All,
I'm getting started etching my own boards using laser toner transfer
onto inkjet photo paper as described around the web. I prepared and
printed my artwork on Staples "photo basic gloss" paper. (Staples Item
#471861, UPC 7-18103-02856-1) with an HP Laserjet III. I'm using
Ratshack double-sided copper-clad PCB, which I cut to size using the
bandsaw in my shop. I cleaned the board with both a brillo-style
sponge-pad and steel wool with soap, then rinsed it with rubbing
alcohol. I cut the board artwork to size, taped it down at the edges,
and set it on a 2x6, placed a piece of "regular" printer paper on top,
then bore down with the iron for about 6 minutes, repositioning every
2 minutes to make sure none of the steam-holes interfered.

I soaked the board under running hot water for about 10 minutes. It
puffed up a bit but remained stuck where the toner had been, which I
took as a good sign. I tried soaking it in a bowl of hot water for
~20 minutes while I took a walk around the neighborhood, and returned,
to find it still stuck firmly in place. I then tried to seperate the
layers of the paper with my fingernails, and successfully got some of
the thickness of the paper free. I then started rubbing at what was
left with a fingernail, and got most of it free, leaving most of the
artwork. A few traces pulled up, however. I cleaned the board and
tried again with another -- same problem.

Can anyone suggest where I might have gone wrong? I'm guessing
paper-choice might be an issue. The traces were all 0.016" width, and
I'm pretty sure I ironed it enough to get the toner more or less
melted onto the copper.

Any assistance, thoughts, etc, would be greatly appreciated.

Regards,

Ryan Spicer.