Homebrew PCBs

> > So the question I now have is "Does an inkjet printer produce 
better 
> > masks than does a laserjet printer?".
> 
> Only if the inkjet transparency is decent stuff *and* the ink is 
compatible
> with it *and* it's not a crappy printer.
> 
> If the ink is incompatible, you usually get pinholing, slow drying, 
and
> sometimes smudging. Crappy printers are slow drying, leave streaks, 
and
> smudging anyway. Decent printers can be a cheap base model (like an 
epson
> stylus 400 color, long discontinued). I've found epsons better 
because they
> use piezo-mechanical ejectors on room-temperature ink, and the ink 
is absorbed
> into the gelatine coating of epson transparencies which dries really 
fast.
> Other slower-drying printers and non-genuine ink/film combinations 
can
> give decent results, but you'll have to experiment to find the right 
ones.
> 
> Laser printers often give dark edges but not-very-dark interiors 
when
> printing larger areas. The heat can deform the printout, depending 
on
> what it's made of. Laser printouts are always grainier and can show 
more
> pinholes if you change to a new cartridge with different toner.
>

You want a printer that uses pigment black, not dye black, which is 
more transparent. The Epson R series and some Canon and HP 
Pixma/Photosmart series all use a dye black since pigment ink for 
lower end printers tends to make very lousy photos. The Epson C/CX 
series use pigment ink for all four colors, and most Canon and HP 
Business/Deskjet series have pigment ink. If you do a websearch, or go 
to a /good/ ink refilling website and look for the refill kits for 
your model/cartridge #, you can find out what kind of black ink it 
uses. If the transparency gel coat for ink is 'translucent' and not 
fully transparent, you may also want to extend the exposure time a 
little.

I have had good results using Xerox /color/ photocopiers in office 
supply stores with laser transparencies. Regular black/white copiers 
tend to have lousy resolution and areas where the toner doesn't fill 
properly. Not too familiar with home lasers. I do suspect a black 
pigment inkjet with high resolution would be more opaque.