Homebrew PCBs

Oooh.. looks like -if- Epson printers are able to print Future floor
polish, an Epson 1520 may be the way to go.

There is a company selling the Epson 1520, renamed the Mediaprinter
5000, and repriced from $400 (current price from Epson) to $800! The
"value added"? A caddy that holds 6 inkjet printable CD/DVDs. It was
speculated on another list that the printer may have been modified to
fit the thickness, but I just looked on Epson's site and in supported
paper/media they listed Memorex Inkjet Printable CDRs, and that is for
an unmodified 1520.

So it sounds like the Epson 1520 will at least take thinner PCB. I
think a CD is thinner that 1/16 inch PCB, but you can get thinner
stuff. Unfortunately, unlike other inkjets the heads are not swappable
so it'd have to be dedicated to this one thing. However, you can still
get Epson 1520's from Epson or on eBay.

And if this works, you can print just over 13x21 inches!

As for registration of the print, look at the Mediaprinter 5000:
http://www.gsmediasystems.com/printers-5000.html

Note that the CD carrier has holes that fit the tractor feed on the
1520. So either make a carrier to hold the board, or drill holes in
the edge of the board. Easy enough to make a jig to get the holes
right and the same each time.

Now I have to find a dirt cheap Epson to try this in first.

Steve Greenfield