Homebrew PCBs

A kind of intro. So far this has been an interesting group. I made my 
first PCB about 1971 while in college. We created handmade reverse 
negatives, put photo resist on the boards, developed the image and 
finally etched it (read time consuming).

Today I use pre-applied photo resist boards print to a transparency 
and finish off much as I always did. The only difference is I now use 
a trace outline method of etching as much as possible to eliminate 
having to get rid of all that copper. It's easy to eat up a small 
trace while trying to clear large areas evenly. So I don't.

Huge boards are a little "out there" for a guy with my budget.

Here would be my Uber ideal  method. Print to a sheet. Apply with 
heat which fixes the image and conditions only those areas to etch. 
Etch the board. Use a similar process to create an overlay (for both 
sides) complete with labeling (inkjet) applied with heat. Wipe with a 
solution to remove all undesired applicate, wash with water. Solder 
on components. Simplify is my credo. 

Having got into this business a little after tubes had retired, I've 
seen great changes. SMT is a wonderful thing if the scale is not to 
fine (for us enthusiast). I love not having to drill holes and 
troubleshoot through board discontinuities, etc. 

I still haven't found or used any cheap (read free) software that 
aides me with accurate layouts yet. It needs to compute circuit 
analysis to be a screen to board situation. I'm also just getting 
into MCU's but the software is a bit daunting for a noob. I really do 
love technology.