Homebrew PCBs

Howard,

I also got some ink from the catalog paper onto the copper when I used that -- but it didn't seem to interfere with the etching. To answer your questions:

1) I clean the blank pcb with soap, water, and scotchbrite; then clean again with acetone.

2) I am still experimenting with the laminator, so I don't have a recommendation on number of passes. My laminator allows setting the temperature and the speed at which it feeds through, so there are a number of variables to play with!

3) When I used catalog paper, I think I soaked it for 20-30 minutes at the very most. When I used the glossy, I soaked it for 2-3 hours altogether, trying to get it loose!! But as I said before, in the little bit of experimenting I've done with the laminator, I was able to peel the paper off immediately after the final pass through the laminator -- no soaking at all! It remains to be seen whether I can duplicate that result without losing traces ...

4) I did not download a driver for the HP, or at least not manually -- it apparently is included with my distro (currently ubuntu 9.10, but it has been included at least from 8.04, which is what I started with). My distro also automatically recognized my old HP PSC-750 all-in-one inkjet. However, I have had to download a driver for a networked Xerox printer/copier at the office -- as I recall, I just did a google search for ubuntu and the model number and came up with a driver.

As for pcb software, I am running Kicad. It is available both for Windows and for Linux. Here are a couple of links: http://kicad.sourceforge.net/wiki/index.php/Main_Page or http://www.lis.inpg.fr/realise_au_lis/kicad/

Andy

--- In Homebrew_PCBs@yahoogroups.com, Howard Payne <howard_g7lqy@...> wrote:
>
> Hi Andy
> I also am using the HP toner and a laminator (Seimssen &Co - ELM013)
> 
> i have been trying some glossy paper from a flyer\mag from Rapid
> electronics, it works
> but i find that it also transferred the print from the page !!, and if you
> have some place without
> copper tracks it prints the words from the paper and then when etch is done,
> you have lines of
> text still on the pcb in copper !!, maybe i am passing the board through the
> laminator to much
> (about 10 to 20 times), then i soak the pcb for about 5 to 10 mins.
> 
> Right now some questions.
> 1) what prep, if any do you do to the pcb
> 2) how many times do you pass through the  laminator.
> 3) how long do you soak the pcb in hot water, i put a bit of washing up
> liquid in.
> 4) i am also running Linux on my main pc, can you give me a link for a
> driver\software.
> 
> I am off down to pcworld to see if i can get some laser glossy paper to try.
> 
> Regards
> Howard
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 2009/11/29 awakephd <a_wake@...>
> 
> >
> >
> > Howard, I am using an HP P2015dn -- almost the same model, but has a
> > network interface. Presumably the engine is the same.
> >
> > Using the HP toner, I have gotten good results doing TT. I've only done
> > three boards, plus some testing, but all of them have worked pretty well.
> >
> > I did the first two boards printing onto thin glossy paper from a catalog.
> > This worked very well for transfer, but it was hard to see the pattern -- a
> > problem since I was trying to do a double-sided board. The paper came free
> > pretty easily after soaking in hot water.
> >
> > I did the third board using HP color laser glossy paper, which had been
> > recommended here. The transfer turned out very well ... but getting the
> > paper free was a bear. I soaked and soaked, and rubbed and rubbed ... I
> > never did get all the paper completely off of the places where the toner
> > was, but it was all off the copper, so I etched, and it turned out very
> > well.
> >
> > All of the above were done using a household iron, turned up to max, with a
> > sheet of plain paper between the iron and the tt paper/pcb. I have recently
> > acquired a very nice laminator, and have run a sample of PCB through just to
> > see how it worked. The answer is, it worked very well ... with an unexpected
> > result. I was able to peel away the glossy paper immediately after the last
> > pass through the laminator, and all the toner stayed adhered. There is still
> > a thin film of paper (or glossy stuff?) on top of the toner, but it looks
> > similar to what I had after all the effort of soaking and rubbing before. I
> > haven't etched this yet to see how it does -- I was just using part of an
> > old pcb layout. I'm wanting to try again with some test patterns, seeing how
> > well I can do fine lines and spacing, and whether the peel-off-immediately
> > technique will work consistently.
> >
> > None of the above may be helpful to you if the main problem is how much
> > toner you're getting onto the paper. OTOH, if you're printing to matte
> > paper, I wonder if it is more a problem with getting it transferred to the
> > pcb. OTOH (let's see ... we're up to three hands now!) it sounds like you
> > may be getting the results I've gotten with the glossy paper -- a thin
> > residue of paper left behind, even after soaking and rubbing. If so, try
> > etching -- hopefully your experience will be like mine, and it will work
> > just fine.
> >
> > As far as printer drivers go ... I am running Linux (ubuntu), and doing
> > layout with Kicad. One quirk of the Kicad program is that it does not print
> > out a usable layout with the "print" command. Instead, I have to "plot" it
> > to a PostScript file, which then I can print. The print driver is just
> > whatever came up natively on ubuntu's postscript/pdf viewer. It has a tab
> > for "image quality"; I have tried changing it from "Use printer setting" to
> > "Highest quality," but I can't tell any difference, so I'm assuming the
> > printer setting IS at the highest quality. The only other option is "Save
> > toner," which I haven't tried.
> >
> > I hope something in this long and rambling post has been of help!
> >
> > Andy
> >
> >
> > --- In Homebrew_PCBs@...m <Homebrew_PCBs%40yahoogroups.com>,
> > "Howard" <howard_g7lqy@> wrote:
> > >
> > > Hi
> > > Anyone using this printer for toner transfer ?
> > > what sort of results do\did you get ?
> > >
> > > I have been having a play about with it, and i can get it to print
> > > dark on some paper(has a matt finish), but i think that there is not
> > > enough toner going onto the paper(it leaves a milky looking film on
> > > the pcb after soaking in warm soapy water).
> > >
> > > Is there a printer driver for this printer that can put more toner on
> > > the paper ?
> > >
> > > Thanks
> > > Howard
> > >
> >
> >  
> >
> 
> 
> 
> -- 
> 73's Howard G7LQY
> GQRP: 12549
> Loc: IO83UO
> LARGE FILES TO: hjpayneg7@...
> 
> 
> [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
>