Homebrew PCBs

Hi,

I was thinking about getting a roll of that Pulsar TRF paper soon and 
was wondering about a couple things if anyone here is familiar with 
it.

I mainly needed the white one for doing "white on black" panel 
labeling (Digi-Key has white and green). The green is sold for 
protecting and cleaning up traces before etching, but they don't 
specifically say that the white is not. A Pulsar rep. said the white 
is thicker and may clog closed areas on PCB "lettering", but can be 
removed via Scotch tape or something. Not to sound cheap, but has 
anyone tried using the white for copper?

And more importantly, I've been having decent success with the Staples 
brand paper, but it does leave a really thin, grey film on the toner. 
Do you think this would kill the TRF's ability to coat the print?

                          -Thanks!
George

PS- In case you're wondering why I don't just ask Pulsar, I emailed 
them a while back with some other questions and the guy was real 
helpful and responded right away. I told him I would go ahead and get 
the foil from Digi-Key, but I'm sort of embarrassed that I haven't 
ordered it yet. ;)

----- Original Message ----- 

From: "soffee83" <soffee83@...>
> specifically say that the white is not. A Pulsar rep. said the white
> is thicker and may clog closed areas on PCB "lettering", but can be
> removed via Scotch tape or something. Not to sound cheap, but has
> anyone tried using the white for copper?

The white seems much more powdery, for lack of a more vividly descriptive 
term, than the green. I didn't get the sense that it would seal and support 
the toner as the green does. I had the same thought you did, but abandoned 
it after seeing what it looked like after transferring. That's not the same 
as actually using for etch; no, I haven't tried it.

FWIW, I usually don't bother with the white. Maybe it makes a difference 
with solder mask on top, but plain black toner for part placement works just 
fine for me.

> And more importantly, I've been having decent success with the Staples
> brand paper, but it does leave a really thin, grey film on the toner.
> Do you think this would kill the TRF's ability to coat the print?

The TRF bonds to the re-heated toner. I would think anything in between 
would interfere with the bond. For all I know, though, the paper residue 
might do the same job just as well or better.

> PS- In case you're wondering why I don't just ask Pulsar, I emailed
> them a while back with some other questions and the guy was real
> helpful and responded right away. I told him I would go ahead and get
> the foil from Digi-Key, but I'm sort of embarrassed that I haven't
> ordered it yet. ;)

I'm sure he keeps a list, and wonders why he hasn't seen your order yet.

Mike-

Thanks a lot! I think they were only six or seven bucks a roll, so I 
can probably just get both. I'd actually be ordering from Digi-Key 
when I get enough of a list together, so I'm not sure Pulsar would 
know where anything went.

I think the paper does indeed do something to reinforce the print, but 
with anything other than copper masking, when it won't be removed 
afterward, it wouldn't look very good.

BTW- You don't sound too thrilled with the white you bought. Did it 
seem like it wouldn't be a good option for white labels, or did you 
think it just wouldn't do too well on copper? My panel work will 
likely be protected by an additional layer of some type of clear top 
coat if/when the coloring works. I'm anxious to try some.

                            Take Care!
George