Almost free PCB Transfer Paper
2003-05-29 by Dean Batute
Hello all,
Having no luck finding any of the brands of photopaper that
people have been recommending for the iron on transfer method, I
began thinking about the subject and ...WOW!!! I had an epiphany! The
common theme seems that the paper should be of the very shiny
(glossy) photo paper and since it's supposed to peel away in the
water bath it SHOULD be rather thin. Then I thought to myself what
kind of paper is like this???....the paper used in many MAGAZINES!!
Computer magazines, glamour magazines, entertainment... any magazine
with photos it is TYPICALLY a glossy paper format.
O.K. so it has printing on it already...it's INK so unlike toner, it
won't transfer to the PCB when you iron it. Now you may say "if it
has printing on it already how can I see my PCB image when I print it
onto this paper". Remember it's shiny. Hold the image at an angle to
a light source and the DULL toner will show up clearly against the
SHINY paper.
So...DOES IT WORK? in a word....YES! All the problems that exist
with just about every other type of paper remain (correct temperature
of the iron, correct amount of pressure applied, etc. etc.) except!!!
the price. If you don't already have any old magazines lying around
the house, I'm SURE your city has a store that sells old magazines
for as little as $0.25 Ironically enough I get a trade magazine free
each month called EP&T (Electronic Products and Technology) and it's
a large format magazine (11" X 16"). I figure I can get about 240
small PCB's from this one magazine EVERY Month....FOR FREE.
Why pay a dollar or more PER SHEET when you can pay a penny a sheet
for a used magazine. Give it a try. I'd be curious to hear other
people's success.
Take care all......Dean.