Homebrew PCBs

Hi

I have access to two Epson inkjet printers, a DX4850 and a PX710W. The Epson web site FAQ advises only to use their film as other films expect ink droplets to be pre-heated, which Epson does not do in these printers thus requiring an absorbant film.

It seems that Epson have discontinued these films (C13S041063 for A4, I think last digit is 4 for letter size). They are certainly unobtainable, some sources saying discontinued. Epson say they are just out of stock, but I don't know whether to believe them.

Has anyone heard anything about this, or does anyone know of alternative compatible film please? I've got some pcbs to make!

Cheers, Jim

On 15/03/2010 11:47, jamesgailer wrote:
> Hi
>
> I have access to two Epson inkjet printers, a DX4850 and a PX710W. The Epson web site FAQ advises only to use their film as other films expect ink droplets to be pre-heated, which Epson does not do in these printers thus requiring an absorbant film.
>
> It seems that Epson have discontinued these films (C13S041063 for A4, I think last digit is 4 for letter size). They are certainly unobtainable, some sources saying discontinued. Epson say they are just out of stock, but I don't know whether to believe them.
>
> Has anyone heard anything about this, or does anyone know of alternative compatible film please? I've got some pcbs to make!

I used to use Mega Electronics JetStar film with an Epson printer. It 
worked very well.

Leon
-- 
Leon Heller
G1HSM

Thanks Leon,
I have ordered some, I will try it and report
Jim G3RTD

--- In Homebrew_PCBs@yahoogroups.com, Leon Heller <leon355@...> wrote:

>
> On 15/03/2010 11:47, jamesgailer wrote:
> > Hi
> >
> > I have access to two Epson inkjet printers, a DX4850 and a PX710W. The Epson web site FAQ advises only to use their film as other films expect ink droplets to be pre-heated, which Epson does not do in these printers thus requiring an absorbant film.
> >
> > It seems that Epson have discontinued these films (C13S041063 for A4, I think last digit is 4 for letter size). They are certainly unobtainable, some sources saying discontinued. Epson say they are just out of stock, but I don't know whether to believe them.
> >
> > Has anyone heard anything about this, or does anyone know of alternative compatible film please? I've got some pcbs to make!
> 
> I used to use Mega Electronics JetStar film with an Epson printer. It 
> worked very well.
> 
> Leon
> -- 
> Leon Heller
> G1HSM
>

I have an Epson R280 (Claria inks) and I've used Jetstar's standard and 
premium films, as well as SilkJet films, all without problem.  I even 
wrote a program to print using 100% ink coverage at 2880 DPI and these 
films work pretty much flawlessly (important to keep the head clean though).

In the USA, I got mine from vpcinc.com

On 15/03/2010 17:01, jamesgailer wrote:
> Thanks Leon,
> I have ordered some, I will try it and report

They'd have sent you a sample sheet to try. I have to use the more 
expensive premium material on my HP Deskjet, and I've still got some of 
the ordinary stuff somewhere. I could have sent it to you.

73, Leon
-- 
Leon Heller
G1HSM

I have an Epson Stylus R320 that I want to use with transparencies for PCB artwork using photosensitized FR4 and UV exposure. I use a row of 20 UV LED (395nm) that I mounted on an old HP scanner so I can control the exposure to UV.

How is it possible to increase the resolution of the print?

Thanks,
Jean-Paul

--- In Homebrew_PCBs@yahoogroups.com, DJ Delorie <dj@...> wrote:

>
> I have an Epson R280 (Claria inks) and I've used Jetstar's standard and 
> premium films, as well as SilkJet films, all without problem.  I even 
> wrote a program to print using 100% ink coverage at 2880 DPI and these 
> films work pretty much flawlessly (important to keep the head clean though).
> 
> In the USA, I got mine from vpcinc.com
>

The R320 is limited to 1440 DPI (well, 5760x1440 but square pixels are 
nice) but that's probably still more resolution than needed for what we 
can home-brew.  The R280 can do 5760x2880.  Anyway, if your existing 
print software can be told to print at 1440 dpi, and your EDA software 
can produce a print of that resolution, you should be all set.  The 
interesting factor will be if the print software can be told to put down 
more ink than normal (choose ultra glossy film if you have a choice). 
My software uses the smallest drop size but 100% coverage (no dithering 
or halftones).

An unrelated thing you might think about is how you're holding the film 
against the PCB.  I only get good results if I (1) print the film in 
reverse, so that the inked side is against the PCB, and (2) use a vacuum 
to hold the film tight against the pcb (gravity won't work).

With a decent film (jetstar, silkjet, etc), high enough resolution, and 
enough ink, you should be getting jet black prints with crisp edges. 
With something to hold the inked side tight against the PCB, you should 
be getting crisp edges on your etch resist too.

On 15 Mar 2010, at 22:43, DJ Delorie wrote:

> An unrelated thing you might think about is how you're holding the film 
> against the PCB.  I only get good results if I (1) print the film in 
> reverse, so that the inked side is against the PCB, and (2) use a vacuum 
> to hold the film tight against the pcb (gravity won't work).

My (commercial) exposure box has a lid with foam in it to press the whole lot evenly onto the glass surface.

Pete Harrison

Sorry for the late reply. I received the emails as a digest.

Thanks DJ for the answers to my question. I have been building PCB and Assemblies professionally for over 35 years, so I knew about the ink side close to the copper in order to limit diffraction of the light during exposure. That's why I selected to use an old scanner to do the exposure. The film is resting on the glass with the ink up, the PCB is then pressed against the film by the cover of the scanner. Seems to be working great so far. I am going to redesign the line of UV LEDs to have 8.5" capability which is the size of the scanner glass.

I will post pictures when I am done with the final version.

Jean-Paul 

 
--- In Homebrew_PCBs@yahoogroups.com, DJ Delorie <dj@...> wrote:

>
> The R320 is limited to 1440 DPI (well, 5760x1440 but square pixels are 
> nice) but that's probably still more resolution than needed for what we 
> can home-brew.  The R280 can do 5760x2880.  Anyway, if your existing 
> print software can be told to print at 1440 dpi, and your EDA software 
> can produce a print of that resolution, you should be all set.  The 
> interesting factor will be if the print software can be told to put down 
> more ink than normal (choose ultra glossy film if you have a choice). 
> My software uses the smallest drop size but 100% coverage (no dithering 
> or halftones).
> 
> An unrelated thing you might think about is how you're holding the film 
> against the PCB.  I only get good results if I (1) print the film in 
> reverse, so that the inked side is against the PCB, and (2) use a vacuum 
> to hold the film tight against the pcb (gravity won't work).
> 
> With a decent film (jetstar, silkjet, etc), high enough resolution, and 
> enough ink, you should be getting jet black prints with crisp edges. 
> With something to hold the inked side tight against the PCB, you should 
> be getting crisp edges on your etch resist too.
>

--- In Homebrew_PCBs@yahoogroups.com, Leon Heller <leon355@...> wrote:

>
> On 15/03/2010 11:47, jamesgailer wrote:
> > Hi
> >
> > I have access to two Epson inkjet printers, a DX4850 and a PX710W. The Epson web site FAQ advises only to use their film as other films expect ink droplets to be pre-heated, which Epson does not do in these printers thus requiring an absorbant film.
> >
> > It seems that Epson have discontinued these films (C13S041063 for A4, I think last digit is 4 for letter size). They are certainly unobtainable, some sources saying discontinued. Epson say they are just out of stock, but I don't know whether to believe them.
> >
> > Has anyone heard anything about this, or does anyone know of alternative compatible film please? I've got some pcbs to make!
> 
> I used to use Mega Electronics JetStar film with an Epson printer. It 
> worked very well.
> 
> Leon
> -- 
> Leon Heller
> G1HSM
>