Homebrew PCBs

Anyone use Press-n-Peel Blue with a laminator? Does it successfully 
transfer the toner to the PCB material? Things to do or not do to make a 
good job of it?

I have a GBC H535 laminator. Any problems using that laminator with the 
Press-n-Peel Blue?

Thanks, Steve

The PnP Blue and GBC is good. Problem is the new toner supplied to most B&W laser printers does NOT release(melt) onto the copper. The manufacturer has acknowledged this only for Brother lasers, but I think it extends to most including the Samsung brand. This is a major issue, and the PnP Blue team suggest using a heat press rather than the laminator. The heat press runs $359, which negates the whole cheap thing, and anyhow does not work any better in my opinion. So unless someone in this group knows where to self fill low temperature melting toner, the PnP Blue process is doomed.

If it turns out that no laser printers will work any more, I don't think it matters. The photoresist method will still work with any laser printer, resist film is cheap from eBay and you can use your existing laminator to apply it.

And of course there is always the option to use inkjets with direct printing as well.

Besides, I wouldn't call PnP Blue cheap to begin with anyway.....


--- In Homebrew_PCBs@yahoogroups.com, <alsomotka78@...> wrote:

>
> The PnP Blue and GBC is good. Problem is the new toner supplied to most B&W laser printers does NOT release(melt) onto the copper. The manufacturer has acknowledged this only for Brother lasers, but I think it extends to most including the Samsung brand. This is a major issue, and the PnP Blue team suggest using a heat press rather than the laminator. The heat press runs $359, which negates the whole cheap thing, and anyhow does not work any better in my opinion. So unless someone in this group knows where to self fill low temperature melting toner, the PnP Blue process is doomed.
>

From: Homebrew_PCBs@yahoogroups.com [mailto:Homebrew_PCBs@yahoogroups.com] On Behalf Of alsomotka78@...
Sent: Monday, 23 December 2013 5:07 a.m.



……anyhow does not work any better in my opinion. So unless someone in this group knows where to self fill low temperature melting toner, the PnP Blue process is doomed.

 

So, with heat-press  and new laser toners, what temperatures are people finding effective ? 160ºC did poorly for me – bits of black and blue still on the film.

 

geoff

 

PS FWIW I found the “piece of paper under domestic iron” took the Teflon off the iron in no time !

Hi,

 

My solution is not to buy a new laser printer.

I still have a couple of old HP Cannon engine printers mainly because they
have not yet broken down and are cheap to run.

At present I have an old HP Color Laserjet 5 over 15 years old. It is slow
to print compared to modern printers, but the toner comes in a bottle and is
cheap to buy and one bottle does about 5,0000 pages for $10. 

You can buy an old printer for not much money and keep it for special
printing. You will need a computer with a parallel port and using Windows XP
to drive the printer. I do run Windows 7 but found it did not have the
drivers for the old HP printer. But using an old computers as a file server
(for music) running XP allows me to have a print server as well and Windows
7 downloads a driver to install from the XP computer the first time you use
it and then prints normally. If not used the computer,  screen, Windows XP
were headed to the rubbish bin.

Look for old HP printers, Cannon printers in second hand stores as
repackaged cartridges are cheap to buy. Look to the ones that seem to build
like a tank and are heavy to pick up. I have worn out several modern
printers at work, but these old one keep running. They do need to be cleaned
now and then.

Just another way.

 

Cheers

Tim