I know the basics on how this is done. I just have 2 main questions. Well question 2 is like a 3 part question... here goes...

1. Can i use a injet printer to print a circuit board? If so how?

2. When removing the ink after etching the board. Would it be ok to leave the ink on? Would the ink damage the copper? Like can i just remove ink from terminals / actual pin locations and stuff and leave ink on traces ?

 

Go to http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Homebr...guid=281342726

That site has many posts of using an inkjet printer. As far as I know, the ink doesn't damage the copper. John

 

What kind of ink do you use on the board to etch it after printing?

The ink will start washing off on paper if you spill water on it.

 

1. what kind of ink do you use on the board to etch it after printing?

The ink will start washing off on paper if you spill water on it.

2. how do you insert the rigid PCB in the printer and get it out properly?

Paper is bent several times within a printer.

 

1) They heat fix it. That effectively makes it insoluble for a short time in water.

2) Typically, an Epson printer is modified for a straight pass through.

3) Non-aqueous inks are available and used commercially for PCB fabrication, but the solvents ruin the cheap plastic used for the Epson cassettes.

John

 

Thanks Looking through now. So many post tho

 

There used to be some decent summaries, with the usual, numerous comments by individuals who hadn't bothered to read the summaries. Try to find the summaries. The one I gave above is very brief. Yellow and and maybe magenta work best. Heat at about 275 to 300 °F, as I recall. John

 

I read that an inkjet printer won't work. got to be a laser printer. then iron on the paper. wash off the paper then etch.
a laser printer uses small plastic ink so you need to melt the ink onto the board.

 

You are thinking of toner transfer. They are talking about a process where you run the PCB through an ink jet printer. Similar work has been done with laser printers.

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has anybody tried T-shirt printing paper.
Would think that it would work but?
any thoughts??

 

Yes, it has been discussed on the link I provided. Apparently, it doesn't work, but I have never tried it personally. John