Sorry if this isn't the right place to post this, but I have recently attempted to do a toner transfer for a PCB I designed, and while it looks like it will work, it doesn't look as clean as the other ones I've seen online. I'll describe the steps I look to perform the transfer, then post a picture of the PCB at the end. If you have any suggestions on how to improve my process please let me know. Thanks!

Process:

1. Printed PCB on HP Glossy Everyday Photo Paper (I ran this through the printer 3 times to build up toner, not sure if that was a good idea or not)
2. Cleaned copper clad with brillow pad and acetone
3. Ironed glossy paper to copper clad for about 5 minutes on maximum heat setting
4. Soaked PCB in water for 20 minutes
5. Paper wouldn't come off, so I kept repeating the process of soaking the PCB for 10 minutes, then using a plastic chisel to get the paper off for about 2 hours.
6. Used a sharpie to touch some of the edges up

Now it looks like this:

 

For one thing, The only laser printer etch resist PCBs I see on the web are beautiful and that is probably because nobody is proud of an ugly board.

It looks like your choice of paper is part of if not all of the problem. I found that using magazine pages (they can have print on them, because the ink does not transfer) works much better than glossy photo paper or the various kinds of laser printer papers I have used. I am sure others will come along with their recommendations of the "best paper".

The rest of your procedure, with the possible exception of running the paper through the printer three times, sounds conventional.

 

Try using different media and don't run it through the printer multiple times.

I've never had much luck with any type of paper. Some have had good transfers using wax paper; I haven't tried that yet. Plan to if I run out of Inkjet transparencies (not all types work; I tried about a dozen before settling on a particular HP part number).

Here's an example of a board I did using HP Inkjet Transparencies:


An advantage of using transparencies is that I can observe the transfer process and apply more heat where needed. I also let the toner smear to mostly fill the drill holes. That helps center the bit when drilling.

 

Thank you guys, I did a few more transfers with glossy paper with no luck, so I tried magazine paper instead and it transferred almost perfectly.

 

I've used the toner transfer method onto paper with "OK" results. Then I went with the products from Pulsar ( http://www.pcbfx.com/main_site/pages/start_here/overview.html ) and never looked back. The results are great.

Hint: Only run the paper through the printer once.
Hint 2: Don't over iron the toner to the board. Too much heat can smear the image.

 

Thank you gramps -I've been looking for a source of transfer paper similar to this for a long time!

 

I've used the toner transfer method onto paper with "OK" results. Then I went with the products from Pulsar ( http://www.pcbfx.com/main_site/pages/start_here/overview.html ) and never looked back. The results are great.

Hint: Only run the paper through the printer once.
Hint 2: Don't over iron the toner to the board. Too much heat can smear the image.

That looks very good, thanks gramps. I have tried many toner transfer methods with varying degrees of success. Glossy photo paper is not for the faint hearted as it is very difficult to soak the paper off. Magazine/comic non glossy is ok, but I did find that high quality smooth white plain paper worked well, but leave in warm soapy (washing up liquid) water for at least a couple of hours before trying to remove it. A soft nylon washing up brush used carefully works well.
When ironing on, prepare a folded towel on a table, clean and pre-heat the pcb in the oven at about 100deg C for ten mins, pre- heat the iron to 2/3rd's full heat, as quickly as possible, put it on the towel, lay the print over the pcb, put a soft cotton face flannel ontop of everything then PRESS the iron down hard for about 30 seconds and if needed, lift off (don't slide) and place over any area not previously covered and repeat as necessary. Leave covered to cool down for at least ten mins before removing the flannel etc.
I found that If the iron is moved around rather than lifted off and replaced, caused smearing.
Having said all that, I prefer now to use laser transparency method. With a brother laser printer, i needed two images overlaid to get good results, but my Lexmark 310d does a fabulous job with only one transparency. (With original manufacturer's toner)
I use pre-sensitised board's as never had good results by spraying the stuff myself. Home made light box's knocked up in a couple of hours using 4 insect killer uv tubes and a sheet of frosted glass to diffuse the light. weighed down with another heavy piece to reduce light creepage and cover over so not to damage my eyes whilst lights are on. Ten minuets is usually long enough.

Does anyone want to see how to make a UV box for under £50.00 in a couple of hours? I will post a thread if anyone does.

 

Not sure if anyone else does it this way but....
I design simple circuits using ExpressSCH/ExpressPCB or DipTrace and the print the PCB design on my laser printer using normal office A4 paper and ensuring that the traces look good on the paper. (I tend to print 4 of the PCB designs on the same page just in case I damage the paper or a bad print).
1. Thoroughly clean the copper clad board with a paper towel and acetone and ensure there are no smears or marks on the copper clad board.
2. Cut out around the PCB design from the paper and place it with masking tape at 2 opposite corners onto a copper clad board.
3. Place the board (with PCB design) on a flat piece of wood on an ironing board.
4. Cover the board and (with PCB design) with another piece of paper for protection
5. Set the iron to maximum and gently press and move the iron over the board for a few minutes, but do not allow the iron to burn the protection paper.
6. Remove the protection paper.
7. Place the board with the PCB design (which should be stuck to the copper clad board) in cold water and leave it for 30 minutes or so.
8. The paper by this time should be soaking and soft. Then gently rub the paper from the copper clad board leaving the etched outline on the copper clad board. and ensure you get off all the paper. - if any of the traces look bad/broken then go back to step 1 and use one of the other printed designs or use a black marker pen to repair the traces. - (I prefer going back to step 1).
9. Gently cut off/around the excess copper clad board that is not required.
10. I then mix 125mL of water with about 25g of Sodium persulfate (or 5:1 proportion) in a plastic bowl - I use an old plastic ice cream carton.
11. Warm the mixture in a microwave for 20-30 seconds and dissolve the Sodium persulfate in the water stirring with a plastic spoon.
12. Drop the copper clad board with PCB outline in the Sodium persulfate solution and gently move the plastic bowl to agitate the solution.
13. When the Sodium persulfate solution gets cools, warm it again in the microwave to about 40-50C
14. After about 20-30 minutes the copper should have dissolved off the copper clad board
15. When the copper clad board is clean (except for the etching) it can now be removed and washed thoroughly under cold water.
16. Gently dry the copper clad board.
17. Clean off the black laser etch print from the copper clad board with a paper towel and acetone leaving the copper traces.
18. Thoroughly check the copper traces for any breaks.
19. Dispose of the used Sodium persulfate solution carefully and responsibly.

I have never used ferric chloride but I tend to find using sodium persulfate is clean and produces fairly good results and have made some good quality boards.