Toner transfer paper

Thread Starter

nerdegutta

Joined Dec 15, 2009
2,684
It would be interesting to know if one could use photoresist boards. Peel off the protective cover, place the board, and turn off the light.
 

GopherT

Joined Nov 23, 2012
8,009
It would be interesting to know if one could use photoresist boards. Peel off the protective cover, place the board, and turn off the light.
That was my hope. To either...
- print my pattern directly on a copper board, or,
- expose my copper board by replacing the laser in the printer with a UV laser.

Unfortunately, I have not been motivated enough to take my printer apart to a degree that I can see the laser.

Normally, I just find old boxes of clear film at work and, since nobody makes overhead projects, I use them to make my photo boards. I usually print two copies on the same film and then stack them up to make the print super dark. Then exposing 30 or 40 minutes is not a problem since no light gets though the very dark areas. Nice crisp edges and I can use very dilute NaOH solution for developing since it is over exposed in areas that must be dissolved away. But, until I run out of my 4 or 5 boxes of transparencies, I don't have to think about the other options. Hopefully, one of you will have perfected my plan by then.

Also, there is some electrostatic issues with laser printing so you cannot print toner directly onto a conductive surface. The direct print will need to be done with ink jet - laser can be used if you want to directly expose a photo board.
 

shortbus

Joined Sep 30, 2009
10,045
The biggest problem is finding or modifying a printer to have a straight through paper feed. Most printers wrap the paper around a drum when printing. If I remember correctly they used to make a printer that could print a label on a CD and it was what people used for pcb work.
 

GopherT

Joined Nov 23, 2012
8,009
The biggest problem is finding or modifying a printer to have a straight through paper feed. Most printers wrap the paper around a drum when printing. If I remember correctly they used to make a printer that could print a label on a CD and it was what people used for pcb work.
That reminds me that there was a light-scribe feature on a computer with a CD rom that we have sitting in the basement. Maybe we can use that. good idea!
 

MrAl

Joined Jun 17, 2014
11,396
Hi,

It's been a while now but they actually sell paper that is made for PCB work, that you put in a laser printer and print the pattern, then lay it down and use an iron to transfer the toner to the PC board surface. Anyone ever try that? The one i remember is colored blue.

I only got this to work a couple times though, as usually the pattern did not transfer well. i think it has a lot to do with the temperature of the iron itself...it has to be very hot in order to melt some toners. If not, nothing happens. Any ideas here? What kind of iron do you use?
 

Robin Mitchell

Joined Oct 25, 2009
819
I dropped the toner transfer ages ago. I too was using a P1102 HP laser jet with the cheapest gloss paper. Asda brand, sainsbury brand it dont matter, just gotta be cheap!
 
Top