I know this is nothing new, the toner transfer method has been around for years. One of the pioneers was probably Thomas Gootee. He discovered the miracle of the Staples paper and described the method of making a board really well.
While i don’t want to undermine what beautiful work he has done (in fact, if you have come here without seeing his page first, i strongly reccomend you follow the link above before going further here) I would like to document some of my experiences using this method and what i use to produce repeatable results.
Primarily, the problem for us Aussies is that the staples paper is simply not available here. I have gone through several brands of paper and just could not find any that released well enough. Most of the papers coating also got stuck to the board and was hard to almost impossible to remove without damaging the toner. I have used generic papers such as OfficeWorks brand, Avery, Canon and Kodak papers. None of which produced good results. All were cheap and only 15×10cm papers so fortunately it has not cost me a mint in research but the one i have settled on with PERFECT results is:
HP Everyday photo paper
The item number of the papers i have (in 10X15cm) is Q5441A. This is plenty big enough for all my projects. It releases PERFECTLY with no residue, even on the toner. I only soak for about 5 mins in hot water and it simply slides off. If some is left behind, soak for a little more and it will all come off – NO scrubbing with toothbrush, heavy rubbing etc. it just glides off the board. I was absolutely amazed at how well this paper worked compared to all the others i have tried. There is simply no better paper in Australia. To make things even better – the pack of 100 sheets only cost me $6!! that’s right, the paper is so cheap it’s not funny. Compare that to press ‘n’ peel or other commercial toner transfer paper which is not any better and WELL above that price.
That is not the only key to this system working consistantly, the other important factor is how the toner is transferred with heat and pressure. Irons can and do work ok but repaeatable results are hard to achieve with them. I generally found that i eneded up applying too much heat and/or the paper tended to slide and smudge the toner which meant starting again. The answer to this is to use a laminator but even still, not just any laminator. 90% (if not more) of laminators heat, then squeeze the laminator pocket. They do this by having 2 heat plates before the rollers to warm it up and the rollers then squeeze it all together. What i have found is that the heat and pressure need to be applied at the SAME TIME for it to work well.
The key here is, find a laminator that utilizes a heater INSIDE the roller. AFAIK, the only company that produces this type of laminator is GBC and even not all of thiers work like this. I can confirm however that the GBC ‘Creative Laminator’ available at K-Mart DOES. I believe this is also the same as the one available from Dick Smith stores and even Australia Post. K-Mart is the cheapest however, i paid just under $40 for mine from there.
The method of using the laminator is pretty straightforward but there are some points that should be observed:
1, Make sure the laminators ‘ready’ light is on. It takes about 5 mins to heat up…
2, Run the board through the laminator with a piece of ordinary blank paper over the copper to pre-heat the board. The piece of paper is important as i have found that the toner does not stick as well if you don’t. I presume this has something to do with the rubber rollers possibly having some oil residue on them. It could go away after time.
3, Once the board is preheated, attach your PCB design and carefully feed the two through the laminator at least two, probably 3 times.
4, Dunk board and paper in hot water and leave for about 5 mins then peel slowly.
5, Etch as normal with your favourite echant
6, Clean toner off with Acetone
So far using this combination of the HP paper and the GBC laminator i can consistantly produce boards with tracks at 0.4mm and even less between tracks/pads. it’s possible that it could go less but i have not tried.
Below is some pics of a board i have just done… This is for a pic based li-po monitor i found over at http://www.plmsdevelopments.com (look for the link right down the end of the text about Martin’s Electic RC exploits).
I am using a HP Laserjet 1320 with density set to 5 (maximum). I still get some pitting in the toner as you can see in the pics but it is not evident in the final product. I’m hoping to find a better printer that can pile up the toner – something like a HP Laserjet 4 but they are hard to find in good enough condition on the cheap.
UPDATE: I’ve since slightly changed the way i do this. One thing is that i now tend to print my PCB’s using a very dark blue (on a colour laser) rather than black. It could really be any colour i spose but my theory is the darker it is, the more toner is used. I have found this to be the best way to avoid pitts in the copper after etching as it fills all the gaps.
The problem with this is, the colour toner tends to be a little harder to melt in the laminator. Basically, it doesn’t. It’s very hard to get it to bond. However, Ahmad Tabbouch has written an excellent guide on bumping up the temp on the GBC laminator, as well as another mod that should help it last a bit longer. I won’t re-hash what he has done, but here’s a link to the guide on his site – http://www.ultrakeet.com.au/index.php?id=article&name=superfuser. Even if you don’t use colour toner, it’s still a great mod. No pre-warming the PCB and you only need to feed it once! Highly reccomended mod, you could even substitute the resistor with a trimpot and have variable temp if you ever need to use the laminator for it’s actual intended purpose. However, the outer shell will get a little deformed from the extra heat and i would not reccomend leaving it on for more than is needed for a few boards.
Tags: DIY PCB, Toner Transfer
I bought that laminator ages ago and am just now doing some tests to see if I can do some LQFP stuff I am planning (AT91SAM7). The board seems to get stuck as soon as it goes in and the laminator makes an alarming buzzing noise. Did you have anything like this problem?
Yes, i did have that problem! It’s not a problem with the rollers but in fact that the board hits the metal ’support’ on the other side of the rollers. I found that if I just let the board go and let it do it’s thing it fed fine. Don’t try to hold the board on the input support. It should feed fine. Falling that, pop the unit open and remove the metal supports on the back.
I solved it just after I posted by using brute force and ignorance. After the first go it seemed to pick up fine though. Mine doesn’t seem to heat the board enough though as the ink does not stick at all, whereas even with the poor results using my clothes iron, the bits that did decide to stick stuck reasonably well. I’m assuming you haven’t done any mods to the laminator? Also for reference, what type of laser printer do you use. I have a brother HL-2040. I don’t know if there are differnt types of toner with varied temperatures; I haven’t looked into it that much. I am working on a chopper circuit for a fuser element and roller I have pulled out of an old laser as currently hooking it up to 240V makes the inside of the roller start to smoke.
Yep, my laminator is straight off the shelf. I DO remember reading that some brother printers/toners fuse at a much higher temp than a normal laser printer. Can’t remember where i read it, it could have been on Gootee’s site. There were a few brothers and one in another brand. One (all?) of the Brothers affected could take a cart from a HP or something like that which solves the problem.
I use a HP laserjet 1320 but i have also used CLJ2600, CLJ2605 and Laserjet 4 all with no problems.
Thanks for the useful info. It’s so interesting
Thanks very much!
works like magic
Hi where did you buy the 100 sheet pack at $6? mine was $15 from officeworks same Q5441A product ID but a different graphics on the pack
It was either Officeworks or BigW, i can’t remember exactly.
Andrew,
I was wondering with your GBC via Kmart laminator…
how you get on with standard thickness PCB eg. Ex Dick Smith.
Will this board thickness fit into a GBC laminator, or must you get a thinner PCB. If so, could you tell me where you procured your thin PCB from please. Great link…….I was about to give up on papers as I have not had much success.
My own method:
I have tried this with bits of metal and it seems to work OK, but am a few day away from trying out my new theory…. for bigger boards.
I have just had 2 sheets of glass cut (10mm thickness sheets)
Method
Layered thus……Glass, PCB,photopaper,soft, fine weave cloth (for even pressure),Glass
These are all sandwiched and clamped with 4 off small but powerful G clamps, with wooden pads to keep metal from direct glass contact.
Glass is incredibly strong and doesn’t warp to any appreciable degree over short lengths. This little block of goodness is put into a home oven
set to 160 degrees C and left for a good cook (say 20-30 minutes)
Allowed to cool then disassembled.
I picked plate (float) glass as it is very flat to preserve even clamping pressure. The cloth I have found further spreads the force evenly and the oven provides even heat throughout the board and paper and smooth temperature gradient up to toner transition phase and down.
Will let you all know how it goes…….
Might just work for really big boards, with your great HP 4551A paper
My current project is 100 x 85 mm, but have plans for something much much bigger, to get rid of all that stupid wiring one has to perform on the average project. I can put down the nice board in Eagle, then pen or CAD in the other power tracks for macro items, big electros and all the inputs where I want them and etch away, in my yet to be built aquarium heater heated bubbler tank.
Rod, that method sounds interesting but it seriously sounds a lot harder than the laminator!
I normally use DSE board so it definitely works well for that, but i would recommend doing the mod i link to as well. This ups the temperature and means you do not even need to pre-heat the board. See http://www.ultrakeet.com.au/index.php?id=article&name=superfuser. With a single pass it fuses beautifully.
Thanks Andrew, for your reply
Since the locally avail. laminator works so well, then it makes a lot of sense to do the mod job on it. I am off tonight to buy a laser printer
either wireless colour or std. B&W laser. They are really cheap at Office Works currently – $166and $99 respectively
Harvey Norman have a slightly early model Brother B&W for just $88.
Sounds like electronic hobbiest utopia, given they have ample toner for some time. Laminators cost nothing, and given the speed advantage, I agree with you, easier route……so long as my projects remain sub A4.
Aust Post have a GBC laminator, but it is not the older style you have…. it is much ‘thinner’……..I checked with Kmart and they have a ‘blue’ one, so not sure if it is the older model. Will check it out also tonight or tomorrow.
Price $35 and $39 respectively. Thanks again for you assistance and effort to include photos et al. It has kick started me back into my hobby after a break for a year or two.
Just be careful, some of the brands/toners melt at a much higher temp than normal. Iirc brothers are one of them. Replacing toner with a generic one is ok tho.
Andrew can you recommend a brand of printer that has a lower temperature toner than say one of the Brother models.
Toner cartridges are over $100, so worth buying right to start with.
They have a Samsung colour model for under $200 that might be OK.
Your suggestions?
Also have found some professional laminators on Ebay 2nd hand, that can take up to 4 mm stock. Missed out on the first one I bid on, but will keep hunting as these have up to 160 deg temp controls as standard. The last one went for over $200, but sometimes better to get the right item in the first place. Will keep looking and can use my glass for the time being.
I am not 100% sure on which ones are the ‘hotter’ ones but I recall brother being on the list and still, it may not be all of them. I do know however that HP/Canon toners appear to be fine but as will most generic non-genuine toners. I use colour printing at ‘RGB 254,254,254′ so it uses all colours to make black rather than using actual black. This means you get 3 X the toner and eliminates holes. The downside is that sometimes the colour alignment is not perfect so it can cause problems on tracks with low clearance.
As for the laminator, expensive is not necessarily better. You need one that applies heat and pressure at the same time. Not heat then pressure (as most do). The easy way to determine this is generally if they are taller rather than deeper.