I'm trying to make a few PCBs for the rainbow LED circuit on bit tech a while back using the laser printer / glossy paper method thats come up on here a few times now. Only it's not working too well for me, and I'm pretty sure it's because the glossy photo paper I am using is far too thick at 180gsm (the design is transferred OK by ironing but when I wet it I get some parts of the paper pulling away from the board which damages the design). I can't find any lighter paper than that down the local PC world (yuk), what are other people using? The thinner / cheaper / nastier the better in this case right?
What brand of paper are you using? Is your paper coated or not? Coated paper will bubble when you heat it up. How much pressure do you apply and for how long? What temperature have you set your iron to? Did you roughen the copper clad board and if so with what? Meblin
I don't think it's coated as it's fine while I'm ironing it - the problems come when it's time to wet it. I put a fair amount of pressure on it, for probably 5 mins on a small PCB layout, making sure to get all the corners etc. The iron is an old one and thats set to about half way (unsure what actual temperature that is though). I lightly scuff the copper board with a polifix block from Rapid. The paper is PC line photo glossy paper, 25 sheets for about £9 I think it was...
I use some wet'n'dry paper that is about 600 grit. It scratches the surface a fair bit but gives the toner something to grip onto. You can make out the scratches here: Iron heat sounds fine so does time (maybe a little too long). I also put a piece of plain paper between the iron and the glossy paper. Some paper just won't work Can you peel the paper off without the use of water? I didn't need any water for the last one I did using Kodak paper but got it wet to cool it down a bit. Meblin
The polifix block is pretty abrasive and almost certainly takes a small amount of the copper off (it looks very similar to your board where it's been sanded). Theres no chance I can peel the paper off without water! As it's 180gsm it's pretty thick almost like thin card. What Kodak paper did you use? In fact I'd be interested to know what make / type of paper anyone who has got this to work has used!
Mine is: Kodak Inkjet Photo Paper 190g/sm CAT 819 6743. Bought from PC World or Staples (can't remember) and you get 15 sheets. Meblin
had very good results with whsmith glossy paper that says " DONT USE IN LASER PRINTERS" on it transfering all toner to pcb then simply falling off a couple of times but i think the iron was a bit hot cos the toner spread out a bit double sided glossy paper that says can cause trouble (thats what i used at 1st) u need to peel the paper in 1/2 b4 u iron really
