On Tue, 12 Nov 2002, Robert Rolf wrote:

> The charge is stored and imaged on the DRUM inside the toner
> cartridge. It is then transfered to the paper, which is why you need a
> bit of flex there. They don't store charge on the paper because it's
> just too hard to control the conductivity between reams (humidity
> varies all over the place).

Good point.  I wonder, though, what effect a solid copper sheet hitting
the charged drum surface would have.  Also in a normal laser
printer/copier setup, the paper is charged before being pressed against
the drum.

In short, while there may be a theoretical way to get it to work, I
strongly suspect the practical difficulties in getting a laser printer
modified to print on copperclad board will be far too great for the
average (or even above average) person.  The process depends completely on
controlled electrostatic charges, and I think the presence of a sheet of
copper is going to disrupt things beyond the point where you can get a
conumer grade laser to deal with it. Of course I could be wrong, don't let
me stop anyone from trying, but good luck.  I've spent far too many hours
in the bowels of lasers (from LJ-I to Xerox 3700, 8700, 9700, Siemens
1km/hr continuous feed cold fusion, you name it) just to get them to print
on various types of *paper* reliably.  Remember, the end result has to be
not just toner on copper, but a near perfect image.

Dale

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