I also tryed a brother 1425, it uses mich higher temp toner than other
printers and I found that usually photocopiers had the lowest temp of
them all. I have trouble getting the board hot enough with my iron.
- Ben


On Tue, 8 Mar 2005 23:03:51 -0500, Patrick Richards
<piclist@patrickrichards.com> wrote:
> Tad,
> Thank you for the good information.  It really helps to know someone has had
> success with a Brother printer.  It seems they are quite a bit cheaper than
> HPs and other printers I have looked at.  Also, you are the first person I
> have heard of who heated the board and not the paper.  I have some Avery
> labels so I will need to try using the backing.
> 
> Thanks!
> -Pat
> 
> -----Original Message-----
> From: piclist-bounces@mit.edu [mailto:piclist-bounces@mit.edu] On Behalf Of
> Tad Anhalt
> Sent: Tuesday, March 08, 2005 10:47 PM
> To: Microcontroller discussion list - Public.
> Subject: Re: [EE] TT PCB, was Wire wrapping insight needed!
> 
> Patrick Richards wrote:
> > Could someone please share information on a successful setup
> > including paper, printer, and heat source?  I would really to produce
> > my own boards. At this point, it is a personal challenge just to make
> > it work!
> 
>    I went through this a few months ago using the backing paper from
> sheets of "Avery" brand labels.  I _ass_ume that other brands would
> probably work too, but no personal experience.  Don't bother to buy the
> full sheet sized ones, the backing paper is slit at an angle in two
> places so you end up with a narrow irregular strip down the center and
> two triangles in the corners.
> 
>    Print out the board on a sheet of paper, this makes it easy to center
> the label backing where it needs to go.  I used the actual label to
> "tape" the backing paper down.  then, just ran the whole paper sandwich
> through the printer again.
> 
>    I printed with a Brother 1650 laser printer and found (surprisingly)
> the thinnest lines were the easiest to get stuck while large areas
> (ground planes, etc.) didn't work so well.  They ended up with large
> "holes."  Turning the darkness up made this worse while turning it down
> eventually caused the thinner lines to begin having problems.  Hitting
> the holes with a permanent marker was a quick and easy fix.
> 
>    Another technique that I picked up pretty much by accident is that
> things work a lot better if you heat the board up with an iron on "wool"
> setting first and then carefully lay the paper on the hot board.  It
> will stick instantly, so get it right the first time...
> 
>    Following up with a source of localized pressure (don't laugh, I used
> the handle off my woodworking vise...  Essentially a dowel with a ball
> on the end) paying close attention to the large areas helps a lot.
> Pressure applied evenly over the entire board (large stack of books)
> didn't seem to have any real benefit.
> 
>    I found that adding heat to the paper itself was counterproductive,
> but didn't experiment a lot after finding a technique that worked for
> me.  The heat seemed to smear the thin lines and cause the toner to
> stick more aggressively to the paper.
> 
>    I also found that peeling the backing off while the board is still on
> the warm or even hot stage seemed to work better than letting it cool
> completely.
> 
> Hope this helps, Don't burn yourself, YMMV, etc.
> 
> Tad Anhalt
> 
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