On Tue, 26 Sep 2006 14:40:57 +0800, you wrote:

>how do you cut presensitised boards without exposing them...

Guillotine or jigsaw/hacksaw. Boards come with stick-on lightproof film. 

>> Ive got line width as thin as 15mil in ultiboard.. will this method be 
>>> able
>>> to etch that thicness in the PCB... Or is there a better lowcost method..
>>
>> Painful... difficult enough to make toner stick to a glossy surface in
>> the first place.
>> Expect a lot of touch-up.

With the UV photo method & decent board material, linewidths & spacing of 10mil are easily
achievable.  

>>> can ordinary inkjet be used instead of a toner from a photocopier.. I
>>> printed an image using HP inkjet(reffiled cartridge not the real hp ink) 
>>> on
>>> a transparency film and put it on a ferric chloride solution for over a 
>>> day
>>> now and it does not seem to dissolve.. although I have not tried to etch
>>> anything from it, I was wondering if it could be used and if anybody here
>>> tried it...

The copper should turn pink instantly on contact with ferric chloride. If it doesn't there is still
resist there.


>> Inkjet printer, inkjet overhead projector slide, small UV tube

Tracing papaer works better than OHP slides, especially on a laser printer. Better opacity &
adhesion, & cheaper. Results are variable on inkjets from what I've heard. 


For tons of info on making good homemade PCBs, see my page :
www.electricstuff.co.uk/pcbs.html


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