Converting an Inkjet Printer to Print PCBs

by pourcirm

SEE STEP 12 FOR NEW RESULTS AND AN ETCHING/PROJECT UPDATE!

Recently one of my focuses has been to find a way to make the PCB (Printed Circuit
Board) creation process easier. I like being able to design something based on what I
want in a circuit and just making it myself on the random weekend. While the toner
transfer method has been my go to in the past its just not nearly as consistent as I
would like it to be. The specific pressure of the iron and timing both make it a hit or
miss approach. Im not a fan of hit or miss I like to know something is going to work
every time I try to do it. This sentiment got me exploring new ideas for PCB creation
which is the topic of this project.
About a year and a half ago I found this webpage on modifying an Epson inkjet printer
into a printer capable of printing on thicker materials such as copper clad board used
by hobbyists such as myself to create custom circuit boards. As you'll notice that
webpage is centered around an Epson C84 printer, but Epson printers are all
somewhat similar so I decided to try this method on the C86 I had lying around the
house.
Since I've been working on my own website (www.ryanpourcillie.com) I've documented
everything about the project and thought it would be good to put it multiple places so
hopefully numerous people can see it and try something new for themselves. I really
tried to go into detail on everything I did in this process and the problems I had to
troubleshoot because from looking around online there have been a few people who
have done these modifications before, but no one really seems to have given a very
good in-depth step by step build guide. Hopefully this Instructable can serve as just
that.
So all that being said let's start with the tools and materials you'll need for this project:
Materials:
- Obviously you'll need some form of an Epson inkjet printer probably of the C80 family
as those are the ones I have seen modifications to in the past.
- A sheet of aluminum or steel or some metal sheet (about 9 inches by 14.5 inches
roughly)
- Approximately 4 feet of 1/4 inch bent (90 degree corner piece) aluminum rail
- Some type of brackets and screws to secure them with (I used 3, you'll see an image
of them later on)
- Some 4 - 40 screws (I used 1/2 inch long ones)
- Nuts for said screws (I used about 16)
- A small piece of scrap plywood and some other random scraps of 2x4 or something

of the sort
- Epoxy and/or hot glue
- The drivers for whichever printer and operating system you decide to use
- An ink kit from Inksupply.com (more details on this later)
Tools:
- A Dremel tool with grinding wheels to cut through metal
- Various screwdrivers
- Pliers or a socket wrench that fits the nuts or screws you'll be using
- A drill of some sort to attach the brackets
- A hot glue gun
- A heat gun
Once you've gathered all of those things you're ready to begin.

Step 1: Panel Removal and Breakdown

Step one is a pretty easy one and is somewhat self explanatory. The first thing I did
was remove the paper feeder sticking out of the back of the printer and toss that aside.
Once that's gone you can just use the tabs in various areas of the printer to pop off the
front tray, the side panels, and ultimately the main printer casing. I chose to keep the

main casing so that I have something to cover the printer with later for storage
purposes.
Once you get all that done you'll end up with the internals of the printer ready for
modification.

Step 2: More Removal of Parts

After removing all the covers there are some parts that you should remove and set
aside for later. You'll need to relocate the paper feed sensor because the feeder no
longer sends paper in from the top rear of the printer. I'll talk more about how this
system works later, but you'll want to remove that sensor from the back of the printer
and unplug it from the circuit board. Set this aside and we'll work more with it later.
Next up is the pressure wheels in the center of the printer. You don't really need all
three sets and the center set could cause clearance issues when you send a circuit
board through the printer. So to avoid this problem I simply removed the roller leaving
a clear area for the circuit board to pass through.
Finally you'll want to remove the print head cleaning station. You'll want to be careful
here! This station simply pops out from the press fit connectors it's sitting on, but it will
have a tubing system connected to it. This tubing is necessary so make sure not to
break it or remove it. Once you have those three things removed we can start looking
at the heart of modifying this printer, the lifting process.

Step 3: Removing the Print Head Assembly

The next step is where you roll up your sleeves and start the cutting and modifying
process. It's also the step where you need to pay attention to what you're doing as you
could seriously injure yourself and/or ruin your printer modification completely. As such
you should be wearing safety glasses or goggles during the cutting process and keep
your hands away from the cutting disc. Also for those unfamiliar with using a Dremel
tool when you cut through the metal sections of the printer body you will create a rain
of sparks and small flakes of sharp metal. As I said before be careful and wear safety
glasses, you don't want any of this stuff in your eyes.
So on to the modification...
Let's start with the easy areas first and work from there. Starting with the front rail of
the printer you will see two screws which you will want to remove. Once you do this
the rail lifts away and you can set it aside for later re-installation.
Next you can focus on the two screws near the print head cleaning mechanism. By
removing these two screws the right side of the printing assembly will be lose and
removable. However you cannot remove this entire piece yet as the left side is one
large metal piece and there is a small hidden tab which also holds the assembly in
place.
This is where the Dremel tool enters the picture. You first want to look at the metal

areas and plan out exactly where you would like to cut. I tried to minimize the area I
had to cut because as I mentioned the sparks flying in your face is something you
want to experience as little as possible. That being said you'll want to cut through the
small interior tab to release the right side of the assembly before finally cutting around
the entire left metal corner so that you can lift the print head assembly and remove it
completely from the printer's base.
If you've been careful and follow the directions thus far you should have three pieces
laid out in front of you. Check the images I've posted to make sure you have
everything disassembled properly.

Step 4: Cleaning the Print Head (Optional)

This step is optional depending on what shape your printer is in, but since mine was a
little older and had been sitting around I decided to clean the print head. This is a
pretty easy process since you've now removed the entire assembly and you can just
place it on the table while cleaning the head. My print head was pretty dried out and

had a lot of old ink stuck on it so I did some research to find out the best way to
remove it. What I found to be the best suggestion was to use some cotton swabs to
knock some of the larger gunk off before spraying the cotton swab with Windex glass
cleaner to really remove the dried out ink from all the surfaces. As you can see from
the image I used quite a few cotton swabs to clean the print head really well.
Like I said this step is optional, but it really helped my print head work like new again.

Step 5: Reinstalling the Print Head Assembly Part

One

Now that everything is taken apart and cleaned up it's time to start the process of
lifting and reassembling the print head. This process will ultimately depend on what
you're hoping to print on and the thickness of the material you're planning on using.
For my modification I plan on using a metal carrier tray onto which I will attach some
copper clad board I'm hoping to print on. As such my materials are just under 1/16th of
an inch for the metal carrier and a little over 1/16th of an inch for the copper clad. I
however don't want the print head to be too close to the copper clad or hit anything so
I went ahead and lifted the printing assembly almost 3/8ths of an inch for guaranteed
clearance. This is also a good idea in case I decide to print double-sided boards in the
future as the copper clad for that is a bit thicker due to the extra copper layer.
Now that I've decided on the amount I want to lift the printing assembly I can begin
inserting spacers to get the desired height. The easiest place to start is with the front
rail system. As it is attached with two screws I simply bought some longer 4 - 40
screws and used two of the nuts that came with them as spacers. Once that rail is
screwed back in it's done with and you can move on to the more complicated print
head assembly portion.

Step 6: Reinstalling the Print Head Assembly Part

Two

The reinstallation of the print head assembly is a bit more complicated because you
will need to create some sort of bracket piece to hold together the corner section that
you cut through. For this I purchased some corner brackets from the local hardware
store and cut them in to single smaller pieces that I could use. You can see these
brackets in the images. I just chose them because they were cheap and I figured
they'd be easy to modify, but you can make other brackets as you see fit.
Once I had the brackets made I needed to mark where I wanted to drill for the bolts to
hold these brackets in place. This process was simple for the bottom section. I just
decided where I wanted to put the supports and then marked for the holes and drilled.
Once I had those holes drilled I attached the bottom portion of the brackets so that I
could line up the print head assembly and mark where the top holes should be drilled.
To make sure the top holes where in the right spots I went ahead and inserted the 2
spacer bolts on the right hand side where the two screws attach to the printer base.
Once those where attached I aligned the brackets with the cut corner and use a level
to make sure the assembly was in the correct position before marking the hole
locations. At that point I removed the assembly again to drill those holes and then
reattached the entire piece this time using screws and the brackets I had create to
secure the entire assembly in place.

Step 7: Lifting the Print Head Cleaning Station

This is a step I think gets overlooked a lot, but is actually quite important for your
printer to function well for a longer period of time. When you turn off your printer the
print head moves into the cleaning station to help prevent the ink from drying out and
clogging the nozzles. This station is also what's used to perform a nozzle cleaning
cycle so you need to make sure you raise it just as you raised everything else in the
printer.
To make sure the cleaning station was raised the right amount I used a somewhat
indirect method of measuring. You can obviously choose your own way to lift this, but
what I did was reinstall it in the normal position before using two of the leftover
brackets that I had to mark where the screw holes fell on the printer base and the
cleaning station itself. From there I measured 3/8's of an inch down from the marks on
the cleaning station and drilled pilot holes at those marks and the marks on the printer
body. Once I had those holes I lined up the brackets to the printer body and attached
them with screws before lining up the cleaning station and screwing it to the brackets
as well.
When I turn the printer on and run cleaning cycles the cleaning station is lined up
where it needs to be and works as it should.

Step 8: The Feed System

At this point in the modification you've got most of the straight printer work done, but if
you look at what's in front of you you'll notice that there's still no good way to feed

material into the printer and you also still have a sensor sitting off to the side of your
work. Since you'll ultimately be using a heat gun on your printed work it's a good idea
to create a system that can feed your carrier and copper clad material into the printer
pretty much hands free. As such I built a rail system that supports the carrier and
allows the printer to function without me having to hand feed it.
Again you can devise your own system, but here's what I've done with my printer. My
first consideration was where I wanted to attach the feed sensor. This sensor is
absolutely necessary or the printer will not function. What it does is it senses when
material passes through its gap and relays that message to the printer so it knows
exactly where the printing material is. The seond important thing to know about this
sensor is that it expects a delay between the time that the rollers of the printer start
feeding paper in and when the sensor is triggered. I'll go into detail about that more
later though when I talk about the carrier piece. Since the sensor needed to be
mounted in a place where the carrier would pass through it and I was already planning
on making a plywood deck area to level the back of the printer body I decided it would
be best to hot glue the sensor right into that decking near the edge of where the carrier
piece would travel.
As you can see in the images I basically used a few layers of scrap plywood to create
a level area in the rear of the printer. This decking area covers the large felt waste ink
reservoir you'll see and also the metal power supply area. Basically all I did for this
area was to measure out those two enclosed areas and cut layers of plywood until
they were level. As you can see in the images again that took two additional layer in
the waste ink reservoir and then I was able to lay one larger piece over the entire
surface. Once I created this decking I cut a corner off of the top layer and lined up the
feed sensor with where the carrier material would travel. This ensures that the material
can travel through the sensor and set it off as the printer expects it to.
The main point of the decking area however was to create something to which I could
attach support rails to. Using these rails I can simply lay the carrier and copper clad in
the tray and let the printer take over. What I did for that was to take some aluminum
that was bent into a 90 degree corner and cut it to the length of my expected carrier
piece. From there I epoxied the rails to the decking and a third piece across the back
for extra support.
With the feed system taken care of I wanted to test and make sure everything was
functioning properly. To do that I finally cut my carrier material. I had a sheet of
anodized aluminum lying around so I decided it would make a good carrier. To start I
measured the width of the print gap which in my case was around 9 inches. With this
in mind I decided to aim for something similar to paper size and drew out a 9 inch by

11.5 inch rectangle. Luckily however I read more information about the feed sensor
before I cut that sheet because as it turns out that carrier would not have worked very
well. From what I've learned the carrier piece needs to have a notch cut out of it that is
about 3.5 inches long to allow for the proper delay between the feed rollers activating
and the sensor triggering. So with this new information I modified my carrier outline to
be a 9 inch by 14.5 inch rectangle with a 3.5 inch section cut out of one corner.
After cutting this carrier I installed the printer drivers on my computer and taped a
piece of paper onto the carrier before running a print cycle to check for complete
functionality. Everything came out and the printer functioned normally so I began to
look forward towards the printing of PCBs.

Step 9: Filling the Ink Cartridge

The final modification to the printer is in the ink. While this printer can still use regular
ink cartridges from Epson the ink in those cartridges will not resist the chemical
etching process used to make PCB's so it has to be replaced with ink that can. This
actually brings the entire modification full circle because this ink replacement is why an
Epson printer was chosen in the first place. Aside from the somewhat easy
modifications Epson uses a special print head known as a piezo print heads which will
allow them to print a replacement ink called Mis Pro yellow ink. This ink would clog most
other printers as they use a different type of print head system. So the Epson is of
double importance to the entire project.
If you follow that link above it will take you to inksupply.com which is where I bought
everything I used for the ink replacement. All you really need if you have an empty
cartridge is the Mis Pro yellow, but I bought a few things to make the process easier.
The first thing I bought was an empty ink cartridge that they sell which will make filling
the printer easier and I won't have to clean out an old cartridge. Secondly I bought a fill
kit from them that supplies you with two syringes and a set of tips to fill the ink
cartridge with. Finally I bought a device from them that resets the small chip that's on
Epson print cartridges so that you can convince your printer there is still ink in the
cartridges after they run dry and you refill them.
So using these things and my yellow ink I filled up the cartridge and got it prepared for

installation in my modified printer so that I could run a final test and etch a circuit board
to see the results of my work.

Step 10: Printing Test

Recently I've been testing various techniques for creating PCBs so I created a test
board in CadSoft's Eagle that features the three pad types and traces in various
different measurement sizes so I thought it would be an appropriate gauge of how well
this printer works also.

Also for those of you who are curious about how detailed this thing can get I've also
printed drj113's Ethernet Arduino board . This thing is packed full of little details and a few
surface mount parts so that will give you a very good idea of what you can print with
this system.
You can see how I'm going about printing in the video below and also see the two
printed boards in the images.
Make sure to check out the next page for some important etching information before
you proceed any further or you may ruin your boards!

trace_pad_test.brd4 KB

Step 11: Notes on Etching

This is a section that I didn't think I would need to write seeing as etching is usually the
easy part of the process of PCB making. However I have run into some issues that I
think people should know about so that they can avoid them and make this a smoother
project and better PCBs.
First, everyone should know is that if you go this route you need to use ferric chloride
to etch the boards. I know it's nasty for the environment and a lot of people are trying
not to use it, but the Mis Pro yellow ink will only work with ferric chloride as far as I
know. You may ask how I figured this out and some of the images will show you how. I
tried to etch my first set of boards in a mixture of hydrochloric acid and hydrogen
peroxide, but the etching solution ate right through the Mis Pro ink and I ended up with
those nice green boards of junk (oxidized copper) when I got frustrated and washed
them off with water. Ferric chloride however does not eat away the Mis Pro ink and the
etching will work as expected provided you follow the next suggestion.
Second, the thickness of the copper layer on your copper clad board is somewhat
important. In the past I've used the old permanent marker drawing method and the
toner transfer method of PCB etching on some copper clad that had a 2 ounce per
square foot copper layer. This worked fine in the past as the permanent marker ink
and the toner are a bit more robust and can withstand a longer etching process. The
Mis Pro yellow ink however in my experience cannot withstand that same duration.
This makes sense seeing as it wasn't necessarily designed for this purpose. The

solution however is quite easy. If you choose a copper clad board with a thinner
copper layer of 1 ounce per square foot the Mis Pro ink will survive the shorter etching
process and give you a better PCB in the end. (If you're looking to buy PCB material
check out eBay as it's a great source for bulk material at a good price. I buy from
an eBay store run by the user abcfab and have gotten some good deals on some nice PCB
material. The nice thing too is that you can contact him if you want a specific material
(size, copper thickness, # of boards, etc.) and he'll work with you to get an order
going.)
Lastly, my "Trace and Pad Test Board" was poorly designed. Yes that's a shot at
myself, but I thought it was worth admitting. I realized during the etching process that
there is way too much copper on that board that needs to be etched away. As such I
thought about redesigning it with less open space, but then decided to stop trying to
etch a nonuseable test board because I didn't want to waste more ferric chloride when
I knew the process was working already. Also the Ethernet Arduinoserves as much a
better measure of printing and etching with this new printer modification as it will be a
functional board that I can solder parts to and test traces on.
I know that those may seem like somewhat stupid or strict requirements, but they're
things that worked for me and I figured I'd relay them to everyone. If you come out with
results that aren't quite perfect just play with your printer settings and heat time as
once I got those right things started to work a whole lot better and got some really nice
results and a PCB which is ready for tinning and parts.

Step 12: Etching Revisited (October 24th edit)

As many people in the comments have noted my boards had pinholes all over them
and I was just as unsatisfied with that as anyone. As such I started to do some more
research and try to find ways to correct this issue. Among the many suggestions I
received I put two at the top of my list for researching. Firstly, I looked into a better
etching setup as I've been considering this for some time and this seemed like the
right project for the upgrade to a heated, aerated tanks. Secondly, a few people
mentioned the ink I am using and that the proper setting temperature may be higher
than I am actually achieving with my heat gun. Since those two things seemed easy
enough to remedy I focused on them first to try and solve my pinhole problem.
To start I began looking at a few different etching tank designs and thinking about what
I wanted out of my design. I came to the conclusion that I wanted something nice, but
not overly expensive and building my own setup was the best option. As such I took a
plastic cereal container that I found lying around the house and decided to use it as
my tank base. This container is nice because it's large enough to fit bigger boards and
has a snap on airtight lid, but not too large that it takes a whole gallon of etching
solution to fill. From there I visited the local pet shop and purchased an air pump,
some plastic tubing, a bubbling rock, and a small aquarium heater. With all the
materials together I hot glued the bubbling rock into the bottom of the container and
the plastic tubing up the wall of it. Finally I inserted the heater and was ready for the
etching solution.

My second improvement was to heat the boards hotter and set the ink better in hopes
it would adhere to the boards better. This was an easy fix as I found a coupon for a
dual temperature heat gun at Harbor Freight Tools. This heat gun cost me $10 and has
two settings of 570 degrees (F) and 1110 degrees (F) or so. This is more than enough
heat as through some research I found the ideal heat for setting my ink is around 425
degrees (F). This is also great because at about 425 degrees (F) the copper clad
board will start to turn a bit purple due to oxidation and the heat.
With my two problems solved I printed 2 new boards and tried out the new heat gun.
This is where I must issue a warning. As much as you may think the higher 1110
degree (F) setting will heat your board faster and set the ink more easily do not try it. If
you heat the board too fast it will warp. If you heat it too much, as I did with my first
board, the adhesive holding the copper to the board will melt and the copper will
bubble up. All that bubble took was a second on 1110 degrees (F) and the copper
popped off.
My second board however I was patient with and used the 570 degree (F) setting and
slowly heated the entire board until it started to turn purple. I tried to take an image of
this for reference, but it's not visible on camera so you just have to keep your eye on
your boards as you do this. Once the ink was set at this higher temperature I fill up my
etching tank with some Ferric Chloride and let it heat up and bubble for a bit. When
the solution was nice and warm I dipped my board into it and checked it every 30 to 40
seconds for progress. After about 3 minutes my board was done etching. (This type of
tank and etching method is so much faster than rocking a container around by hand so
I'd recommend the upgrade to everyone.)
After my board was complete I rinsed it off and took some pictures for this page. As
you can see these two tweaks in my method produced results that are significantly
better as this board has crisper traces and none of the pinholes that plagued the first
few boards that I etched.

Step 13: Results

So as my etching section has proved this didn't work perfectly for me the first time.
Things like this never do, but as far as printer functions go everything worked out
nicely once I got the air out of the ink cartridge and ran a few prints to get the Mis Pro
yellow flowing properly.

With that said you can see from the images that I'm getting some very good results
now that everything is sorted out. I've reprinted and etched the Ethernet Arduinowith
ferric chloride and it is now waiting for parts that I ordered from Digi-Key. I think that
compared to other ways I've etched PCBs in the past this method has had it's initial
drawbacks, but now that things are in working order I think it will be a simpler, more
consistent, and more reliable system. Rather than drawing out all of the traces with a
marker or worrying about the heat and pressure of an iron in the toner transfer method
I can now simply print my PCBs once and drop them in some ferric chloride.
Hopefully you've found this Instructable informative and helpful (If so please remember
to vote for me in the Epilog Laser and Hack It Challenges) and are considering
building your own Epson PCB printer. If you have questions feel free to ask me here or
on my website and be sure if you do build something that you post a comment or a link
so everyone else can see your skills and possible improvements.
On the subject of the Epilog Laser Challenge I really hope you consider voting for me
as I feel the combination of this PCB printer and an Epilog laser cutter opens some
serious doors for future projects which I hope to post to Instructables. I also hope to
find more hackers and modders in my area to collaborate with on projects and I think a
laser cutter could not only serve me well, but others I may meet in those
collaborations.

shukata1 month ago Reply

A good technique to remove all copper instead of ferric chloride is use 60ml of peroxide and
40ml of sulfuric acid, mix both and put in the plaque and it will be ready in a few minutes.

castleink3 months ago Reply

Wow, I'm amazed that this is possible - never considered this as an option. Does the kind of ink you
use matter (other than the fact that yellow works best)? Thanks, BillCastle Ink

dregalia4 months ago Reply

Quick question, does it have to be yellow? Can I use magenta or some other color?

pourcirm (author) dregalia4 months ago Reply

From what I've seen online in various forums yellow seems to work the best so that's what I went with.
I'm sure you can experiment though as I've seem magenta used before as well. Just need to make
sure and get a thicker layer of ink on the board.

thrasher5299 months ago Reply

Would this method/ink work with electrolytic etching using salt water and electricity? Or would this ink
not withstand it?

pourcirm (author) thrasher5299 months ago Reply

I can't tell you for sure if it would withstand the salt water and electricity. I had some issues with
hydrogen peroxide and hydrochloric acid eating right through the ink, but ferric chloride didn't damage
it. Those are really the only two etching methods I've tried thus far with the PCBs.

fmubarik2 years ago Reply

Can anyone tell me what is the minimum possible line thickness can be achieved

stephenfitton fmubarik11 months ago Reply

This depends on several factors the main three are (once perfect lines are produced)
The under-etching of the edges Due to (1)Etch-ant type,(2)time exposed, and the (3) irregularity of the
mixes composition, (usually overcome by running through a low volume all plastic water pump )
design circuit to the amount of current the copper has to take,Otherwise eat away to zero.

pourcirm (author) fmubarik2 years ago Reply

Currently with the Ethernet Arduino board that I've printed and etched the thinnest trace printed would
be about the size of the 74HC08 surface mount chips leads. That is to say that they are approximately
.3 to .4 mm wide roughly. I don't have an exact way to measure something this small at the moment,
but from the datasheet for the 74HC08 I can estimate them at about that thickness.
As for the thinnest etched spaces on the board I have a few areas that are even thinner and I would
estimate at about .1 to .2 mm wide roughly. I'd venture to say probably more around the .15mm area.
I know there are a lot of others out there using this setup too and maybe some of them are getting
different results, but that's what I can tell you from my experience so far. I'm working on my own board
design for another project currently so once I can that board all designed and ready to print I may be
able to give you more measurements straight from Eagle.

ahmed921 year ago Reply

thank you very much.

but have one question,can i use canon printer.

dennist11 year ago Reply

Great write up, well written and covering all the bases. Excellent job.
I have been considering a very similar mod, but not had the time to attempt it yet. What I am
considering is replacing the print head with a laser diode; which could then expose a presensitized
board. This of course would require some new control boards/software - possibly Arduino based, but
should be able to generate very high quality boards. First thoughts were of course just cutting the
copper with the laser, but my guess on that would be a very powerful laser given the heat transfer
properties of copper. Anyone ever tried either; or anyone want to take the idea that does have some
time to work on it - feel free!

aliyousu1 year ago Reply

Hello,
i had a question. I am working at a startup and we are making comic publications. We need to print
rolls of size 4inch by 150 ft long! and this is on bible (thin paper). The question i had was, we cant
afford these fancy large format printers which are able to do this. Neither can we outsource as the cost
is too high per unit. We need to print these cheaply and with inexpensive equipment. Any ideas if it is
possible to convert a normal printer into something which can print 150 feet long documents.
The print quality is only 300 DPI and black and white.
Would really appreciate some help.

aavs2 years ago Reply

hi really like the idea, but having trouble with the ink, I thought it would be possible to use laser printer
instead of ink jet....

pourcirm (author) aavs2 years ago Reply

I'm not 100% sure how to approach the idea of using a laser printer truthfully. There's a lot to consider
that complicates the process. While you may be able to do it I don't think it will prove to be nearly as
simple as this modification was. The laser printer has a more complicated system with the fact that it
uses toner and then as the name suggests has a laser which melts or sets the toner powder into an
actual ink. If you do try to modify a laser printer let me know as I think it would be quite interesting, but
I don't know how much help I can give you without directly having access to the printer and seeing the
inner workings that need modification.

switch62 pourcirm1 year ago Reply

The laser only writes the image onto the drum. The photo conductive drum is charged with a positive
charge. The laser writes onto the drum, where the laser hits, the drum becomes conductive and
discharges the positive charge. Positively charged toner particles then stick to the uncharged parts of
the drum. The paper is negativley charged and the toner transfers from the drum to the paper. The
paper and toner go through heated rollers (like a laminator) and the plastic toner melts and fuses to
the paper.
Two main problems in conversion are,
The paper path is never straight, impossible to make it so without very major modifications.
The copper on the PCB will not hold a static charge as it is conductive.
Though if anyone does do it I would be very interested in seeing it. :)

beatyruth aavs2 years ago Reply

I haven't tried it myself, but I have a friend that uses his laser printer to print out the PCB drawing on
parchment paper, then transfers it to the board by ironing it on. I've heard of others using regular
paper the same way

pourcirm (author) beatyruth2 years ago Reply

That's the typical method of making homemade PCBs. My upgrade to this system was to make more
intricate and more consistent boards. There are a lot of options out there though if you search
Instructables for other methods.

ryanbou1 year ago Reply

Awesome work. Question- could a laser printer be modified in this same way to directly print toner
onto a board?

switch62 ryanbou1 year ago Reply

I would say probably not.

The paper path in most laser printers is a sideways U. That means the paper has to bend around the
drum and rollers, a normal PCB won't.
Even if you could get a laser printer with a straight path the PCB is too thick and you would need to
modify the actual drum/toner assembly and the fuser assembly. Not easy at all.
Lastly the transfer of toner to paper relies on a static charge given to the paper to attract the toner. I
don't think the conductive copper will hold the charge well enough, if at all.

pourcirm (author) ryanbou1 year ago Reply

I have been curious about the same thing actually. The short answer is I'm not sure.
The longer answer is it would depend on the construction of the printer and how easily you could "lift"
it. Factor into that the different printhead system and whatever other mechanisms a laser printer might
have and it could complicate the build. I don't really have access to a "junk" laser printer so I haven't
been able to test this idea out. I'd need to take it apart and look at the specific printer to decide how to
go about modifying it.
If you do decide to try it and are successful or find some helpful things out make sure to let me know
as I would like to try that in the future.

switch621 year ago Reply

Well done, very thorough instructable. Especially your experiments and results on etching.
I've been converting an Epson T21 but for various reasons haven't finished it yet (over 3 years !)
The T21 has the whole printing mechanisim and electronics on a vertical steel plate that is held by 2
screws to the base. I just need spacers under the screws to raise it, no cutting, no brackets. I was
lucky on that part.
I really should finish it and put up an instructable.

fedey2k11 year ago Reply

Hi, Did you modify the programming if not then how did you tell the printer to only print with the
cartridge you filled with the yellow ink, or did you fill all of them???

pourcirm (author) fedey2k11 year ago Reply

You could fill all of the cartridges if you'd like to and then you wouldn't have to worry about what color
printed, but I didn't go that far. I only filled the black ink cartridge.
I've just been designing things in all black and then printing them using a black and white option in the
printer settings and that has been working fine.
Additionally the program I use the most with this printer is EAGLE and it has an option on the print
screen to only print in black which thus far has worked fine for me.

No-Shi-De2 years ago Reply

I just thought somebody has to say this... your a smart person...

rohanmk2 years ago Reply

Dear Sir,Your video is not available here.

qualia2 years ago Reply

i was recently thinking about hacking a printer like this for a slightly different purpose, and i checked
instructables to see if it was already done by someone else, this was the closest. my idea was to
mount a lightscribe DVD burner laser on the printer head of a cheapish $50 printer (bought the DVD
drive, not the printer yet) and link it up so that as well as depositing ink it could reduce graphite oxide
film into graphene, on a glass or, (optimistically)- a cellulose acetate substrate for the purpose of
making an active matrix pixel array for creating OLED displays (including the field effect
transistors+capacitors for each pixel in the same process, using the semiconducting and conducting
properties of the graphite oxide and graphene, respectively), the electroluminescent doped polymers
could possibly be dissolved in acetone or perhaps a weaker solvent that wouldnt attack a printer
cartridge too much, then printed over the transparent graphene electrodes, one for each subpixel in
alternating formation according to the RGB dopants and corresponding subpixel.
the idea i had was having the printer rollers actually moving the entire printer along rack and pinion
type rails on each side of the build surface, and i wasnt sure if the steppers would be powerful enough,
got some heartier steppers around though, but different current ratings to most printer steppers so i'd
have to make a breakout board to drive them if i had to use them for it. (which would be fairly straightforward, i got a cnc lathe/mill and a UV LED PCB developing glass table)
anyway, what my question really is, would you know of how to mess with the printer driver program
and/or circuitry to use it as a plotter as well, so it could laser reduce graphene oxide in continuous
lines while changing from one axis to another instead of rastering? rastering would be fine for the
deposition of the EL polymer but i think the graphene would have a more continuous molecular
formation if it was reduced as a continuous trace.
apologies for lack of caps and the grammar, i are retard.
i would very much appreciate a reply if you have any information i might find useful to achieve this
objective.

booga0072 years ago Reply

Very well done. Something that I might try in the future.

Is is just me, or does the final etched product seem rough around the edges for the copper pads and
traces, doesn't look very clean in the pictures?
If this is the case, would a better quality printer be the way to a better etch, or is it simply the
"DIY"ness of it all that produces the 'rough' results?

pourcirm (author) booga0072 years ago Reply

The first boards I did while still testing the printer and trying to iron out the kinks do have rough edges
on them yes.
As I got everything fixed and calibrated right though the boards got better. I have pictures of the better
board I made in there a few places, but now that I know exactly how long to preheat the boards for
and how to set the ink better and have a better etching tank the boards are coming out smooth.
I haven't had a chance to post anything new recently because it's been pretty cold outside and I
haven't been able to etch boards yet. The new etching tank is nice, but the bubbling ferric chloride isn't
something I like to use inside very much. I'm working on designing a few of my own boards currently
and when I get a chance to etch them I plan on posting updated photos.

ARJOON2 years ago Reply

i still don't believe my eyes. this instructables is incredilble. big thanks. will make one because i have
the same printer

skrubol2 years ago Reply

Is there something about the MIS ink that makes it more suitable for this task than other pigment inks?

pourcirm (author)2 years ago Reply

Just wanted to post a comment and thank everyone who voted for me and viewed my Instructable. I'm
a finalist in the Epilog Challenge and I really appreciate it. Here's hoping I can win and bring you more
cool projects with that Zing laser cutter.

wizejester2 years ago Reply

Thank you so much. I have been dreaming of something like this for a while but have been to busy
(way too lazy) to go through the trial and error myself. I look forward to building one of these soon. You
definitely have my vote for most awesome in show!

pourcirm (author) wizejester2 years ago Reply

The build really isn't all that hard once you've got a plan of attack for everything and it's definitely worth
the time you put in because my new boards are coming out very nicely now that I have the heating
and etching problems sorted out. Hope the build goes well for you and thanks for the vote it's much
appreciated.

profpat2 years ago Reply

interesting!!! great work!

pourcirm (author) profpat2 years ago Reply

Thanks. It was a fun project to work on and the goal of better PCBs made it even more so.

Polymorph pourcirm2 years ago Reply

Hi, I'm moderator of Homebrew_PCBs and Inkjet_PCB_Construction on Yahoogroups, which is where

a lot of the information on Massmind.com comes from.

I would suggest that you put MISPRO yellow in all four cartridges. It can be very difficult to get an
inkjet printer to print from only one ink shade. More printheads printing may mean more dots filled in,
too.
As for the curing, from all reports the temperature and hold time are very important. Volkan, the
gentleman who first discovered this process of printing and heat curing pigmented ink, would heat it to
the point where the copper just turns purple and hold it there. Others have experimented and found
that holding it at 230C/446F for about 3 minutes does the trick, but that it is a very narrow window of
temperature.
I just ordered a "Mini SMD Preheater" 21-10135 from MCM that is a hot air rework station, set the
board on top of it and it heats between 100C and 350C, temperature controlled. My intention is to use
it for pigment ink cure and SMD reflow soldering. I got it on sale earlier today for $40. A toaster oven
with a better thermostat should work, too.
To the gentleman asking about using an HP inkjet printer, as you mentioned the MISPRO pigmented
inks probably won't work since just about every desktop HP inkjet printer is a bubblejet and uses dye
colors. However, there is the hybrid toner method - print using any ink, as long as it doesn't run, and
dust laser toner across the ink. The ink stays tacky for quite a long time on a nonporous surface. Then
heat until the toner turns shiny.

pourcirm (author) Polymorph2 years ago Reply

Thanks for the advice and info. I've been contemplating filling multiple cartridges, but I have yet due to
the fact that I don't have any other empty ones to use at the moment. I figured that would get some
better coverage.
You are correct that temperature window is very narrow. I bought that heat gun and it was effective,
but so touchy to not overheat the board and to try and keep everything uniformly heated. You'll have to
update me on that SMD Preheater. I've been thinking of moving to mostly or all SMD parts too, but just
haven't quite committed yet. I like the idea of a dual function tool, hopefully that product works out for
you.
Glad to hear more input and advice though for sure. I know you guys have quite a thread going and
have more ideas and insight than I could probably imagine right now.

batmat2 years ago Reply

Very well. Congratulations.

t.rohner2 years ago Reply

Interesting instructable.
But the quality is not yet there...
Maybe you should try mild solvent inks.
I work with large format printers, that also use Epson Printheads.
Most of them use modified heads. The printhead itself withstands pretty harsch organic solvents, it's
the plastic part on top, that needs to be of a different material. (compared to a standard waterbased
printhead)
There are certain mild solvent inks, that work with unmodified Epson heads.
Used in "Freejet" nontextile printers for example.
And there are also inks with a completely different chemistry like these:
http://www.sepiax.com/anwendungen-en
What would work pretty sure, are the Roland UV-inks used for example in the LEF-12. But the price
tag of those machines might be a bit prohibitive.
But i could make some experiments with different inks.
I have access to machines with many different inks. Many of them flatbed machines. Maybe i make
some test boards.

ElectroFrank t.rohner2 years ago Reply

So does this mean that an inkjet printer could directly print etchant onto a copper board ?
Then just a short wait and a quick rinse . . ? Now that would save some acid !
Hold on . . . wouldn't this cause massive unemployment in the acid industry ?

t.rohner ElectroFrank2 years ago Reply

No, definitely not.

This would etch away the printheads.
I'm just supposing a better ink for masking.

ElectroFrank t.rohner2 years ago Reply

Now I see. But hold the thought. We progress by thinking outside the box. Is there, or
could there be a way ? All plastic printheads ? All metal parts plastic coated ? A chemical
ink that would react with something else to form an acid only where required ?

pourcirm (author) t.rohner2 years ago Reply

Thanks for the comment. Your work sound interesting in relation to this project. I'm sure it
would be helpful to not only me, but anyone thinking of such a project to have some more
input or more ink possibilities. Please keep me updated if you decide to run some boards and
come up with strong results.

ElectroFrank2 years ago Reply

A thought passes through my mind . . . May I plant an idea seed for people to grow ?
As there is already metallic silver paint used for circuit board repair, can a way be found to
directly print metal (by some means, in some form) straight onto blank circuit board ?
Possibly by adapting some kind of inkjet printer (or plotter), using fine enough metal
particles ?
Perhaps an ink consisting of metal particles in a flux, then set by briefly heating to melting
point with a blast of hot air ?
If anyone can find a way, it should be extremely environmentally friendly, and would make all
other prototyping systems obsolete overnight.
And this could be the website where it is first seen . . .
(And OK, if it's already been invented, well I always say, great minds think alike . . . ;-)

pourcirm (author)2 years ago Reply

Hey everyone I've posted the update I commented about yesterday. The new board came out
10 times better and has no pinholes in it. Check it out and let me know what you think.

klee27x2 years ago Reply

I wish you best of luck to perfect this method and make a lot of money. In the meantime, I
have made hundreds of pcb's with toner transfer, and I suffered through a lot of headache
before I discovered the easy way.
Off the shelf laminator, dextrin paper, and heat gun.
Just two runs through the laminator while shooting the board with a heat gun does the trick
admirably. I've tried all the papers and TBH, photo paper, magazine paper, and even the other
professional papers wilt in comparison to dextrin paper (e.g. Pulsar). I went through a 100
pack of the "blue" stuff before trying the slightly more expensive dextrin paper, and I'm kicking
myself for not trying it sooner.

twodotone2 years ago Reply

sorry guys, it's not my intention to rain on your party, but with all the effort it takes to convert a
printer to print on pcb, the issues you may encounter, the resist calibration and so on...
isn't it easier to just make yourself a UV exposure box and buy boards coated with resist?
I built one years ago then I switched to a commercial (cheap) model.
I'm the happiest champ.
I'm now etching double-sided smd-only boards and the edges are perfect.
I don't etch in FeCl anymore, now I use a 2 to 1 solution of HCl (10M) and H2O2 (3%).
it has a lot of advantages, among which no stains... but it may burn stuff... ehm...
anyway... never thought I'd be as happy with my etching, and using a (again, cheap) etching
tank with air pump and heater, I etch a board in about 2 minutes.
that makes the edges very sharp.
I have more trouble drilling 0.6mm holes and center them correctly than to produce the
board :)
anyway keep up the experimentation, I would love to see cheap commercial solutions.
to me laser printing acetate, UV exposure, development, etching is a fulfilling experience
every time and I'll keep doing it ;)

billd6 twodotone2 years ago Reply

twodotone - not sure if you are using positive or negative resist but where are you getting your
film positives or negatives from?

twodotone billd62 years ago Reply

I buy pre-sensitized boards.

http://www.bungard.de/index.php?
option=com_content&view=article&id=25&Itemid=76&lang=english
I tried some very expensive ones but I had really lousy results.
I expose with a UV exposure box like this one, just an older model
http://nl.farnell.com/cif/bc10/uv-exposure-unit-cip-1840/dp/1332734
then I etch in Copper Chloride in Aqueous Hydrochloric Acid Solution
http://www.instructables.com/id/Stop-using-Ferric-Chloride-etchant!--A-better-etc/
I use a cheap bubble etching tank with heater at 24C and if I preheat for a couple of minutes,
my board is perfect after 2-3 minutes.
most of my thin traces are 0.4064 mm (0.016") and there's no visible damage to the trace
edges even with the magnifier I use to solder caps in 0805 package.
I've been using this technique for the past 2 years and there's no way I'm steering away from
it. :)

billd6 twodotone2 years ago Reply

Are you placing a film negative or film positive on top of the pre-sentized board when you put
it into the UV exposure system? Depending on the type of photo resist, what developer are
you using to wash away the unexposed / exposed areas of the copper clad laminate prior to
etching?

twodotone billd62 years ago Reply

hope I'm getting your question right.

I'm placing a laser printed acetate between the UV light and the copper board.
the black area is the actual trace, everything transparent will not be printed on the copper.
the developer I'm using appears like a salt.
can't remember what it is though, I always used the same.

billd6 twodotone2 years ago Reply

Yes - you understand my question perfectly. It's been my experience that the black areas
printed on acetate thru a laser printer have never been opaque enough to block the UV. As a
consequence, I always get pin holes and other voids in the copper traces.

twodotone billd62 years ago Reply

almost forgot:
always use freshly made Sodium Persulfate.
it can still be good for a couple of days, but you'll notice the traces getting less sharp after the
second day.
you may think it's the etching solution but it ain't.
it's the damn developer :)

twodotone billd62 years ago Reply

hey billd6
here's the last one I made.
those solder spots you see are hand-made vias.
they don't look too pretty but they do their job.
sometimes I clean them with copper braid but it can also mess up your via (been there).
the only slight defect I have on this is marked in yellow.
inspecting the acetate I couldn't see any issue, so it must have been a hole in the protective
sticker.
it's happened already in the past, those guys don't exactly handle these with the care they
need.
I have lots of tips on making pcb at home, but right now I only use the right equipment:
- purchased UV etching lamp (although I made my own a few years ago).
- Sodium Persulfate
- HCl+H2O2 as per the instructable I linked above
- heated bubble etching tank (I spend a lot of time calibrating the temperature every time and
keep it around 32-38 (just to reduce the possibility of massive quantities of fumes)
most of the times I don't flux the board, especially when using solder paste.
I noticed that there's too much flux around when doing this.
I also apply my solder paste by hand without a screen, using magnifiers and a very, very
steady hand.
hope these tips will be useful to you.
have a good day
ubi

twodotone billd62 years ago Reply

I'll take a picture of my latest pcb using a magnifier and will show you the result.
I'm very happy with the acetate result.
of course you have to make sure your solution is strong enough to etch quickly, or it will start
eating out everything.
one trick that I used in the past when I used Ferric Chloride was to print 2 acetates per side
and align them.
I also always put the printed side on the board so the black areas are effectively touching the
copper surface and the possibility of UV infiltrating from the sides.
I know, it's OCD at full speed and unnecessary.
yesterday I etched (for a test) 0.01mm traces and they were more than decent.
:)

pourcirm (author) twodotone2 years ago Reply

It's not raining on anyone's parade. It's interesting to hear about all the different PCB making
tools and procedures. When I started out with the project I obviously thought it was going to
be smooth sailing as everyone hopes with their projects I'm sure, but the few little challenges
have made it something I want to stick with and finish up completely. I figure once I put fourth
that effort and get it all set it'll be a really easy method of print and etch.
For me it came down to a matter of wanting to try something new and when I was looking at
the UV exposure stuff I didn't want to build an exposure box and deal with the sensitized
boards and the developing solution when I had a printer I could modify sitting right on my
workbench. It's just another case where everybody has a different preference and that's what
building your own electronics is all about really.

pourcirm (author)2 years ago Reply

Just a quick note to everyone. I've just completed a new board and used some of the
suggestions and improvements I've come across. I don't have time right this moment to write
an additional step and post pictures, but I wanted to let everyone know that the results are
drastically improved. There are no more pinholes and the board is on a whole different level
than the previous one. I still have to clean the ink off and take some photos, but keep an eye
out because I'll be adding those results soon.

MandingaRes2 years ago Reply

En general no hago crticas a ningn proyecto porque me parece que es de muy mal gusto.
Al contrario me gusta ponderar las nuevas ideas y sta en especial me parece fantstica ya
que "abre la cabeza" respecto a todo lo que se puede modificar (reciclar) y darle otra una
segunda posibilidad de uso a muchos elementos que normalmente iran a parar a la basura.
1)Este proyecto en particular no tiene desperdicio ya que ensea muchas cosas interesantes
pero creo que el producto final (PCB) no es del todo bueno, sobre todo en la terminacin y a
la hora de sumergirlo en cualquiera de los lquidos elegidos, pueda quedar con faltantes de
cobre en lugares crticos de soldadura de componentes.Para mi todava no hay nada mejor
que un circuito impreso por una laser (consegu una vieja Laserjet M400 por muy pocos $ y
su rendimiento es maravilloso!!)
2)Cuando uno piensa que el percloruro frrico es nocivo para el medio ambiente e intenta
otros medios, hay que pensar que tan peligrosas son las alternativas.El cido clorhdrico, el
muritico as como el sulfrico o el ntrico (generalmente utilizados para hacer el "aguafuerte"
que utilizan los joyeros y artesanos para distinto tipo de metales) son mucho ms peligrosos
que el mismsimo percloruro, por lo que muy a mi pesar lo sigo utilizando y aconsejo por todo
concepto.(Todava no se invent lquido alguno que podamos utilizar y luego poder tirar por la
caera sin tener remordimientos...)
3)Por ltimo: entr en tu sitio web y pude ver por las fotos que tu caja de herramientas est
"asquerosamente" ordenada!! Nunca pude tener ese orden en la ma,aunque puedo
encontrar cualquier cosa que necesite(siempre y cuando cuente con el tiempo suficiente)
Muchas Gracias por compartir tu proyecto con el resto de nosotros!
(Por favor, traducir pues mi ingls es muy malo)

chasiscorto MandingaRes2 years ago Reply

Translation for "MandingaRes" (which stands for "DevilRes"):

***translation begins***
Generally I don't use to criticize any project because I consider it to be rude. Om the other
hand I like to consider new ideas and this particular one looks fantastic to me because it
"opens your mind" about every thing you can modify (recycle) and give a second chance to
thing that usually would end up in the thrash.
1)This particular project is wasteless (**stands for "very usefull" or "excellent"), because
teaches you interesting things but the final product (PCB) is not all that good, specially the
finishing and when submerged in any of the suggested liquids, it can result on missing copper
on critic places for soldering. There is nothing better yet than a laser printed circuit (I found a
old Laserjet M400 for a few $ and its performace is wonderfull!!)
2)When you think about the ferric chloride is noxious for the enviroment and try other ways,
you have to think about how dangerous the alternatives are. The chlorhidric acid, the
"muriatic" (**this stands for an aqueous solution of sulfuric acid), the sulfuric or the nitric
(generally used to make the "strongwater" used by jewelers and artisans for different metals)
are way more dangerous that the ferric chloride, that's why although beeing sorry I keep using
it and adviceing the use of it (it haves not been invented any liquid that we can use and throw
away thorugh the sewer with no remorse...)
3)For last: I've been on your website and I have seen by pictures that your tooling box is
"disgustingly" (**this stands for amazingly, it's an irony ;) ) organized!!! I've never been able to
keep mine in that kind of organization, although I can always find what I'm looking for (if I
have time enough)
Thank you very much for sharing your project with us all!
(please, translate because my english is too bad)
***End of translation***

perfo2 years ago Reply

Good work there. It is something Ive played with myself but really thinking it would be good if
possible to actually mount the Dremel with a fine routing blade on to the carriage instead of
the ink cartridges and actually mill the PCB. Gets rid of the chemical step.

pourcirm (author) perfo2 years ago Reply

I am actually actively working on trying to plan out a homemade CNC machine. My goal is to
create the PCBs with this method and then trying to program the CNC to drill all my holes for
me. If I can accomplish that I'd have an almost completely automated system for creating my
PCBs.

perfo pourcirm2 years ago Reply

If you make a home CNC then why bother etching? A milled board would be better. I've
fiddled with cnc contraptions using the motors and drivers out of a printer but it still seems to
me providing you can get enough torque it should be easy enough to convert a printer in to a
CNC. The trick would be to intercept the print on signal to move the Z axis. So when it thinks
it is printing black it lowers the miller and cuts. Use the colour cartridge as the drill and black
as mill then it would do everything just by colouring the PCB template.

pourcirm (author) perfo2 years ago Reply

The main reason I'm working on this project is because I had everything on hand basically
and the cost was really low. I'm currently job-hunting so I don't have a large CNC fund at the
moment. I have the motors and driver board which I've purchased over time, but I don't have
the money to throw in on the rest of the parts currently. I figured if I could make better PCBs
with this printer for a while it'd be worth the effort and the project gives me something to do
with a bit of spare time.
I do like your thoughts on a printer CNC combo though. Might take a bit of work and planning,
but it could be possible if you could intercept the right signals and program them into a driving
circuit for the Z axis.

chasiscorto pourcirm2 years ago Reply

Hi guys! There's a lot of useful information around here. Thanks for doing some like this, is
very interesting and encouraging to see someone getting onto this and publishing how to do
it. I'm working on a desktop CNC router myself for a while now and my first approach was
using printers' stepper motors and print head's rods to build it. I found some problems with
that approach and I'm using a different one now using steppers from sparkfun and drawer's
rails. I don't know how would it be that of making a z axis "add-on" on a printer but I suspect
this author will do some like that later (and I'm hoping to see it). Now, I know I prefer to use
the router I'm building to mill and do the drillings of my PSBs but doing the silkscreen with this
modded printer sounds great, don't you think?

e5frog perfo2 years ago Reply

You'd get very uneven edges, tool wears out quickly and it's very tricky making small pads as
they might just fly off from the force of the blade... I've seen it done a few times, not pretty but
works for pcb:s that has no small traces and such.

michaeloqu2 years ago Reply

I can understand why H2O2 would do that. It's a very agressive oxidizer. But it's posslble to
make a CuCl2 solution without using any H2O2 at all. With a solution of Cuperic Clhoride +
HCl it should have a much less agressive overall oxidation rate; the primary oxidation is
performed by the CuCl2 itself, not the HCl. The reaction is CuCl2 + Cu (metalic copper on the
board) --> 2(CuCl).

The acid doesn't do much, except supply a source af Chlorine when the chemistri\y is
refreshed by bubbeling Oxygen (Room Air works). This solution can be used forever, it just
gradually grows in volume over time. Any tthoughts on using the inkjet printed board with this
chemistry?

michaeloqu michaeloqu2 years ago Reply

Do you know the particular temprature required to set the ink? If not, can you finf it
experimentally? I've worked with some goops that need hear to set them, but you have to be
VERY careful with a heatgun, because the blast from on will make it form bubbles on the
inside, and then set, trapping the bubbles.
Perhaps curing the board/ink in an over set to the appropriate temprature for the the correct
length of time would solve the pinhole problem.
We used a heat tunnel, which is basically an over with holes in each end and a conveyer belt.

MaXoR michaeloqu2 years ago Reply

Isn't that called a pizza oven? I swear every pizza place around my home city uses one that is
the same as you described.
Either way, figure that might help others understand what you meant.

michaeloqu MaXoR2 years ago Reply

Yep, except that some pizzza ovens are huge stone slabs that can be rotated like a lazy
susan. Tends to be used in the larger establlishments or those that sell "Gourmet" or
':Authentic Old World" pizzas. I think the smaller establishments may have a smaller ovet
that has several stone shelves, but doesn't rotate. (At least out here on the west coast,)
Good comparison though.
Quiznos Subs ovens are similar too.

pourcirm (author) michaeloqu2 years ago Reply

Using some different etching solutions in tests is definitely on my list of things to consider. I've
put together a heated and aerated etching tank over the past few days and still have a good

quantity of ferric chloride on hand so that's my first plan, but if that doesn't give me the results
I'm looking for this new solution will definitely be on my list of things to look into further.

pfred22 years ago Reply

I got to ask. Why'd your "success" board have all of those pinholes in it? Is it the resist, or OK
forget it just tell me how long you're etching a board. That'll tell me all I need to know. How
many minutes does it take you to etch a board from when you drop it into the tank?

pourcirm (author) pfred22 years ago Reply

I was definitely expecting this question to come up at some point so thanks for asking it.
Truthfully I think it's mostly the resist. I'm only etching the boards for about 15 minutes maybe
less. The resist is strong enough as you start the process, but as you approach that 12 to 15
minute mark those pinholes start to sneak through and the middle traces of the board still
were not completely etched. I'm actually looking at building a better etching tank or a new
etching method as my next project to avoid those pinholes. With that said I did test the traces
on the board with a multimeter and the pinholes don't cause issue with the continuity of the
circuit so it is a successful/usable board.
I could probably write quite a bit more about this too if your still curious let me know. The
project is definitely something I'm still working on and trying to improve I just thought the
information was worth getting out there.

pfred2 pourcirm2 years ago Reply

You should be doing etches in about 2 minutes. Heat your bath and aerate it. 15 minutes
there is definitely a problem. I talk a little about my bath setup here:
http://www.instructables.com/id/GM-Arts-Overdrive-Pedal-Build/step5/Acid-Rocks/
Continuity is nice but on some circuits jagged edges can cause interference, like signals use
spiked edges to radiate out of. Plus it just looks bad.

pourcirm (author) pfred22 years ago Reply

Wow I didn't realize the time was that off. I haven't used Ferric Chloride before this project so
that seems to be where my problem is. When I have some free time here next week I'm going
to try and get a heating rig like yours together and see what kind of results I get then.

Hopefully I can get an even better board for my Instructable.

Thanks for the help.

jmsaltzman pourcirm2 years ago Reply

I don't think aeration or temperature are the problems; they just speed it up and make it a
more involved (read: potentially messier and more dangerous) process. I etch with ferric
chloride or with HCl and peroxide and just swirl them around until the exposed copper is
gone-- keep your eye on the biggest open area of copper and a few lines between traces and
wait for them to go, and you're fine.
You might try adhering the resist ink to the copper better by ironing it or putting it through a
laminator, wrapped with cheap magazine or catalog paper-- what other folks (like me) print
onto when doing toner transfer-- since toner doesn't like sticking to the paper as much as to
the copper. (This assumes that your resist ink acts similarly, which I don't know ;) Or, have
you sufficiently roughed up the copper, with a light brushing of steel wool? That both helps the
resist adhere and speeds up the etching.

pourcirm (author) jmsaltzman2 years ago Reply

I think the situation is a combination of the etching time and the resist ink that I'm using. The
ink doesn't act quite the same as toner transfer it's actually a liquid heat set ink so I'm using a
heat gun to set it really well. When the print is set the coverage is really good and even over
the copper. I've cleaned the copper with a Scotchbrite pad too so it's roughed up nicely. I think
the problem lies in the length of time spent in the etching solution because when I first put it in
the ink is completely covering the copper areas, but the longer it's in the etching solution as
I'm waiting for those last few traces to clear up as you said those pinholes start to form.
I'm going to try a few things this week to see if I can get rid of the pinholes and I will definitely
update everyone and the Instructable.

michaeloqu pourcirm2 years ago Reply

Do you know the particular temprature required to set the ink? If not, can you finf it
experimentally? I've worked with some goops that need hear to set them, but you have to be
VERY careful with a heatgun, because the blast from on will make it form bubbles on the
inside, and then set, trapping the bubbles.

Perhaps curing the board/ink in an over set to the appropriate temprature for the the correct
length of time would solve the pinhole problem.
We used a heat tunnel, which is basically an over with holes in each end and a conveyer belt.

pourcirm (author) michaeloqu2 years ago Reply

That's one of the things I'm working on right now actually. I found some sources that said for
proper heat setting of the ink I needed to hit around 220 C which I am definitely not hitting
with the heat gun. I'm looking for something cheap to use to get the board to that temperature
right now as I'd rather not put it in my home oven and risk something happening to it. I'm
thinking either a cheap toaster oven or some type of electric skillet are my best options right
now.

pfred2 jmsaltzman2 years ago Reply

There is nothing I can say here. This is beyond me.

pfred2 pourcirm2 years ago Reply

Heat your bath up until it fumes a little about 110F and get some air blowing in it. I hear
putting some citric acid in it can make it a lot more aggressive too but I haven't tried that
myself. Just heating it and pumping air into it has made it work a lot better for me. Any etch
that goes past 10 minutes gets undercut.
e5frog2 years ago Reply

The idea was good, the final result not really that good unfortunately.
What's the best looking card you have made so far?
Are there other inks that could be used?
What if a wax ribbon printer (or other transfer type printers) was used... resolution high
enough?

pourcirm (author) e5frog2 years ago Reply

I'm still working to improve the quality so I'm not sure what the best looking PCB will or can
be, but currently my best result is the one featured in a few iamges that has the pinholes in it.

There have been a lot of ink suggestions I've seen and I'm trying to look into the availability of
some of them for later if I can't get the results I'm hoping for with this ink.

e5frog pourcirm2 years ago Reply

It's a nice idea being able to put just the needed ink out on the copper instead of buying
(more) expensive boards, make masks, use uv-light and chemicals to dissolve most of what
was put on there. I would try a second print after it had dried, just to try and get rid of the
holes in the copper. Really quick prototyping!
Perhaps you could have an electronic heater below the moving plate, so you'll warm it just
enough while printing and just where you are currently printing? Easier to adjust as well
instead of the heat gun.
It's perhaps possible to make a micro-etch before printing, which means you etch it very little
so you'll get an even and matte surface to print on.
You could glue a support for one corner on the metal plate, so you always find a correct "zero
point". Could be as simple as epoxy a piece of pcb with an internal 90 degree angle (Lshape). Then you don't have to use so much scotch tape.
If you find some other colored inks you could also print solder mask (green or other color) and
silk screen print (white).
Great work, I hope we'll see more of this.

michaeloqu e5frog2 years ago Reply

One problem with print a seco0nd coat is the possibility of overspray, making fat traces. This
could be overcome by slightly an image that is slightly "thinner." The printing industry has
been dealing with this problem for centuries. Photoshop has tools that will slight "shrink"
theedges of your image, in anticipation of the fact that, when printed on a press, the ink will
spread a little, In this case, it would ley you add a second coat without the risk or overspray.
Just something to think about as people tweak their printers.

eelectronica2 years ago Reply

since i first saw the DTG (direct to garment) EPSON hack on HaD 1-2 years ago i wanted to
have a DTG/PCB printer so i took one of my C86 apart today and raised the whole print

mechanism 16mm (i figured that should be enough to also allow tshirts, etc. to go through. )
i still have to build a 16mm caddy for pcbs and one for tshirts/other stuff.
if someone is interested here some pictures. i basically used the same methods as being
described here. the only thing i had to add was a wooden spacer for the 3 pressure wheels to
prevent them from falling out if there's no spacer inbetween. since i gonna use a caddy i
thought i will leave the middle pressure wheel in place sicne the caddy will have an even
surface.
thsi instructable finally got me started with that project - thanks!
regarding inks: what about using 2 component inks? first put one layer of chemical on the
copper board, then print the second component on there. the non-printed area won't react so
before etching you could remove it. these inks do exist but i couldn't get my hands on them
yet (restricted use i guess) any ideas? (there's a 2K epoxy system based on epson printers,
specialprint.eu i think)
does anyone know where to get new printheads btw?
just the printhead whcih is fastend with the two screws

pourcirm (author) eelectronica2 years ago Reply

Hack a Day is actually where I first saw the idea as well and I spent around a year just looking
at this printer thinking I should modify it. Glad you've done a modification as well. I like the
wooden spacer idea you used to keep the pressure rollers in place. I may have to look into
that as mine fall off occasionally when there's no material in the printer. I was thinking about
gluing them in place, but the wood may be a better idea.
I've heard a lot of suggestions about various types of inks in numerous comments both here
and on Hack a Day. I think this is a project where you could go about doing it in so many ways
that I'm having trouble keeping up with them all. I've got a full page of ideas to try right now for
better PCBs and I hope one of them works out as I expect something will.

eelectronica pourcirm2 years ago Reply

i bought some inks and will report back in a few weeks with some results. preetching the
copper to make it matte (like suggested here earlier) could be a good idea indeed. in a
different context i was using this method to write on copper.
one thing i forgot to mention:
people when copying this make sure the print head docking station is in place and centered
properly => if it doesn't work (or the pump doesnt work) the printheads will be clogged in no
tiime.
that's actually the only flaw in that DTG HaD hack we refer to => there was no pump
connectted.
on the other hand you could remove the pump and always flush clean the printhead or
propably apply some duct tape after usage.
oh and i used M4 hexagon bolts to be able to fasten them really really strong. thinking of
adding a few drops epoxy glue on top now.

ddparker2 years ago Reply

I need to comment on your terminology, screw aka bolt, nut is what your spacers are.

pourcirm (author) ddparker2 years ago Reply

You are correct. Thanks for pointing that out. I wrote a few of these pages late at night and
they've got a lot of information packed in them so I expected people to point things like that
out over time.

tcarney572 years ago Reply

An excellent effort!
I might add one suggestion with regard to etching times and sharpness. I used to work for a
university research lab making proto boards. I had worked previously in large-scale PC
production, so when I found the lab's habit was to use 2oz copper, I tried hard to convince
them that 1oz was entirely adequate and that it would allow for sharper and narrower traces. I
pulled out my trusty copy of Coombs' Printed Circuit Handbook (then--and maybe still--the
PCB equivalent to the Bible) to prove the sectional area of even 10 mil sneak-through traces
("dog bones") was good up to 1.0A--far more than any digital (or even most analog) circuits
require. Nothing doing, they said.
So, if you have a choice of material, my suggestion is that you choose 1oz clad when
possible. I always used catalized persulfate etchant (@ 120F) and it worked very well with
the 1oz material. Yes, about 2 minutes in a spray-type etcher.

pourcirm (author) tcarney572 years ago Reply

The 1 oz clad is definitely the best choice for this I agree. It etches the most evenly thus far
and I'm hoping with some of the improvements I'm making I can get some perfect boards
going this weekend.

buteman2 years ago Reply

Like this, although I don't think I will try it as have a HP printer spare. Just wonder if you might
use a piece of double sided board as your spacer which might give a more precise clearance.

wa7jos2 years ago Reply

How about a hybrid solution between this and the TTF method?
The key to the TTF method is the second step of adding the green TRF paper on top of the
toner.
Will the TRF stick to your resist ink? If it will, that should greatly improve the quality of the
traces.

The other thing TRF does is make the resist VERY tough. I etch using a small sponge and
just rub the ferric chloride across the board rather than the "bath" method. I can get through 1
oz copper in about 5 minutes this way, and you can watch the process and apply etching
where it is needed. I get great results down to 8 mil traces with hardly ever a void.

pourcirm (author) wa7jos2 years ago Reply

I've seen a few people online post hybrid methods before and it's something I've considered
as a late solution to my pinhole problems, but I'd really like to create something self contained
and automatic. It's a solution to consider though if things don't go as planned in my next few
tests here.
As for the etching I've built a new heated and aerated etching tank this week to try and get a
more consistent etch, but if I have problems with that the sponge method is something I'm
going to try.

kidharris2 years ago Reply

Did you check your printer settings to be sure that you are printing in the best quality
possible?
Have you tried reprinting it 2 or more times to make the ink thicker?

pourcirm (author) kidharris2 years ago Reply

I've tried a few different print settings and finally settled in on the ones that give me the best
quality. If I use the Best Photo quality on a paper type of matte I think it was then it lays down
a thick even layer of ink printed very nicely. I am considering double printing it though as a
test further down the list of things to try.
As for the aluminum or possibly steel I'm just going by what I was told it was could be either
I'm not 100% sure.

kidharris kidharris2 years ago Reply

PS. Your anodized aluminum sure looks a lot like galvanized steel to me.
If you check out some engraving supply sites they sell a thin double sided tape that releases
easily for holding down your boards that may make setting up easier.

behael2 years ago Reply

It is a very nice instrutable. But I have question/doubt: In order to avoid pinholes, have you
already tought about printing it twice (a thicker ink layer)? Or another kind of ink, like
sublimation ink (from thermo sublimation transfer process)?

pourcirm (author) behael2 years ago Reply

I have a whole list of things I'm hoping will get rid of the pinholes. First is trying an accelerated
etching to see if that stops the ink degradation. I'm getting good coverage of the board once I
tweak the print settings right, but double printing and other inks are on that list a bit further
down if some of the earlier solutions don't work right away.

eelectronica2 years ago Reply

Thanks for writing this instructable.

I've been using the C86/C84/C66/C64 printers for a long while now since they are cheap and
easy to resurrect/clean if you know what you need to do.
You did a good choice using the C86 (the flasgship of that series) sicne you can completely
take apart the print head (see photo attached) and clean it, no matter how clogged it is. It's
not much more efford than the method you used but you'll be able to get all dried ink from
inside the head to avoid future clotting.
I really really recommend a strong ultrasonic cleaner. without ultrasonic it will be hard to free
completely clogged heads.
then even more important then cleaning the heads:
clean the vacuum pump (!!!!!!!) with 30% of all the C86/C84/C66/C64 printers i got (i have 20)
the vacuum pump tube was clogged with a solid mess of dried ink. not cleaning the pump will
result in clogged nozzles in no time.
Also regarding the printing process: if you use the printer solely for PCB printing and want
more ink applied, put ink in all 4 cadridges. also an interesting but little known fact is that you
can change the amount of ink being printed by fiddling around with the driver settings. i think i
used the "OHP transparent" setting in windows combined with some other mode. now i use
linux and it's easier to set how mcuh ink is being printed out.
just my thoughts.
thanks for writing this instructable, i really know how mcuh work you put into this. it convinced
me to finally mod my C86 printers for PCB/t-shirt printing.

pourcirm (author) eelectronica2 years ago Reply

Thanks for all the suggestions and service information that should really help me keep this
thing running for a long time. I may also have to look into filling all 4 cartridges at some point.

rewolff2 years ago Reply

2.8 mm copper is REALLY thick. That'd be about twice the thickness of the board.
You need to redo your math on the metric copper thickness. (I think you mean 35 um
(micrometer))

pourcirm (author) rewolff2 years ago Reply

Yea I messed that up for sure. I rewrote that area a few times late at night and must have
been thinking or doing something else when I wrote that. The boards would never come out
right if the copper were that thick.

raalst2 years ago Reply

Hi, nice project !

I wondered : can you not put the acid directly on the board ?
maybe the print head can tolerate the acid. the plastic probably can.
that way you would get rid of the masking and instead of pinholes you would have (maybe)

just isolated islands of copper. but the actual connections would be

untouched copper, and be 100% no pinholes.

pourcirm (author) raalst2 years ago Reply

That's an interesting idea, but I don't know that this printer could handle it. When you look at
the underside of the print head there is actually a metal plate that has tiny holes that the ink is
being pushed through. I think if you tried to print the etching solution it would eat away at this
plate and ruin the printer.

ozadr1an2 years ago Reply

Nice - I have a half modded epson from a while back.. got Page Registration Issues so
haven't finished it. The Epson Durabrite works nicely because its a Plasticised Ink, not a
'normal' ink.
BTW, to help with the undercutting during etching, try using the "Sponge Method" on this
page http://www.pcbfx.com/main_site/pages/tech_support/no_etching_tank.html ... It works
really well for Toner Transfers etc and hardly undercuts at all and works in less than a few
minutes...
Just a thought...

parasite666662 years ago Reply

I've got a C86 sitting around, guess what i'll be using it for ^^
Regarding the "right" ink: How important is the ink type? I live in Germany, so shipping from
inksupply won't be cheap. I do have a chip resetter, so would generic pigmented ink be
sufficient, too?

pourcirm (author) parasite666662 years ago Reply

I've heard of some people using the standard Epson yellow and magenta ink cartridges, but I
haven't tried this myself. The key from what I read seems to be that you want a pigmented ink
because it almost mimics the toner used in toner transfer. Once you print with the pigmented
ink you heat set it so that it forms an almost toner like layer over the copper.
Also this may help. This is a group in Germany who posted a comment on Hack a Day about

their similar project and what ink they used. http://shackspace.de/wiki/doku.php?

id=project:beta-layout:pcbprinter

Agent242 years ago Reply

Might help the print quality to use a different driver, such as the one mentioned here:
http://tech.groups.yahoo.com/group/Homebrew_PCBs/message/28722

pourcirm (author) Agent242 years ago Reply

Thanks for the suggestion I'll look into it.

rimar20002 years ago Reply

Great instructable, congratulations!

pourcirm (author) rimar20002 years ago Reply

Thanks I was hoping people would enjoy the project.

Honus2 years ago Reply

Awesome job! I too had read about this a couple of years ago but never got around to
tracking down a suitable printer to modify. After reading through this I might have to revisit the
idea. :)

pourcirm (author) Honus2 years ago Reply

Thanks a lot. I was in the same situation for a while just thinking about the possibility. I would
definitely say go for it. That's the whole reason I documented all the steps I was hoping to
help others get similar results. I'm looking forward to creating a lot of PCBs in the future with
it.