Printer technology

[colin]

Hi,
Im thinking maybe I might get a new printer,
you seem to be able to get a colour paper printer with very impressive stats
for less than the cost of a few cartridges,
but what can they do nowadays in terms of printing on awkward surfaces ?
it would be nice if I could print a 50mm codewheel with 2000 lines on
tranparent film,
nicer still if I could print onto front panels,
best of all if it could print etch resist straight onto copper.

Colin =^.^=

 

[Homer J Simpson]

Hi,
Im thinking maybe I might get a new printer,
you seem to be able to get a colour paper printer with very impressive
stats
for less than the cost of a few cartridges,
but what can they do nowadays in terms of printing on awkward surfaces ?
it would be nice if I could print a 50mm codewheel with 2000 lines on
tranparent film,
nicer still if I could print onto front panels,
best of all if it could print etch resist straight onto copper.

Find a good used plotter on eBay.

 

[colin]

Find a good used plotter on eBay.

you dont mean a pen type plotter do you ?
I need about 2400 dpi to print my codewheel with a good number of pixels per
line,
some cheap inkjet printers spec at >5000dpi !
some print onto cd's but some say they need special cds wich apear to have a
paper film ontop, not sure if they all need that type, some have waterproof
ink but on some types ive heard this just wipes off some surfaces.
dye sub might be better or laser ... with a flat paper path ofc

Colin =^.^=

 

[Homer J Simpson]

you dont mean a pen type plotter do you ?
Yep.

I need about 2400 dpi to print my codewheel with a good number of pixels
per
line,
some cheap inkjet printers spec at >5000dpi !

You don't need pixels to draw lines. And what inkjet will draw resist for
you?

some print onto cd's but some say they need special cds wich apear to have
a
paper film on top

White paint, but they aren't as good as they say they are.

not sure if they all need that type, some have waterproof
ink but on some types ive heard this just wipes off some surfaces.
dye sub might be better or laser ... with a flat paper path ofc

They can be a bitch too.

 

[colin]

Yep.

Hmm I dont think pens come in widths of < 0.04 mm or do they ?

You don't need pixels to draw lines.

you do if you want to use the most common type of printer.
the alternative is lines per inch wich is much the same thing.

And what inkjet will draw resist for you?

well thats the question IM asking, presumably ones that have acid resistant
ink,
although thats probably asking for a bit much of waterproof ink,
maybe it can be used as a tin platting mask instead or to mask some other
etch resistant stuff,
fused toner is etch resistant i beleive, no idea about dye sub

White paint, but they aren't as good as they say they are.

not many things are ... sigh.

They can be a bitch too.

Colin =^.^=

 

[GPG]

It's a printable coating and yes it it is matt. A coating of clear
polyuerethane is good.
Direct print:
http://www.makezine.com/blog/archive/2006/08/how_to_direct_to_pcb_ink_jet_r.html

 

[colin]

Direct print:

http://www.makezine.com/blog/archive/2006/08/how_to_direct_to_pcb_ink_jet_r.html

OMG that looks too good to be true !

so ...

a) A modification to allow the pcb to pass through an inkjet printer such as
a c84,
although if a printer wich takes cd's already this might not be necessary

b) use the alternate inks,

c) heat the printed pcb to 230'c wich cures the ink so it becomes very
resistant.

etch as normal.

wonder if the stnd waterproof inks will become etch resistant at 230'c ?

Colin =^.^=

 

[YD]

http://www.makezine.com/blog/archive/2006/08/how_to_direct_to_pcb_ink_jet_r.html

OMG that looks too good to be true !

so ...

a) A modification to allow the pcb to pass through an inkjet printer such as
a c84,
although if a printer wich takes cd's already this might not be necessary

b) use the alternate inks,

c) heat the printed pcb to 230'c wich cures the ink so it becomes very
resistant.

etch as normal.

wonder if the stnd waterproof inks will become etch resistant at 230'c ?

Colin =^.^=

There was a longish thread about this in the Yahoo homebrew_pcb group.
It does take a modified printer (IIRC a C84) and a bit of preparation
of the blank. Seems the ink brand is rather critical too.

- YD.