how do you print tonepad's pcb layouts?

[lietuvis]

Hi there, it can be done on single A4 this way, print tonepad layouts you want to do on ordinary print paper then cut PCB layouts from there then stick them to empty A4 sheet within pnp blue transfer sheet size (I think they somehow are just a touch smaller) then just do scan-copy-print of your PCB images on a single pnp, I have done this way,but all initial images I printed with laser printer too, and when it scans for copy the resolution was good too (tonepad pcb trace width is good enough for that) , also scan printing can be adjusted for density of toner. Hope this will help

[KazooMan]

Get the free PDF Tools from this site:

http://www.pdfill.com/


You can save the Tonepad pdf and then convert it to a jpg or bitmap with this freeware.  Once you have done that you can use any photo editor to cut the desired layout and paste it multiple times onto a single sheet.  You should pint to plain paper first to be certain that the sizing is still correct.  If it isn't you simply carefully measure the Tonepad ruler on your printout and determine how much to scale the printout up or down.  

I have done this with many pdfs including some from Tonepad so I can modify the layouts in Photoshop prior to printing.

Still, the best way is to get your own laser printer and cut out a piece of PNP Blue like others have suggested.  The savings on PNP will pay for the printer.  I cut mine about a half an inch longer than needed and I use double sided tape to attach it to a blank sheet of paper, using a printout of the original document to determine where to tape it down.  With the double sided tape there is no worry about getting tape gumming up the inside of your printer.//

[davent]

Original is on the left, the rework is on the right.

Imported the Rebote into Inkscape, ungrouped and did whatever i wanted with it, changed caps' type, moved traces around, added components, eliminated components, changed/copied colours... had my way with it, no limits. Save as an svg file.

The new pcb layout. Screen capture so the the image quality sucks here but print to pdf and they're just like the original.




Interesting, fun little exercise but it would have been quicker to use ExpressPCB from scratch using the Tonepad art as the basis for the layout.

Geofex Uvics board is reworkable as well from the pdf into Inkscape.

Madbeans pdf's are locked but i still import them into Inkscape and overlay new pads with smaller holes and overlay new wider traces to satisfy my quirks.

Have fun... (don't take no as an answer.)
dave

[Vince_b]

Madbeans pdf's are locked but i still import them into Inkscape and overlay new pads with smaller holes and overlay new wider traces to satisfy my quirks.

What do you mean exactly by locked?

And for importing tonepad pdf to inkscape, you had to use something to bypass the password protection, right?

[davent]

Madbeans pdf's are locked but i still import them into Inkscape and overlay new pads with smaller holes and overlay new wider traces to satisfy my quirks.

What do you mean exactly by locked?

And for importing tonepad pdf to inkscape, you had to use something to bypass the password protection, right?

Locked just means that the Inkscape sees that particular part of the imported pdf as a single unit that it great break down into smaller pieces, so after you ungroup the pdf in Inkscape when you click on the pcb image you can't ungroup to get at the individual pieces used to create it. You could however take that pcb image and create multiple copies of it to fill your page or add it to another page with other pcb art to fill the page.

In Inkscape just go to Open, find your PDF, double click to open and a window opens up like this.


Click OK. The PDF opens in Inkscape, first thing to do is go to save as, name it and save it as an .svg file. Now the fun begins. With that Tonepad Ropez i just opened, the PCB is already ungrouped so if you want it left the way it is, drag a box around it so just all the  PCB art is highlighted, group it so as you move it around later, bits and pieces don't accidentily go missing. If you want to change anything, don't group just click the object and adjust the bit however you see fit. Save frequently along the way and as long as you first saved it as an .svg file everything should be fine. The original pdf is left intact and you can get what you want out of it.

The ungrouped pcb will look like this when highlighted, once grouped or locked, highlighted,  it will look like the Madbean boards in the earlier post.

[deadastronaut]

^ yep thats what i do, inkscape rules...