Inkjet for PnP??

[hank reynolds 3rd]

Hi,
I was wondering if anyone has had any luck using an inkjet printer over a laser one ?
I was hoping to get some laser printing done somewhere today (I live in the middle of nowhere   but I might have got a deal on a dirt cheap colour printer that some office is getting rid of due to upgrading !! )
theres always the hand drawn method I guess

Thanks


Sam

[markm]

Nope.
Sorry, can't inkjet PNP 

[Seljer]

all the magic is in the toner that laser printers use

but photocopying also works for PnP

[hank reynolds 3rd]

Thanks
I just found some articles in the archives,glossy paper and a photocopier
the layouts seem to be the right size ,just checked in photoshop


I might have a blast with the marker pen tonight though


Sam

[aloupos]

Its interesting that everyone says you can't use inkjet with PNP, although I've never seen anyone try it. 

The reason toner works is because it's like a melted plastic onto the pnp.  but, why do sharpies work?  Would imagine the ink in the inkjet printer is similiar to the ink in a sharpie. 

I guess my point is, it might be worth a try

[markm]

Its interesting that everyone says you can't use inkjet with PNP, although I've never seen anyone try it. 
but, why do sharpies work?  Would imagine the ink in the inkjet printer is similiar to the ink in a sharpie. 

Your are correct.
Sharpies do work. As well as PNP.....No.
Most inkjet ink is either water or alcohol based which is really not too tough and once it is met by something as aggressive as Ferric Chloride well, it doesn't hold up and that's provided you actually had a transfer at all with an Inkjet/PNP transfer. It just doesn't work. PNP isn't intended for use in Inkjets.
The whole point of laser is the actual toner itself which you correctly pointed out is plastic. Much more etch resistant indeed.

[Seljer]

The reason toner works is because it's like a melted plastic onto the pnp.  but, why do sharpies work?  Would imagine the ink in the inkjet printer is similiar to the ink in a sharpie. 

its the transfer part that makes inkjets not work, I dont think drawing onto the PnP with a sharpie and transferring it would work either.
The toner heats up and sticks to the copper, don't think the regular ink would do that.

I think I saw some page where some guy hacked an old inkjet to print directly onto PCBs (might been posted on here)....or I'm mixing it up with a homemade CNC mill for PCBs someone else on the internet made
edit: nope, http://techref.massmind.org/techref/pcb/etch/directinkjetresist.htm

[tjcombs]

edit: nope, http://techref.massmind.org/techref/pcb/etch/directinkjetresist.htm

Anyone tried modding a printer like this?

[Cardboard Tube Samurai]

Its interesting that everyone says you can't use inkjet with PNP, although I've never seen anyone try it. 

The reason toner works is because it's like a melted plastic onto the pnp.  but, why do sharpies work?  Would imagine the ink in the inkjet printer is similiar to the ink in a sharpie. 

I guess my point is, it might be worth a try

I tried it a few times and failed dismally... this was actually before I realised you had to use toner. It just creates a blobbly mess on the copper board

[David]

Its interesting that everyone says you can't use inkjet with PNP, although I've never seen anyone try it. 

The reason toner works is because it's like a melted plastic onto the pnp.  but, why do sharpies work?  Would imagine the ink in the inkjet printer is similiar to the ink in a sharpie. 

I guess my point is, it might be worth a try

The ink in a Sharpie is not what resists the etchant, it's the clear substrate the ink is suspended in.  You need multiple coats of Sharpie in order to apply enough of the substrate to provide a good cover.  The ink is secondary.  The odd thing is, your traces can look practically naked and still have enough of the substrate on them to resist etching.

[scaesic]

Its interesting that everyone says you can't use inkjet with PNP, although I've never seen anyone try it. 

The reason toner works is because it's like a melted plastic onto the pnp.  but, why do sharpies work?  Would imagine the ink in the inkjet printer is similiar to the ink in a sharpie. 

I guess my point is, it might be worth a try

the difference is a sharpie goes straight onto the copper, whereas with pnp the toner is printed on paper, and is later transferred to copper.

Certainly you could print your design with an inkjet printer directly to copper, and itd work the same as a sharpie (that is if your printer could print on copper). Its the "transfer" process which inkjet doesnt hold up to, not the etching process.