Transfer Advice...pnp, photo paper, magazine paper..other?

[deadastronaut]

@paul, yeah i tried sticker paper....the toner is VERY delicate..

@jm: is the toner easily scratched, as paul was saying?. delicate?

[CodeMonk]

Well, since my contact paper tests failed, thought I would give it a go with the contact paper backing paper.

Will report here later today/tonight (I only woke up just about an hour ago, it takes my brain awhile to get going.

With the contact paper, the majority of the toner transferred pretty well, leaving NO toner residue, but there were parts where toner just refused to let go.
It may have to do with the fact that that roll of contact paper has been sitting in my mom's garage for about 10 years enduring the changing weather patterns over time.
I dunno.

I currently have no use for the contact paper itself. Of course that will probably change about a week after I throw it away .

[chromesphere]

A quick, unfocused snap of the sticker label transfer i did last night.  I'm luke warm about the results, there are a few things im going to have to address, but generally it was so much faster then magazine transfer.  I think the patchiness of the copper pour comes from no paper fibers to resist the etchant because it doesnt happen with magazine paper and there was no toner left over on the sticker label paper.  I must have had a patchy toner image to start off with!  Believe it or not, i also used a sharpie on the copper pour as a bit of extra insurance.  Im finding sharpies to be useless for fixing errors...

Despite the few hiccups, im going to persist with it.  It was just so much faster not having paper fibers stuck to the board, and having to scratch out the holes / tracks...

And a question!  I mentioned in the last post 'how do i get rid of toner blackening?'.  You can see it in the top right corner of this pcb (sort of), arrow pointing at it in the picture.  It happens randomly, and it gives me the sh!@#...kind of destroys the presentation of the pcb...any ideas to avoid or fix it?

[J0K3RX]

And a question!  I mentioned in the last post 'how do i get rid of toner blackening?'.  You can see it in the top right corner of this pcb (sort of), arrow pointing at it in the picture.  It happens randomly, and it gives me the sh!@#...kind of destroys the presentation of the pcb...any ideas to avoid or fix it?

never had that before? try sanding it off with fine wetsand paper maybe? That's what I use to remove the toner anyway, I don't use acetone or chemicals... I use Norton wetsand silicon carbide paper about 320 grit for removing toner and 400 grit for ultra fine buffing type sanding. Doesn't thin out the copper to any noticeable amount..  One sheet lasts forever, doesn't seem to ever wear out! The heavier grit is great for smoothing out board edges also and no dust when wet sanding is a plus!
http://www.nortonindustrial.com/waterproof-sanding.aspx

[chromesphere]

Its kind of like moving the toner off the tracks when i clean the board, the toner slips off the copper, but then adheres and smuggers onto the substrate...Happens all the time!  Really annoying...

i will try some sand paper, i was also thinking maybe a brush with some alchohol...cheers

[Canucker]

Wow I can't believe all the activity on this post. When I posted it I figured it must have been discussed at length already....maybe that was some time ago tough.

[chromesphere]

Its been discussed a million times, but there are so many cool ideas its worth bringing up now and again!  Thanks for starting it, i feel the sticker paper trick is going to help for future etchs

[Canucker]

I figured it was two million...I thought the first response I'd get would be "check out the thread from last week!". 

[jmwreck]

@jm: is the toner easily scratched, as paul was saying?. delicate?

Ok, based on my experience, after printing, I put it directly inside my folder to avoid it hitting corners and to avoid scratching it, it might be delicate but not that much. there was once, I dropped a small amount of water onto the print and the paper, I lightly wiped it off and the toner was still there. Just dont crease or fold it.

[chromesphere]

@jm: is the toner easily scratched, as paul was saying?. delicate?

Ok, based on my experience, after printing, I put it directly inside my folder to avoid it hitting corners and to avoid scratching it, it might be delicate but not that much. there was once, I dropped a small amount of water onto the print and the paper, I lightly wiped it off and the toner was still there. Just dont crease or fold it.

Yep, from my brief introduction to it last night, it become quite obvious that the size of the line matters as well.  The thin boarder around that madbean bumblebee broke away VERY easily.  Luckily it didnt really matter too much.

For transporting i cut mine out of the a4 sheet and placed it inside a ziplock bag which seemed to work.  You still have to be careful with it though...

[deadastronaut]

@jim: yep that's what i do...old fine wet n dry, washing up liquid......i never use acetone to remove toner...too messy...

wire wool, just as good...

[CodeMonk]

Well, tried the contact paper backing paper.
Did not go so well, but it's almost 4am and I have to go into town tomorrow at about 10am, so I kinda rushed it a bit.

I'll give it another go again tomorrow and see how it goes.
I think it may have potential.

[jmwreck]

the first thing I did was printing on an ordinary paper, print a draft/guideline, then cut the transfer paper into a bigger size than the guideline, taped it and back to the printer with highest quality printing. I do this coz the paper itself will make the printer choke due to its thinness.

[CodeMonk]

Ok, so the contact paper backing paper is a no go.
To bad I have loads of it and only 3 or 4 sheets of photo paper left.
Will be going into town tomorrow though, so maybe I can pick up more.

In other news, I know this isn't DIYFixMyPrinter.com, but since I only use my laser printer for printing circuits and you all are so smart...



This is how all my prints look.
Basically only the far right column produces useable images.
And NO, I'm not running out of toner. It looks like this with brand new cartridges .
Its been the same for the last 3 NEW cartridges (official HP cartridges in it (HP Laserjet 4P) in varying degrees.

I do have the service manual for it, I just want to know what part of it I should focus on.
I'm thinking maybe the transfer roller (I hope its not the heater part of it).
Maybe if its the transfer roller, I can just clean it.

I know I should just buy a new printer, and I will at some point, but I'm a bit broke ATM.

Thanks.

[pakrat]

Rob, I wish I had seen this sooner... I have tried the backing paper, and it worked EXTREMELY well for the first few boards, but after that it screwed up my printer. The wax coating gets heated and sticks to the drum/head. I had to print about 10 pages on regular paper to clear it. It's really too bad since the backing paper just falls off after transferring, but it's just not worth the risk of damage to the printer.

[CodeMonk]

Rob, I wish I had seen this sooner... I have tried the backing paper, and it worked EXTREMELY well for the first few boards, but after that it screwed up my printer. The wax coating gets heated and sticks to the drum/head. I had to print about 10 pages on regular paper to clear it. It's really too bad since the backing paper just falls off after transferring, but it's just not worth the risk of damage to the printer.

Oh well.
Since it didn't work, I won't be using it anymore anyway.
And just to be clear, my printer has been like this since i got it.
I borrowed it from a friend, then without telling me, they moved out of state, so I guess it became mine after that .
(Of course, they also took my AD50VT with them (her BF played the bass and I used to go over there to jam on the weekends. It was just easier to leave it there. NEVER again)).
But it was given to her by her neighbor, who gave it to her because of its current printing problems.

[J0K3RX]

Ok, so the contact paper backing paper is a no go.
To bad I have loads of it and only 3 or 4 sheets of photo paper left.
Will be going into town tomorrow though, so maybe I can pick up more.

In other news, I know this isn't DIYFixMyPrinter.com, but since I only use my laser printer for printing circuits and you all are so smart...



This is how all my prints look.
Basically only the far right column produces useable images.
And NO, I'm not running out of toner. It looks like this with brand new cartridges .
Its been the same for the last 3 NEW cartridges (official HP cartridges in it (HP Laserjet 4P) in varying degrees.

I do have the service manual for it, I just want to know what part of it I should focus on.
I'm thinking maybe the transfer roller (I hope its not the heater part of it).
Maybe if its the transfer roller, I can just clean it.

I know I should just buy a new printer, and I will at some point, but I'm a bit broke ATM.

Thanks.

You need a new fuser assembly! You may be able to find one for cheap but they are usually quite expensive... And you NEVER want to run any paper or whatever that is not rated or made for use with laser printers!!!

http://www.printerworks.com/Images/Fuser-HP-LaserJet-4plus.jpg

[chromesphere]

Codemonk & Pakrat...

You should read what i've been harping on about in my last 5 posts on this thread

Use sticker backing paper.  The stuff that avery envelope labels comes with.  The layout image comes off soooooo easily...without any trouble, and it wont damage your printer!

[CodeMonk]

@J0K3RX :
Yeah the fuser. Couldn't think of the name.
That's what I have been thinking it was from the day I got the printer.
I was just hoping that there might be an alternative as far as what's causing the problem. A less expensive alternative at least.
It would be cheaper to buy a new printer than to get a new fuser

@chromesphere :
Yup, I have seen your posts, and following them.
I was just exploring other alternatives.

[chromesphere]

Codemonk...NEVER try anything different.  Always follow the herd lol

I was following yours as well!  Shame it didnt turn out, but i have a feeling that sticker backing paper will work out for you!  Bit of pita getting it though if you dont have access to it.

Edit: theres no going back to mag paper for me!