DIY dry transfers

[Pettol]

@pettol:

looks great...have you tried a big image yet?..i just wondered what the finish would look like..matt finish i guess....looks nice and detailed anyway...

Thanks.

No. No large image yet. Spent too much time at work.
If you mean the dry transfers, they won't be matte since you clear coat it in the end. The uv curing ink is matte.

[davent]

Further question. is the cured ink etchant resistant?

I believe it is. Only used it for touch-ups when etching with NaOH so far though. One problem is that it's a pain to get rid of. I've tried alcohols, acetone, thinner, heptane, THF, MTBE, but the only thing that had an effect was DMF (I guess NMP could work too) and I don't think you can buy that in the supermarket. So you'll probably have to sand.

Thanks

I always just sand the photoresist off of etched pcb's with wet 400-600 grit paper so wouldn't have issues with the ink.

[newperson]

A thought on the red ink,
Red is used to block UV light, so maybe you would need a greater source of the UV waveform.

[Pettol]

@davent: Try it and report back. I'd be interested to know if it works.

@newperson: Interesting point, but black is used to block all light. Besides, it's the drying step that differs so far.

[PRR]

> ethanol ?

In the USA, pure Ethanol is sold in liquor stores as EverClear. It is about 75% or 95% water and 90% federal drinking tax. A small bottle will clean a lot of tape-heads or probably a lot of ink. The price wasn't a lot of money. If you are a drinking man, any extra can be used in mixed drinks.

As mentioned, "Denatured" is ethyl with some yuck-stuff so you won't drink it. For many purposes, this is good-as pure ethyl; for other purposes the residual stuff is annoying. Try denatured first cuz it is far cheaper.

[davent]

@davent: Try it and report back. I'd be interested to know if it works.

I am tempted to get myself some ink and give this some playtime. Impressive  results Pettol!

[tranceracer]

Thanks for sharing this Pettal.  Great technique for labeling plain enclosures.  (:

[Pettol]

I don't know if I was unclear in any way regarding the solvents. I have posted two techniques in this thread:

1. DIY dry transfers (post 1). Use ethanol to soften the clear coat.  Denatured or pure doesn't matter.

2. UV curing ink (post 5 and 11). To get rid of unpolymerized ink you can use a variety of solvents: ethanol (pure or denatured), isopropanol, white spirit, gasoline, lighter fuel etc. The polymerized ink is almost impossible to dissolve.

One more thing, the UV exposure time is more or less determined by trial and error. I can only say that half an hour in the summer sun was enough.