Printing just the layout from a PDF

[skateboardnorth]

Hey everyone!  I'm new here and new to making pedals.  I built the green ringer for my first one and it worked great.  I just have one question about printing circuits using the laser printer method. How do I print just the "ready to transfer" layout from a PDF file?  I want to try and conserve my glossy paper instead of using one sheet per project. ( a waste when the circuit board is only 2"x1")

I'll tell you the stuff I have tried. 
1) the print screen and copy to another program method.  When printed using this method, the edges aren't nice and crisp compared to when I print from the PDF.
2)I just have the free version of Adobe Viewer.  I can select the "ready to transfer layout" using the "take a snapshot" feature and then print from there.  The only problem is that the image will only stay in the center of the page....which wastes paper also. 

Not sure if there is a good and free PDF editor that anyone uses.  Or any other method that can be suggested.

 

[guitarpedalparts]

A trick if you're worried about saving paper...grab just about any magazine with glossy pages. Rip out a page, print, and only the toner (not any ink from the magazine page) will be transferred. One magazine gets you tooons of layouts!  If you mess up, wipe off the toner from the copper and give it another go.

[davent]

Hello new guy,

Put an pencil mark in the corner of the next piece of paper going through your printer, make note of where the mark is.

Print the pdf.

Cut a piece of your transfer paper that's a little bigger then the pcb image.

Attach the transfer paper over the pdf image of the pcb, just attach along the leading edge of the paper's feed through direction. Attach with a very low tack tape or Avery label, low tack, you want someting that releases very easily from the paper or printer insides.

Place your pdf printout with attached transfer paper back in the feed tray oriented the same way it was the first time through, remember the pencil mark, reprint the pdf.

Should now have a pcb transfer correctly sized with little waste of the valuable transfer materials.

dave

[skateboardnorth]

Thanks for the quick responses!  I will try both methods. I knew there had to be some tricks to conserve paper.  After one build I'm already addicted....especially since it actually worked..lol.

[guitarpedalparts]

Thanks for the quick responses!  I will try both methods. I knew there had to be some tricks to conserve paper.  After one build I'm already addicted....especially since it actually worked..lol.

Congrats on the successful build! Always great to nail it the first time around.

[CodeMonk]

Glossy presentation paper is like 1/3 the price of photo paper.

What are you using to design your PCBs?

Try DIYLC (DIY Layout Creator). See sticky thread at or near the top of the thread lists.
It can print to a png file which you can then open with most image apps and copy and paste many copies of your trace onto one piece of paper.
I use Paint Shop Pro myself (A poor mans Adobe Photoshop)
Inkscape is popular around here I think and its free.

And correct me if I'm wrong, but doesn't adobe viewer allow you to copy just an image from a file?
Some kind of click and drag select function?

Edit:
On that last point, yes it will.
I tested with this and it worked fine : http://www.runoffgroove.com/MayQueenPCB.pdf

[skateboardnorth]

Glossy presentation paper is like 1/3 the price of photo paper.

What are you using to design your PCBs?

Try DIYLC (DIY Layout Creator). See sticky thread at or near the top of the thread lists.
It can print to a png file which you can then open with most image apps and copy and paste many copies of your trace onto one piece of paper.
I use Paint Shop Pro myself (A poor mans Adobe Photoshop)
Inkscape is popular around here I think and its free.

I will check out the glossy presentation paper next time I visit an office supply store.  I just tried the magazine paper method and it worked fairly well.  It was actually much easier to remove from the board compared to the thick photo paper.

I haven't been designing my own circuits yet.  Just printing off existing circuits that others have designed. 

[CodeMonk]

re-read my updated post.

Another point...
You may want to print a few times on normal paper in case you need to resize the layout with the copy and paste method I mentioned.

Edit2:
I also soak my transfer paper in water for 30 - 45 minutes. I peel the paper off in pieces but comes off easily. Usually just with my thumb.
You can then use a toothbrush to get the remaining bits of paper off.

[davent]

Inkscape is free and it will open PDF's for editing (as long as they're not locked such as Madbean's). You can then extract and print the pcb image. I use it all the time for tweaking and altering other's pdf-pcb's to conform to my idiosyncrasies.