Consistently failing

[Mgt280y]

Most aspects of pedal building I have got the hang of but etching pcb is a no!
Just had 5 attempts at toner transfer laserjet in to glossy paper then iron on rinse in water
Every time I'm lifting toner off the copper I tried leaving heat on for ages, adding pressure, letting cool then re heating but nothing is working 

[bloxstompboxes]

ARe you cleaning the copper clad with a mild abrasive like barkeepeers friend and a brillo pad. I don't know what process you have been following but the board must be free of dirt and oils, especially those from your fingers. Show us your method or guide you have been following.

[Mark Hammer]

What Blox/Eric said.

One cannot stress enough the importance of having a clean mirror-like surface to iron the toner to.  It has the want to affix itself to the copper more than it wants to remain attached to the back you printed it on.

While costly, one of the perks of PnP is that you get nice visual feedback of the transfer of the pattern.  The backing sheet is thin enough that the tone is almost as thick as the sheet itself.  So as the toner adheres to the copper, the unprinted sheet around the pattern sags around the pattern traces and pads, such that one can see the pattern in relief, and also see where it is still yet too smooth and likely not completely adhered to the copper.  It's pricey stuff, but a great place to start until you get the hang of it.

I'll put in a word for printing out patterns in triplicate or quadruplicate.  That way, if you mess up a transfer and need to scrub the copper clean again, you'll have a backup pattern.

[Mgt280y]

Yeah I print a sheet so I get around 8 per sheet 
No directly following a method but from what you just said i might be the board I'm cleaning with soapy water wipe over with acetone but ... I'm probably not keying the copper enough I'll try wire wool tonight and see what happens

[deadastronaut]

Like the guys said, scuff that baby up...

ive even used worn out 1200 wet n dry paper..

Those washing up green scourers work when 'new' too.....much to mrs astro,s annoyance 

[cab42]

I have used this tutorial with ok results.

http://www.basicaudio.net/how-to-make-pcbs.php

But I think the printer is also important. At work we recently Got a new laserprinter, and it is not as good as the old one (for toner transfer ).

[alparent]

Give us pictures of what you use.
What printer toner, paper, how you prepare your board.
I had less then perfect results at first ....... but once you get the hang of it. I can etch just about anything now.

No doubt you can get it also. It's not THAT hard. Mostly for me was finding the right combination.
I tried just about everything I could find on-line (magazine pages, PnP, that yellow paper) before finding HP gloss photo paper was what worked best for me.

I started with a Samsung printer, then a Canon one. Never had problems with the toner/printer part.

I don't really apply lots of force and surely don't keep the heat on more then 1 min.

But it's hard to say?

But we will try to help for sure.

[Mark Hammer]

Yeah I print a sheet so I get around 8 per sheet 
No directly following a method but from what you just said i might be the board I'm cleaning with soapy water wipe over with acetone but ... I'm probably not keying the copper enough I'll try wire wool tonight and see what happens

Here's an analogy to drive the key aspects home...

Imagine you have a suction cup.  Now imagine you are pressing it onto a carpet, a piece of plywood, and a sheet of glass.  It won't stick to the carpet, will be easy to remove from the plywood, but much harder to remove from the glass.  The toner does not chemically bond to the copper, from what I understand.  Rather, it behaves like a suction cup, such that if it makes better contact with the copper surface than it make with the paper backing, it will pull away from the paper, rather than the copper when you peel off the paper.  Just be sure to let it cool down first.

[Plexi]

"Practice makes a master"

I've always used thin steel wool, and then alcohol.
150grs "illustration" paper, iron not too hot: just a few minutes pressing on the layer, and cold water for a few minutes.
Take your time and do not give up; the first time I failed around 10 in a row...

[hyrk]

Make sure your iron is hot enough.

[Plexi]

Make sure your iron is hot enough.

Depends on the amount of toner and paper thickness...
If it is too hot, the toner will melt and the traces will joint.

[hyrk]

Yes but if is not, nothing happen and you don't understand why !

[alparent]

I use an old chromed iron I got at a garage sale. It is set between cotton and linen.

[hyrk]

I used home iron, and i have same results as you.

And i change my iron, le jour et la nuit !

[akalabeth]

Hi there.

I had a gap between my last project and the one before that one, like two years. So... I had some problems to lay the toner transfer properly.
Turns out that my difficulties were caused by the quality of the paper or the toner I used.(I print that on a stationary store because I don't have a printer in my home. When I used prints from another stationary store it worked well.
And as everyone else said: make your copper is bright and clean. (I use steelwool and nail polish remover)

Don't do like me, TAKE NOTES to be able to reproduce. It's like a cooking recipe, write down time and temperature. Your future you will thank you.

[Mgt280y]

Ta-da ........
200gm gloss 100% toner setting
All bar a little ground fill transferred just got to get the scummy paper that's left off
Winning !

[Plexi]

You have it!!

Put on water a few minutes, and gently take off the paper with a toothbrush.

Any imperfection, use permanet marker.

[davepedals]

I have never tried this method, and may just do it one day for the heck of it. It's just too easy for me to use photosensitive PC boards. And only pay 7.99 USD for a 4 x 6" sheet. I've never had a failure making PCBs this way, now etching them properly is quite a different story... Until I discovered the hydrochloric acid and peroxide method of etching.

[alparent]

Ta-da ........
200gm gloss 100% toner setting
All bar a little ground fill transferred just got to get the scummy paper that's left off
Winning !

Pretty nice. To get ride of the white residue. I just gently rub using an old toothbrush and vinegar. Vinegar is the secret.

[asreis85]

I really hate toner transfer! I've had some success with it in the past, but it's just so frustrating. in fact, if there's one thing that turns me off about making pedals is toner transfer.
We should really think about new cheap methods to do this, it's 2017 already!