Brother Laser Printers Bad for Etching

[Beo]

I have a brother laser printer that's been awesome for all our school and family needs, but seems to be awful for toner transfer for PCB and Enclosure etching. I think maybe the laser is too high or too low energy. I've used all sorts of different photopaper, magazine pages, iron settings, etc. I even used PNP, which seemed to shrivel coming out of the printer. I think I even read on another thread someone claiming that Brother Laser Printers are not ideal for this.

Can anyone recommend a good brand or model of laser printer that gives optimal and cleanest results? I want to spend much less time scraping off photopaper plastic with my thumbnail, or drawing in thin traces.

These days, the price of a new laser printer is the same as a replacement toner cartridge... so I have no problem buying another laser printer. Also, has anyone got good results using high end photocopier/printers at their workplace? (e.g. big multifunction Xerox or Canon machines)

Thanks,
Travis

[Brymus]

Samsung seems to be one of the better laser printers for toner transfer.
I almost(did but took it back unopened) bought a Brother,but asked here and searched the net.
I bought mine (Samsung) on sale for 50$ at Office Max ,the toner refill costs 70$ LOL
Thankfully we were able to buy one(toner refill) on sale with our rewards bonus so it was only 10$ after the discounts.
So After the new toner catridge is dead the drum will need to be replaced.
I think the most cost effective thing will be to buy a new printer for 50-70$ instead of spending 70$ on toner and another 60$ for a new drum.
But if I do ever print out 10,000 sheets (when the drum expires) then well ,I will have got my moneys worth.
BTW my Samsung works excellent for toner transfer both with PNP and magazine paper taped to a sheet of printer paper.

[Cardboard Tube Samurai]

I didn't have a problem with my cheapo Brother and got perfect transfers every time. That is until the missus put a t-shirt transfer sheet through it and it stuck to the drum. I now have a Samsung but I've only done one or two waterslide decals with it so can't report a great deal back on them yet. Working well so far

[edvard]

I also have a Brother, an HL-1440 to be precise.
I have noticed to NEVER use the "toner saver" mode when printing PCB's and always use 600x600 resolution.
I know that's not the answer you're looking for, but perhaps some digging around in your driver settings might get better results with your existing machine while you shop for something better.

[therecordingart]

The Samsung ML-2010. They are cheap as dirt, and you can get a brand x toner cartridge for about $35-$40. I've been using my for years and it works great!

[spargo]

I have a Brother HL-2040 and have not had a problem.  I just print at 1200dpi and iron well.  I use thicker magazine paper (been using pages from digital photography magazine to be specific).

[Lurco]

http://www.diystompboxes.com/smfforum/index.php?topic=58720.0

[Schappy]

I had a brother and it worked OK but still left a few spots where I had to touch up the transfer.

I bought a Samsung and it works like a dream. I can do a PNP transfer in about 2 minutes of ironing.

It also has a setting where you can print darker.

[trixdropd]

I had a brother and it worked OK but still left a few spots where I had to touch up the transfer.

I bought a Samsung and it works like a dream. I can do a PNP transfer in about 2 minutes of ironing.

It also has a setting where you can print darker.

+1..

<y brother worked somewhat, if i colored in all the pin holes. My samsung is a dream.. ml2025w btw...

[R.G.]

I suspect the condition of the toner cartridge, photo drum and "toner saver" setting have more to do with this than the brand of printer.

I've had different results from the same brand and model of printers. That was a long time ago, but it was what I found.

What is really useful is if your printer will print densely enough to make a photo-positive on plastic toner film so you can expose and etch presensitized board stock.

You can get down to 8 mill trace and space pretty easily with that.

[Schappy]

I do think the brand matters if you buy a brother printer.

I  had a brand new brother printer.
Like I said it worked ok but just didnt give me a complete transfer.
The Samsung is like night and day.

Many people have complained about Brother printers for PCB transfers.

Dont worry about the brand just dont buy a Brother.