Homebrew PCBs

There's an old saying, "Everything old is new again!" It fun to watch 
the new members 'rediscover' old techniques like using the laser label 
backing paper.

There was a long thread about silicone treated papers a while back. I 
think I was one of the early "reinventors" of the process. ;)

Laser label backing paper has just the right amount of silicone to 
temporarily grab the toner. The main problem that I found was that the 
adhesion was very fragile and can be easily damaged while handling.

Toner Transfer is a great method, but is a little fussy and has to be 
fine tuned for your equipment. For my boards, I use a thin clay coated 
paper, actually the SEARS flyer from the sunday paper. A thinner paper 
needs less heat (paper is a good insulator) and wets out very easy. 
Then I add a little automatic dishwashing detergent to the soaking 
bath, the alkalinity and surfactants help loosen the paper. Finally, 
after removing the paper, I "flash fuse" the toner with a hair dryer. 
This helps make a more continuous film and locks the toner to the 
copper. (The Pulsar green film dones the same thing.)

Myc