Homebrew PCBs

> I'm glad to see that preheating the board is working for others. So
maybe a heating element under
> the board to minimize heat lose before printing?  My infeed table is
aluminum so I could heat it
> fairly easy. I had problems with the Epson ink coming off in the
etch until I made sure the board
> was VERY clean. If I cleaned the ink off the board before etching
you could see where the ink
> actually made the copper cleaner in the trace areas. Unless the
Epson ink does a better job I will
> get away form it as it's too much moola. So keep it up with the MSI
testing.
>
Yes preheating makes a big difference. I have not given up on the
Epson Magenta yet. I really liked the way it looked after it was
applied very clean and even density. I think it applied better than
the MISPRO Yellow. And yes you make a good point board condition is
very important.
I am not sure that I am getting the board clean enough. I sand with
600 emery, wet then wipe with 90% Isopropyl Alcohol. I think next time
I will try an Acetone wipe. Also one of the things I had been doing
before you found the preheat solution was to use a surfactant to help
disperse the ink. I was still using this yesterday as a comparison to
the preheat method. Bottom line I am not sure that the boards were
fully cleaned of any remaining surfactant. I will make some more tests
hopefully in the next few days. Lots to do!

Would be nice to see some pix of your conversion, particularly the
feed system. I have not come up with a satisfactory feed system yet..

John