Homebrew PCBs

Leon wrote:
> 
> 
> 
>  > I use photomasks from a inkjet printer. Recently I bought a Canon MP810,
>  > and noticed the resolution and line edge sharpness was a noticeable
>  > improvement over my old printers (Epson Stylus 660, Canon i550). Its
>  > definitely true 1200x1200 dpi resolution. Using "3M Universal
>  > Transparency" film, and printing with the driver set to "Photo Paper
>  > Pro", "Quality 1" and Cannon OEM inks, I can just get away with
>  > 0.008"(0.20mm) lines/spacings. 18um foil instead 36um makes etching fine
>  > traces a lot better.
> 
> I get similar results, using an HP 5940 printer and Premium JetStar film 
> for
> the transparencies.
> 
> Leon

Its good to know people are not finding it a problem making PCBs for SMD.
When I said 8mils, I meant to say thats size while still being very 
reliable. I should make up a test panel one day to see how fine I can 
go. I find the real limitation is etching. You need better etch 
uniformity the finer the lines you go. I'm currently building my spray 
etcher, which should solve the uniformity problem.

Adam