Sorry for the "What's the best laser printer" post but I need advice. I am currrently using a Xerox DocuPrint 240A to produce positive PCB artwork which I then expose via UV to make my boards. Unfortuantely the print quality is poor. Firstly, the blacks aren't very black, they're all splotchy. I wanted to use GCC Toner Density Spray, but according to GCC, the spray only works with carbon based toners - the Xerox uses something else - sorry I forget the details. Second, the dimensions are wrong. A 100mm x 100mm rectangle comes out at about 100.5 x 99. I can scale it, but not accurately enough. My inkjet printer is much more precise but it sprays. And finally, the paper handling is woeful. The paper seems to jiggle around when being printed. A line running down the left side of the page can be up to 2mm longer than the one on the right. This makes the printer pretty useless for double sided boards. All this is not a problem for small boards, 50mm x 50mm. Up to 100mm it starts getting a bit tricky, vias can sometimes miss, but can be creatively soldered. Larger than that and it is a waste of time trying. I will go to my local printer and get them to print it for me. They have a large table sized Xerox DocuCenter 1100 which prints amazing images on transparency - accurate, black, and no toner splatter. Unfortunately, they are usually busy and I have to wait - hence this post; I won't get my print outs till tomorrow. So, are there better printers around? Affordable that is. Am I expecting to much from a home laser? Or do I just have a lemon? Any advice will be appreciated. Thanks, Frank
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Laser Printers
2008-05-01 by Frank
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