Homebrew PCBs

DJ Delorie wrote:
> DJ Delorie <dj@...> writes:
>> Anyway, I'm investigating gutenprint and the printer's language to see
>> if I can write my own driver that does what *I* want it to do.  Yay
>> open source :-)
> 
> I've got some preliminary (i.e. unetched) results.
> 
> See: http://www.delorie.com/pcb/inkjet/
> 
> What I did was modify the print driver to think it needs to print
> every single pixel (which would normally be too much ink).  Then I
> wrote a program to remove half the pixels from the "field" away from
> the edges.  That way, I don't get dithering near the edges (clean
> edges) but I do away from them (not too much ink).
> 
> I was able to write my own software to send data to the printer, and
> indeed I can control every single drop of ink, but unfortunately the
> inkjet is itself incapable of better precision (mechanically) than
> what you see in the photographs.  Unfortunately, my micro-weave
> algorithm is much worse than gutenprint's one, so until I can copy
> that to my software, I'm still printing with the gimp.
> 
> I might try letting it print every dot anyway, just to see how bad it
> gets.  I worry about ink bleeding causing breaks in the copper traces.
> 
> I think this is as good as it mechanically gets.

If you use the gelatine coated film that absorbs ink, you won't get
bleeding.