Electronics > Projects, Designs, and Technical Stuff
Toner Transfer
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KL27x:

--- Quote ---How do you achieve such high temperatures? I assume you are using FR4 (the glass-reinforced epoxy laminate) which can withstand such temperatures and not FR2 (pertinax) that falls apart if you are careless with the soldering iron for just a second too long.
How does the laminator withstand such temps? I have a small contactless thermometer and if I remember correctly, and please don't hold me to it, as it's leaving the laminator the board is about 80°C / 175°F. Much too hot to touch and hold by anything other than the paper.
--- End quote ---

I have a $35.00 GBC Creative laminator. As my board size increased from my initial tiny pcb experiments, I found I was running my boards thru it 5-6 times to get the toner to stick. And a big enough board, this wouldn't even work. So I started using the heat gun. Then I took the plastic case off the laminator and screwed it to a board. So I can put the heat gun on max setting and put it right up to the board, just a couple inches between the tip of the heat gun and the board. I move the heat gun across the board, right where it goes into the laminator (hence why I removed the plastic case). Then back the other way, I move a few inches back to preheat the incoming board. So it's a bit of a circle or a rectangle.

Just be careful, because the exposed metal can shock you if you're grounded. To prevent burning smaller and/or thinner boards, I have to pause between passes across the board. This is more reliable than trying to turn down the temp on my heatgun. The dial is super twidgy, so I just leave it on full. On large, full thickness boards, I have yet to burn or bubble a board. But small enough surface area, you would be putting the heatgun in basically the same spot nonstop. If you didn't give it some rest, you can burn the board. I have bubbled and delaminated thinner and/or smaller boards.

I give any size board just two passes. The board is warm to begin with, because I just dried it with the heat gun. One to stick the paper without the heat gun. Then one pass with the heat gun. The board is too hot to hold when it comes out the second pass.
Domagoj T:
I think I'll order this Pulsar thing and give preetch another try.
Is this what you're using?
https://pcbfx.com/main_site/pages/products/transfer_paper.html

In the meantime, I still plan on upping the laminator temperature a bit.
KL27x:
Yep. I buy it from Mouser. It seems to only come in 10 packs. That's why it's more expensive than say PnP, which you get a discount when you buy the 100 pack.
james_s:
I don't remember now if the stuff I have is Press n Peel or Pulsar but it's a plastic film coated with a blue powdery looking finish. The 10 pack I bought has lasted me close to a decade, I don't etch a lot of boards at home and the ones I do make tend to be pretty small.
KL27x:
That's PnP. I have 70 sheets of it, somewhere. It was my good stuff, at one point. Now I can't be bothered to use it anymore. I'm about 50 or so sheets into Pulsar and can't imagine going back. 
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