I've read that it's possible to do PCB layouts by printing with a laser on magazine or photo paper, instead of paying $6 for a sheet of press n peel. I tried magazine paper first, but it didn't seem to want to come off on the board, the only places where it had sort of come off it had taken some of the magazine paper off with it (is that normal?). I got a friend to print out the layout on some photo paper but the paper was too thick for his printer and jammed. The interesting thing about this was that once pulled out, the traces could be wiped off by finger which was not possible with the magazine version. I then tried again with photo paper the laser printers at my father's office and this could not be smudged at all. It was similar in performance to the magazine paper, but the toner seemed to be completely fixed to the photo paper, and anywhere where it had come off on to the board it had torn the paper with it (it only covered an area in the middle unfortunately).
What I'd really like to know is if it's meant to be able to be smudged? This sort of makes sense to me because it would mean that when the toner was heated up again by the iron it would find the copper an easier place to stick to than the paper. I'd like to try my friends printer again and see if we can get it through without it being jammed, I suppose it's possible that the printers at my father's office had some hacky way of making it stick to the photopaper.
The way the laser printer works it the toner is deposited through static and then the fuser melts the toner onto the paper.
If it jammed in the printer the fuser may have not done it's thing yet. That's most likely why the toner wiped off.
John
I believe the key to using magazine paper is this:
High definition printing relies on paper having a layer of clay pressed into the surface.
National Geographic is a case in point, also all the fashion mags.
According to the accounts on the net, once the ironing is done, the board with the paper still attached has to be soaked for quite a while (eg overnight) preferably with a little dishwashing detergent added. Because, it takes time to soften up the paper so that it can be gently rubbed off.
And as always there are so many variables (brand of printer, brand of iron, time spent ironing, pressure, cleanliness of board etc etc, that you may have 100% success straight off, of it may take forever to get things just right. Initial failure will NOT mean that the procedure does not work.)
**Disclaimer: I havn't used magazine paper myself.
I have used magazine covers, and as Paul said usually you get some of the paper stuck to it. Personally, I just left it and etched. But, every time I think of trying an alternative to PNP Blue I think to myself that PNP works, consistently, and for me that offsets the price. Time is money.
I use magazine paper for all my transfers, mine comes from Giant magazine. After discovering that I needed to set my iron higher than I was, I haven't had a bad transfer yet. I also only soak the paper and board in hot soapy water for about 5 minutes, paper comes right off.
My process: print layout on regular paper to check sizing, tape a piece of magazine paper over original printout and print again, iron on not quite the highest setting with a blank piece of paper between the iron and the transfer (takes about 10 minutes or so), rinse with cold water until pcb blank is completely cooled, soak in hot soapy water for 5 minutes, remove paper and etch.
The magazine paper wasn't as glossy as some I suppose, I'm sure we have some National Geographics around somewhere so I'll give that another try before I just go and by the PNP.
I have used with great success the paper from Dell catalogs, I think Radio shack uses the same kind of paper(but Dell have big enough white areas for you to see if the print is good).
As this kind of paper is pretty thin it goes off easy, you just have to be patient with it; also, when ironing, double check that you are covering all the surface, it's easy to take off some ink when rubbing the paper out.