Why printing directly on PCB?

Why bother, when there are plenty of other methods for DIY PCB projects.

1) Press n' peel
2) Toner transfer
3) Etch resistance pen (drawing by hand)
4) Photo etching

all these can be done at home, and plenty of advise is readily available on internet. So why bother, you may think.

Imagine if your inkjet printer can print directly on PCB, ready for etching, comparing to other tedious and sometimes expensive methods.

So what's stopping, you might ask. Humm, nothing, but the printer itself. If you feed a PCB (or any hard material other than paper) into your house-hold inkjet printer, it will be ruined in a moment, if not instantly. This is because the normal inkjet printer is not designed to handle hard materials, nor hard material tend to bend over the curved paper feed path (no wonder it is being called hard material !). Even if you manage to slip PCB into the inkjet, it will hit hard by the printing head, permanently ruining the mechanism. Simply because the head is aligned just enough to clear normal paper thickness.

Even if you manage to get the PCB through the head, you will not be happy with the printing quality. Why? because normal inkjet inks are designed to print on paper, not Copper. Since Copper does not absorb water (8th grade science), ink will get puddle on the surface, and a slightest move or touch is enough to ruin the already ruined print work.

So DON'T even think of doing the experiment, it simply won’t work.

Hey, this blog is for inkjet printing of PCBs, right. If it don't work, then why the hell you waste our precious time, you may ask!

Yeah, there is a process for getting it the right way, invented, practiced and shared generously by few others (prior to me). All I have is the knowledge I got from predecessors plus a wealth of experience gathered doing this by myself.

If you want to take the easy path, without the hazel and dassel and lot of disappointments along the way, then just follow the blog. I have already got my feet wet, so you only have to jump on board dry.

Kavee