ink circuit

Hi, Mike. Yes, there are conductive inks. Google "thick film resistors" to find out how it's done. Also, there are silver-based inks which can be used as conductors, They're also used in thick film resistors and hybrids to make interconnection between resistors and to the pins.

If you're doing high frequency work, you can play with the conductors to make very small capacitances, too.

You generally use a silkscreening process to deposit the inks on a ceramic substrate, and then roll them through a belt furnace to cure them. You can then use lasers to trim up the resistance values.

If you've got a SIP resistor network in your junkbox, it's almost certainly made from this process. Try using some acetone or other solvent to dissolve the painted cover off the network, and you can see the resistors and conductors.

Good luck Chris

no, how ever, you could use a laser printer and iron a design on it, then etch it.

How would you connect the parts?

I bet your thinking to print on plastic film with conductive ink. Well regular ink is not gonna do it, and you can fill an ink cartridge with the circuit works conductive ink. Good luck.

Back in the days of pen plotters folks would replace the pens with thick film resistor paste dispensors and draw on ceramic. As far as I know, it never caught on.

Should be Can't fill an ink cartridge. Nimble fingers NOT.