What's easier/better ? Etch resist pen or dry transfers?

dip

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When I do a board using normal .01 spacing I draw out the whole board on a piece of grid paper then tape the grid paper to my board and then use a pin to mark out all the hole locations...this also aids in keeping everything straight. I then take a small sharpie and mark all hole locations...then I draw all the straight lines with a sharpie and a beveled straightedge. After using the pen to do the board lines and pads I occasionally will use dry transfers over the ic locations and wherever I want a neat looking round pad. I normally dont drill out the holes till the board is layed out and after drilling I will go back and hit the holes with the sharpie again...just because.

Electronix Express has a template that you can use to lay out a board with a pen. It has templates for ic pads, transistors, different sizes of resistors capacitors etc....but like I say...I use this template to mark it all out on grid paper...

Wow, so I don't have to order a special etch resist pen from some supplier and pay $7 shipping, but instead get a sharpie from a local store....thanks for the tip !!! I always thought these pcb pens has some special resistant chemical in them, and that nothing else would do....thanks for enlightening me..!!!

Thanks for the offer, Tom, but I think the Sharpie is the way to go (I only have an inkjet printer).

Sharpies work just fine. Check out PNP Blue. You can print to them on a lasar printer and iron on to a board. (circuit board not ironing board :-)) I'll send you some if you would like to try it. No, I am not selling them, I am a teacher who just likes to help students learn. Regards, Tom

Anything that doesn't wash away in the etchant works as resist. Right from the beginning of hobbyists making their own boards, people have used all kinds of things. SOme are better than others, for the simple reason than that they can be easily removed after the etching.

One problem with pens is that they often don't give a solid line. I remember the horrible results I got the first time I made a board, when I didn't realize this. But this has to do with either the person's skill at drawing the traces, or the particular pen. Some don't issue a good flow of ink.

One article in "Ham Radio" magazine years ago suggested opening the pen up, and adding a drop or two of rubbing alcohol. This ensures the ink does flow better. I've tried it, and it does work, indeed I've done it to pens I simply use on paper.

I don't know about now, but it used to be that the resist pens I saw were Sharpies, either relabelled or labelled at the factory for the new task. YOu can also get Shrpies with a far narrower tip, useful for very thin lines on circuit boards.

Michael

Since you don't have a lazer printer, this won't work for you, but I print onto quality inkjet paper with my lazer printer, then iron it onto the board, like the special paper, but cheaper... After it cools, hot water and soap melts the paper off, leaving toner and clay (from the quality inkjet paper good side) to stop the etch. You can us a photocopier to do this, just set it dark enough to get a nice thick toner layer. Much easier than drawing each of them out, and makes for a more pro look.

Al...

A full description of the hand-drawn Sharpie method, including lots of hints and tips, is on my site at

Hope this helps!

Bob Masta dqatechATdaqartaDOTcom D A Q A R T A Data AcQuisition And Real-Time Analysis

Thank you so much for sharing the link for your site. It is just great..!!!!

I made several experiments with different kind of papers and the "iron method" and had the best results using glossy photo paper (printed with a laser obviously). This kind of paper detaches perfectly after the iron has passed and the board is cold.

Another suggestion: if the laser doesn't make sufficiently black prints (and there are no settings in the printer), I simply print 2 times on the same paper, checking that the 2 prints are exactly overlapped.

With some practice the results are really good.. Here is what I obtained with glossy paper:

Bye, Paolo