I fancy making my own PCBs...

[LaceSensor]

Can anyone recommend a economical (im thinking definitely sub £100 for mono) laser printer that can be used reliably for toner transfer and etching at home type projects.
Also, what else would I need besides ferric chloride, and copper clad board?

Do you have to use that blue transfer paper, is it better, or is just magazine paper the best? Ive done some reading, but maybe not enough.
I have £50 in amazon vouchers in the uk, so a printer that is stocked there is my preference.

Thanks so much.
Ls

[bigmufffuzzwizz]

I have a Samsung CLP-300 which works very well for black toner transfer. The toner that came stock has worked exceptionally well and I haven't had any major problems with it yet. I use FeCh but I've been wanting to move over to the Muriatic Acid and Peroxide method for awhile now. FeCh is just so mucky and nasty.
I bought Pnp Blue because I wanted it to be really easy the first time. I don't remember how much I spent but it was something like 10 bucks for 5 sheets. I've been meaning to try other paper recently, people do it successfully w/ paper they spent about 25 cents a sheet on. Check out John Lyons site Basic Audio. He has a great etching tutorial using Muriatic Acid and regualar paper, lots of photos and great information.

[LaceSensor]

Cool. How long does toner last on samsungs? Are the cartridges reasonable?

I'll check out the basis audio site. Cheers for the tips.

[bigmufffuzzwizz]

It last a long time. I pre-print the image, then cut my pnp blue to the size (slightly bigger) and tape it to the paper. Then run it back through the printer. I only use as much as I need at a time. The copper clad I have are 4'' x 6''. I got it from abcfab on ebay, best source I've found. If you get his email you can buy custom sizes and amounts.

[LaceSensor]

Cool, I might treat myself then.

[LaceSensor]

It last a long time. I pre-print the image, then cut my pnp blue to the size (slightly bigger) and tape it to the paper. Then run it back through the printer. I only use as much as I need at a time. The copper clad I have are 4'' x 6''. I got it from abcfab on ebay, best source I've found. If you get his email you can buy custom sizes and amounts.

Can you link me to this guy please?
It wont recognise the user name when I search ebay...

[stecykmi]

I have the CLP 315, which is the color version. I use magazine glossly paper instead of PNP blue and  i usually get reliable etches.

toner is expensive but it also lasts a really long time, i think they're rated at 2000 pages or something, which works out to be about $0.03/page.

[bigmufffuzzwizz]

Sure. Here's his account info..http://myworld.ebay.com/abcfab/&_trksid=p3984.m1423.l2754
The printer I have is a color laser printer too. The printer says one cartridge of toner is good for thousands of prints (somewhere in the 2000-4000 range).

[glowsheep]

I have a Samsung CLP-300 which works very well for black toner transfer. The toner that came stock has worked exceptionally well and I haven't had any major problems with it yet. I use FeCh but I've been wanting to move over to the Muriatic Acid and Peroxide method for awhile now. FeCh is just so mucky and nasty.
I bought Pnp Blue because I wanted it to be really easy the first time. I don't remember how much I spent but it was something like 10 bucks for 5 sheets. I've been meaning to try other paper recently, people do it successfully w/ paper they spent about 25 cents a sheet on. Check out John Lyons site Basic Audio. He has a great etching tutorial using Muriatic Acid and regualar paper, lots of photos and great information.

muriatic and peroxide works great and it's cheap to make a lot of it - works fast for etching enclosures as well - I highly recommend using it if you haven't already

[LaceSensor]

Got a laser printer paper and Etchant so hopefully I'll have made a pcb this weekend! Will report back...

[LaceSensor]

woop so I made a pcb!
Feeling pretty good about myself - everything went better than expected.
Now to get a suitable drill bit...

[nzCdog]

Nice! What board did you make?
I'm going to do my debut etch soon too... a power supply board

[LaceSensor]

I did the Sea Urchin - Madbeans layout for the deep blue delay by mad professor / BJFe

[add4]

Around here, in belgium, we have small local organizations that are starting all over the place. In english that would be called something like 'givery' the idea is that it's a mailing list of people of your .. say town or large neighborhood. people send messages saying that they give things they don't need instead of throwing them away. you can also send messages saying that you're looking for something and some people might say 'hey i have this thing in my attic it's wasting space, you can have it'.
I started building 1 month ago, i received my laser printer and the oven for the powder coating using this..

I've heard the idea comes from the US, maybe you would try to find a local thing like that around your place and ask away..
One of these organizations is also called 'freecycle' i think that name is international.. you might have a free cycle  mailing list for new york and one for paris.

It was very helpful for me..
Hope that helps