Best printer for waterside decals??

[Jallenfuzz]

I was wondering what people's opinions are on printers. I have been using an epson artisan with Claria ink and it has been horrible.  I tried all the different settings and it just doesn't give good results. Thanks!

[nzCdog]

I recommend a laser printer rather than inkjet... sharper, far less likely to bleed.

[bcalla]

I had the same horrible results with inkjet printers.  I am very happy with decals from my Brother color laser printer. 

However, if I were to buy a new laser I would probably get an HP.  The Press-n-peel Blue PCB Transfer Paper I bought doesn't work well with Brother toner.

BTW, if anyone know of PnP paper that does work with Brother toner, please let me  know...

[das234]

Good Question.  My HP C6380 All In One did ok for a couple decals but it's on the fritz and my last one is messed up.  I may be in the market too.

[rullywowr]

I found my HP Color Laserjet 1600 for $60 on Craigslist.  It was in good shape, just needed to clean the mirrors inside the machine and it prints great.  The other thing is that Laser Toner refills are dirt cheap compared to Inkjet.  I just picked up a complete set of cartridges (refilled) for about $60 shipped and they are good for at least 2000 pages.  Of course, you need a laser if you want to do your own etching of PCBs.

No digs against the Brother printers however I have heard many reports that the Brother Laser printers have a different type of toner and sometimes don't produce good results when trying to use it to etch PCBs.

[bcalla]

This is in red on the ordering page where I buy PnP paper (it wasn't there when I first bought PnP paper OR my Brother printer):

If you intend to use BROTHER printers, keep in mind that Brother toners have higher melting temperature than other toners. It may be difficult to transfer image made by BROTHER printer. I was able to make a transfer using BROTHER printer, but only by hand and iron pressing for 1-2 minutes. GBC laminator did not transfer even smallest piece of image made by BROTHER printer. If you have BROTHER, first experiment several times or get different laser printer, there are very inexpensive models out there.

Again, I am happy with the waterslide decals it prints, but I am considering buying a cheap black-only HP laser.

[selfdestroyer]

This is in red on the ordering page where I buy PnP paper (it wasn't there when I first bought PnP paper OR my Brother printer):

If you intend to use BROTHER printers, keep in mind that Brother toners have higher melting temperature than other toners. It may be difficult to transfer image made by BROTHER printer. I was able to make a transfer using BROTHER printer, but only by hand and iron pressing for 1-2 minutes. GBC laminator did not transfer even smallest piece of image made by BROTHER printer. If you have BROTHER, first experiment several times or get different laser printer, there are very inexpensive models out there.

Again, I am happy with the waterslide decals it prints, but I am considering buying a cheap black-only HP laser.

Does the Brother printer have a Density setting? That seemed to make a difference on my HP Laserjet and I use HP Glossy Presentation Paper from Office Max and it works awesome. I have tried 5 or 6 different photo papers and ended up trying the HP Glossy Presentation Paper on a whim and it worked the best. It comes in a ream for $6. I did pickup a GBC laminator but I have yet to use it since the iron gives me great results right now and I have not had time to test it.

[gordo]

I've had pretty good luck using magasine paper instead of PnP on my Brother HL-1440  laser.  I have a couple of old issues of Guitar Player that will likely last me a lifetime. Doesn't need to be a blank part of the page.  Use a slightly hotter iron setting and lots of pressure.

[Stomptown]

I've always preferred to go to a laser printer shop (FedEx Office/Kinkos, etc). For PnP blue transfers I just print black and white and set the black toner to the highest setting. Works great and at 10 cents a copy I just can't convince myself to buy my own laser printer.