Making a Printed Circuit Board

I found a pretty simple and effect way to make PC boards on the net. There is no resist pens, darkrooms, or black circles or strips. The technique uses a laser printer and coated inkjet paper. The idea is to print the copper pattern on the inkjet paper. Place the pattern on the copper side of the PC board. Using a hot iron, heat the toner so it fuses to the copper. Peel the paper off and the toner should stick to the copper. Here is how I do it.

Using a laser printer, print the copper pattern onto coated inkjet paper. Coated inkjet paper is used because the coating will separate from the paper fibers so the toner will not rip away from the copper when the paper is removed. I also set my laser printer to print "darker", so I get more toner on the paper. This will help to fuse the toner to the copper.

I prepare the PC board by either using a light sand paper or steel wool to "rough up" the copper. After the light sanding, I wash the board with alcohol.

Here is a paper pattern with three boards on it and the pc board ready and prepped:


A really hot iron is needed to fuse the toner onto the copper. I set my iron as high as I can set it. I carefully align the pattern over the PC board; toner side of paper to copper on the board. I press down really hard for about 10-15 seconds. Then I slide the iron carefully back and forth over the paper for another 20-30 seconds.

Remove the iron and let the board cool. This lets the toner harden and fuse to the copper. Be careful. The board is really, really hot. Cool for about 3-4 minutes or so. It should be cool to the touch. Do not disturb the paper on top of the copper as it cools.

Run cold water over the paper to soften it. The paper will start to buckle up and pucker. That is OK. Run it under the water for 30 seconds to a minute.

Slowly, start to peel the paper back from the board. The toner and some of the paper should start to peel away from the paper. Let the water run between the copper and the paper and continue to slowly peel the paper way.

Notice as the paper is peeled back, there is no toner on it. The toner and coating is sticking to the copper. The water is running between the paper and copper. Also notice there is still some paper stuck to the pattern. This is OK.


With my fingers, I rub away the remaining paper fibers left on the board. The toner should be completely fused to the copper and will not rub off. Rub until all the paper over the raw copper is removed. You want the etchant to get to the copper. Don't worry about paper over the toner.

Here is what the board looks like after the washing. The toner is clearly, and sharply fused to the copper.


Now the board is ready to be etched. If I printed out more that one board, as in the example board I made, I would cut them up at this point and etch individual boards instead of etching and then cutting later. Using a standard PC board etchant, I let the board soak for about a half an hour or so, agitating once in a while.

After all the copper has been etched away, I wash the board and remove the toner from the board. I either use steel wool or 400 grit sand paper to remove the toner from the board.

That is it! The board is ready to be drilled or populated.