Direct to PCB InkJet Resist Printing

rdheiliger says:

On this printer {ed: and all 200 series Epson's} there is an APG (Automatic Platen Gap) system. The print head is raised or lowered depending on the media selected. There is also a Platen Gap adjustment. I raised this adjustment to its max position. By selecting CD as the media type the "APG" system raises the print head automatically...

As it turns out the paper sensor is mounted in the print head. The paper sensor checks for the holes around the CD it self. These looked to me like finger holes to remove the CD from the tray after printing. But the paper sensor checks for these holes. Likely to make sure the CD is seated properly, and/or that the CD is in the tray at all. I found that a 3 x 4 " board centered in the tray satisfies the checks the paper sensor makes. The 4 inches must be oriented to the width of the printer. All the notches, holes and white spots on the CD tray must be there, and as Myc notes the leading edge must be tapered to help raise the paper hold down rollers. There is also a tab that extends from the front of the CD tray that is important in the sensing process. One other note, Spare CD trays can be found on ebay for not many $.

Myc says:

I followed up on Richard's post using a unmodified EPSON R220 for the "Toner Dusting" process. The EPSON R200 series will print directly on CDs. With a little dremel work on the CD tray to square off the circle, I was able to run an EAGLE sized (3" x4") 0.040" [thick or 1oz] pcb. Worked great!

You an make a slightly smaller board with no modfication to the CD tray. [ed: You should be able to print directly from your CAD software. Select your printer, then in Printer Properties, select DVD. The Source must be set to CD Tray}

I know from my discussions with Richard that he runs his boards through the printer twice with excellent registration to add extra ink. I found the premium CD setting worked for me.

rdheiliger says:

When setting up the R280 to print in the CD/DVD tray, under Paper Options do the following:

Choose Sheet as the paper source, even if you are using the CD tray. This will allow Dip Trace to position the board where you want it. A bit of experimentation will get you the position needed for the center of the CD tray. If the CD tray is inserted it will still print to the CD tray even with the source set to Sheet. The software they send to print to CD's is a pain in the *@# to use. You don't need to worry about the hole, it will print right across that spot.

Choose CD/DVD Premium Surface for the paper type. This will give the highest ink output.

Be aware when moding the tray that the holes that look like finger holes to remove the CD need to remain open, and not covered by a board. If these holes are covered the printer will kick the tray back out without printing. This is why the boards can not be more than ~3" in the direction of feed. I made a cardboard CD, then cut a 3 x4 " rectangular hole in the center of the cardboard CD. Then glued the cardboard into the CD tray, after cutting the CD hole clips out of the tray. You can then just drop 3 x 4 boards into the tray and get repeatable printing.

Note: Rather than use the special MISPRO inks, some people have had success with simply dusting the PCB with laser toner or paint powder immediatly after printing. The dust sticks to the wet ink and can then be melted into an effective resist. See... Hybrid Toner/InkJet resist 

Epson Photo R220 by Bora Dikmen

I managed to modify Epson Photo R220 for direct PCB printing and used MISPRO yellow ink for it. I am drying the ink with my hot-air station at 400 C. It is quite clean and fast. Printing and drying is finished in 3 minutes.

I etched the PCB with Fe-Cl3.

But before printing, you should bath the PCB about 1-2 minutes in acid (H-Cl + H2-O2) to become purple-brown in color. This creates a soft surface and ink will be printed very smoothly as if it is printed onto a paper. Otherwise, ink is populated on some areas, waved in color and not evenly distributed on the PCB. This is the original contribution of mine I think :-)

Results are not as good as Volkan's results but satisfactory. There is no problem with 8 MIL traces. Problems occur if dust in air drops on the printed image while it is still wet. If printer is located in a clean box, I think every thing would be OK down to 6 or even down to 3 MIL traces.

R220 is very very easy printer to modify, since its printing head height is adjustable. I recommend it to you.

I used this one below pre-filled with MISPRO yellow. (Believed as the most etch resistant ink)

http://www.inksupply.com/spongless_carts.cfm MP-T0484-SLC $10.95

Even with MIS PRO ink, you should head clean your printer (printer does it for you) if 2 days passed. It clogs the printer head in 48 hours!

{ed: the covers come off easily, and the height of the print head can be manually adjusted to fit even standard PCB stock. Although the printer is not designed for pigment based inks, the MIS PRO yellow seems to work well enough to be useful. As mentioned, the heads will clog in about 48 hours and must be cleaned to start working again. Longer periods of disuse may cause clogging that is harder to clear. Try to seal the heads against thier resting pad when not in use. }

Comments:

• @spam@steve-Remove- at sapo.pt " good work
  can you show mor detail about the process if this printer and some images plese" +

Questions:

• @spam@giacomobovio-Remove- at tin.it asks: " May I have more information about how to modify R220 printer ?
  Merry Christmas and Happy New Year and thanks for your help.
  Giacomo" +
• @spam@kmale-Remove- at dascor.com asks:

  OK...got the printer apart, but I keep coming up with the status monitor asking for the CD/DVD tray to be removed and the door closed....where's the interlock???? And how do you align the PCB's for second side printing, or a second pass for solder mask and silk screen layers????

See also:

• http://www.eserviceinfo.com/downloadsm/36821/Epson_R%20290.html Epson service manuals for this and related model printers.+

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