The purpose of this tutorial is help you print directly onto a copper clad board with a special ink which you can etch directly without time comsuming and error prone intermediate steps. At the time of writing, this is the easiest and most comprehensive tutorial ever assembled. We will show you how to do everything from preparing the board to configuring the print settings to etching.

New: We have updated the tutorial to include a tips and customer experiences section and also update instructions on how to make doublsided boards easier.

• Inkjet printer capable of printing on CDs like the Epson R280 or Epson Artisan 50
• Full Spectrum Engineering Stainless Steel PCB CD Stencil
• Full Spectrum Engineering Prefilled Ink Resist Ink
• Full Spectrum Engineering Blank 3.5"x2.5"x1/32" copper clad board
• Computer with PCB layout software running MS Windows XP/Vista/Windows 7
• Misc tools: hot plate, 150 grit sandpaper, flat head screwdriver, masking tape

Insert Special Black Ink Cartridge Into Printer

The Full Spectrum Engineering Black Ink Resist Cartridge comes prefilled with special etch resistant ink that will not wash off during the etching process. This ink is a yellow color but filled into a black cartridge because it much easier to print black and white using Windows Paint. The cartridge comes with a black vent plug to prevent spilling during shipping. Remove this plug before printing.

If you have an Epson R280 printer, turn the printer off after you load the ink by pressing the power button. Make sure you remove the CD tray or else it will give you an error. Turn the printer back on. Press and hold the ink button for 3 seconds to initiate a head cleaning. This will purge the old ink from the head. Repeat 2 or 3 times to ensure all the old ink is gone. Put the CD tray back in the upper slot and you are ready to print!

Attach the Full Spectrum Engineering Stainless Steel CD Stencil to the Inkjet CD/DVD Printing Tray

The Full Spectrum Engineering Custom CD Holder is designed to fit in any inkjet printer capable of printing CDs/DVDs. Simply place the CD holder on the inkjet CD printing tray supplied with your inkjet printer and tape it down. Important: Be careful not to cover any holes a normal CD wouldn't cover. The printer often uses these holes to register the position of the CD. If the CD tray normally holds the CD on the outside edge, no modification is necessary. If the CD holder holds the a CD with a raised center button hole (very common) then use a Dremel tool or sharp knife and cut a hole to remove this protrusion. The hole does not need to be precision. Simply cut a rough hole so that when a PCB is mounted it can sit flush. Use a machinist square to align the edge of the CD tray and the flat edge of the custom PCB holder 90 degrees as illustrated below.

Rough the 3.5"x2.5"x1/32" double sided copper clad board

Copper that sits around tends to oxidize and forms a surface that will not etch well without some roughing. Take some 150 grit sandpaper (available at Home Depot or Walmart) and scrub the board until very shiny. The more you scrub, the better it will work.

Attach the 3.5"x2.5"x1/32" double sided copper clad board to the Full Spectrum Engineering Custom CD Holder and Inkjet Tray

The best way to attach the CD is through the back with blue painter's masking tape. Simply put a piece over the center hole and push the copper clad board down. Try not to touch the surface with your fingers as oil makes the copper surface not accept ink well. Important: remember not to cover any holes that CD normally wouldn't cover when viewed from on top.

Export your PCB design to an Image File

• It is recommended to use trace widths > 12 mil and > 10 mil between traces for the most consistent results. We have tested down to 6/6 but results are mixed depending on how carefully you etch. At this point it is more of an art than a science and only experimentation will prove your limit.
• Turn off all layers except the bottom layer.
• File/Export the image. Select Monochrome, 1440 dpi resolution. Note: It is possible to print directly from Eagle but you will need to experiment with these methods. Exporting the image is the easiest way and we recommend you try this first.

Procedure Using Other PCB Software (guidelines only)

• Install Adobe Acrobat Professional (can't print to PDFs with Acrobat Reader).
• Turn off all layers in your PCB software except the bottom layer.
• Set print options to 1:1 scale.
• Select File/Print/Adobe PDF/Printing Preferences/Adobe PDF Settings -> Change "Default Settings" to High Quality print
• Select OK then select the Printing Preferences/Paper/Quality tab. Select Black & White.
• Select OK then Print.
• Save PDF File As "test.pdf"
• In the newly created PDF, select File/Export/Image/PNG and save the image file.

Open the PCB Image File in Windows Paint

• Start up Windows Paint found preinstalled on all MS Windows computers under Start Menu/Programs/Accessories/Paint.
• File/Open the image you created in Step 5. If necessary select Image/Invert Colors to make sure you are printing black lines on a white background.
• Select File/Print and select the Inkjet Printer.
• Hit the Preferences buttons and change the settings to match the image below.

  

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• Hit Ok then Apply but do not hit Print yet. Instead Hit Cancel to return to Paint.
• Hit File/Page Setup and change the settings to match below then press Ok. The most important numbers are the Margins Left and Top. The numbers below work well for an Epson R280 with the Full Spectrum Engineering Custom CD Holder and 3.5"x2.5"x1/32" copper clad blanks. However, these numbers are only guidelines. You will need to experiment to get the alignment perfectly centered down to .001" to make reliable double sided PCBs. The easiest way to do this is to draw a cross at (0,0) then print it out. Then take a ruler and adjust the margin settings so it is printing at the spot you want it to. The Full Spectrum Engineering Custom CD Holder cut out is exactly 3.55"x2.55". The extra .05" is to allow manufacturing tolerances of the various blanks. Keep this in mind when making double sided PCBs. Visit our tips page for tips on making doublesided pcbs.

  

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• You are finally ready to print. Insert the CD tray into the printer and select File/Print and print the image.

  

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Heat and Dry PCB

The PCB has been printed but is still very fragile. Using a small screwdriver, remove the PCB from the Stainless Steel CD holder by prying it from the corner. Place the PCB on a hot plate at 100-110degrees Celcius (around 212 F) for 5 minutes. Heating the PCB does two things: 1) it evaporates any water leaving only ink 2) it melts the ink particles to better bond itself to the PCB. Remove the PCB from the hot plate and let cool. Temperature is not critical but we have a laser wireless thermometer and a stopwatch so know this works. You can shorten the time to 1min if you increase the heat but be careful not to melt the board. If you don't have a hot plate handy and don't want to pay the $20, you can just heat it on the stove. Right now the board is fully copper on top so conducts heat very evenly.

Repeat Steps 7 and Step 8 for a Second Coat of Ink

To get the best results, we strongly recommend removing the PCB, placing it back into the Stainless Steel CD holder, printing it again then reheating it on the hot plate to dry it again. The order is important. By drying the PCB between prints, you ensure that a second print will not splatter itself or run. The Stainless Steel CD holder makes it easy to align and reprint in the exact same spot. A second coat gives a more thorough ink resistant surface.
Once the second coat of ink has been printed/heated/cooled, you can see how strong the ink is. Running water over the board will not remove the specially formulated ink.
If you want to make a double sided board, now is the time to repeat steps 5-8. Remember in your calculations that the cutout holder is 3.55"x2.55" and the PCBs are 3.5"x2.5" in case you make some weird flipping and adjust your margins in step 5.

Etch the PCB

The final step is to remove the excess copper by chemical etching. There are many different techniques but we like Ammonium Persulfate because it is inexpensive and very clean. Place 20grams of Ammonium Persulfate into a Ziplock bag. Place 125ml of boiling water into the Ziplock bag. Gently swish the fluid back and forth for 20-25 mins and the board will etch perfectly. This is another reason to use standardized 3.5"x2.5" PCB boards, once you have perfected your etching technique, you can be comfortable in knowing exactly how much etchant and time is required.

Finished PCB - So fast and easy!

If you want to drill holes, the easiest way is to buy a drill press. Often times you can buy these for under $50 on sale or with a 20% off Harbor Freight coupon. You can buy the bits from EBay for under $20. You can use a hand drill if you are really on a budget but it is not recommended. See our tips and customer results page for more tips.