Projects: Masking a PC Board for etching-using the “Press’n’Peel” Method
Peeling off the “Press’n’Peel” leaves the laser printer toner behind as an etch resist. (Image source: Instructables user clacktronics-uk)
So I was once again cruising Instructables and I found this excellent tutorial explaining the “Press’n’Peel” method. It has literally been forever since I have etched a custom PC board — it’s just too easy to use strip boards for those small projects (I’m a big fan of protoboards like the Adafruit Perma-Proto boards that have the same layout as a breadboard–it makes it really easy to transfer your prototype to a permanent project).
Anyway, this tutorial is pretty cool. You use a laser printer to print your solder mask to a blue sticky sheet of plastic. You then iron the sheet onto your copper. When you peel it off, the printer toner is fused to the PC board and you etch as normal.
Looks easy enough! Might have to come up with a project to try this with.
— Published from DFW, Texas